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San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers says no surgery required

By Phil Watson

Dec 7, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws a pass during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws a pass during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /
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San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers struggled down the stretch as he played through a bulging disk, but said Monday that surgery isn’t needed.

Philip Rivers has avoided a date with a scalpel, it seems.

The San Diego Chargers quarterback told KGB-FM in San Diego Monday that he won’t need surgery at this point to deal with the bulging disk that sabotaged the end of his 2014 season.

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“At this point, the back injury is not requiring surgery,” Rivers said, via NFL.com. “We’ll kind of revisit it in a month or so. But everything is improving. I’m back to my regular workouts and running around. … I’m actually on the up and up. So I’m pretty excited.”

The 33-year-old nearly shut things down in December as he struggled through the injury.

Rivers has made 144 consecutive regular-season starts for the Chargers beginning with Week 1 in 2006, second only to the Eli Manning’s run of 168 straight starts for the New York Giants.

Coincidentally, the two had their draft rights traded for each other on draft-day in 2004 after the Chargers selected Manning No. 1 and the Giants took Rivers at No. 4.

Rivers completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 4,286 yards and 31 touchdowns, but tied for the NFL lead with 18 interceptions—eight of those coming in the final four weeks of the season. His passer rating for the year was 93.8.

Over the final four games, however, Rivers completed only 59.9 percent of his passes with six scoring tosses and eight picks, a passer rating of 71.2.

San Diego lost three of those four games and missed the playoffs by a game with a 9-7 finish.

Rivers is second in Chargers’ history with 36,655 passing yards and 252 touchdowns, trailing only Hall of Famer Dan Fouts.

His passer rating of 95.7 is the best in franchise history, well ahead of second-place Drew Brees (84.9), the man he replaced as San Diego’s starter.

Rivers has led the Chargers to the playoffs five times, including a run to the AFC Championship in 2007, where they lost to the New England Patriots.

He is a five-time Pro Bowler and led the NFL with 4,710 passing yards in 2010 and 34 touchdown passes in 2008.

Rivers can be a free agent after the 2015 season, so he could be in the market for an extension, given the success of quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady into their late 30s.

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