Making the Case For Philip Rivers to Be a First-Ballot HOF

Could the Chargers long-time starting QB be immortalized among the football greats?

The 2004 NFL Draft was an eventual one. The Chargers had the number one overall pick that season, and the clear choice was Eli Manning. However, Manning was doing all he could to not go to San Diego and become a Charger. Manning ended up getting traded to the New York Giants in exchange for North Carolina States' own Philip Rivers. 

The Chargers landed with Rivers, and the Giants landed with Manning; each did their own thing in the cities they spent over 15 years in and are revered by their respective fan bases. 

Rivers played in 17 seasons, 16 of them with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, and they were filled with a ton of great moments, but it didn't end with a Super Bowl ring. 

However, Rivers was incredible year ina nd year out, but is that enough to make him a first-ballot Hall of Famer?

We think it is and we'll tell you why that is the case. 

First, let's start off with the overall numbers. 

Former #Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers deserves to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer:

-8x Pro-Bowler
-2013 Comeback POY
-63,440 Passing Yards (6th All-Time)
-5,277 Completed Passes (7th All-Time)
-421 Passing TD (6th All-Time)
-95.2 Career Passer Rating (16th All-time)
-260… pic.twitter.com/mtKYrJzFez

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) June 28, 2023

Rivers is top 10 in passing yards, completed passes, passing touchdowns, and fourth quarter comebacks in his career. In passing yards, he's in front Hall of Fame players like John Elway, Warren Moon, Dan Marino and legendary Chargers QB Dan Fouts just to name a few. 

Rivers is also 12th all-time 95.2 career passing rating and 14th all-time with 64.9% completion percentage. men lie, women lie, but the numbers do not lie. 

The 2013 Comeback Player of the Year has also finished top 5 in Offensive Player of the Year three times and finished in the top 6 in MVP two times. There are a ton of Qbs who didn't win the MVP or even come close to win it and are still first-ballot HOFs. 

We also can't forget when he played through a torn ACL in the 2007 AFC Championship game. 

Today marks 13 years since Philip Rivers played through a torn ACL against the Patriots in the AFC championship.

Fitting day for a legend to go out.

(via @NFLThrowback) pic.twitter.com/yTUnyp0brL

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 20, 2021

Rivers is as tough as nails, but what could hurt Rivers in the first-ballot conversation is the lack of playoff success. He is without a Super Bowl and has a less than impressive record at 5-7. However, that shouldn't dictate his first-ballot status when you have guys like Jimy Kelly, Frank Tarkenton and Dan Marino. 

There are about 25% of inductees that don't have a ring and a handful of them that have never made a Super Bowl appearance similar to Rivers. 

Rivers was among the best at his position at the tie, but it hurts when others at his position were more successful on a team and individual aspect like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers. Still, that isn't his fault and he shouldn't be punished for it when it comes to the voting process. 

Lastly, Rivers was as consistent as they come for the Bolts, holding 21 different franchise records, being the staple for the organization and is considered one of the best players in San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers history. 

With all that being said and with all the guys who are first-ballot Hall of Famers with less success than Rivers; he most certainly deserves to be first-ballot. Rivers will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2026 and hopefully, he gets that first-ballot he deserves.