San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers paid his first visit to the team that picked him and then traded him on draft day 2004, and he had an up-and-down game with a decidedly up ending.
Rivers completed 24 of 36 passes for 209 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions today against the New York Giants, but this game will be remembered for his five completions on a masterful final drive that led the Chargers from down 20-14 to ahead 21-20. Rivers’ final throw was an 18-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson with 21 seconds remaining.
Rivers ran across the field to celebrate with Jackson after that touchdown, but after the game he said it was the offensive line’s protection that truly deserved credit.
“You got to give credit to that O-line, knowing against that pass rush we’re throwing on every down,” Rivers told Tiki Barber on NBC’s Football Night in America. “This is as exciting a finish, I believe, as we’ve had in a long time.”
The win improves the Chargers’ record to 5-3. The Giants, losers of four straight, fall to 5-4.