Philip Rivers set a ridiculous record against the Cardinals

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has quietly been one of the best passers in the NFL this season, but his Week 12 performance against the Arizona Cardinals was anything but quiet.

Prior to his tilt against the Arizona Cardinals, Philip Rivers was averaging a whopping 286 passing yards per game with a 67.1% completion rate, 23 touchdowns, six interceptions, and 9.1 yards per pass attempt. In pretty much any NFL season except for this one, where Rivers has been easily overshadowed by fellow AFC West ace Patrick Mahomes, Rivers would be a bona-fide MVP candidate.

The 2018 season will only add to Rivers’ Hall of Fame case, and his Week 12 performance could also help him, as he’s earned a spot in the record books. Rivers completed his first 23 passes against Arizona, making him the first quarterback to complete 23 consecutive passes to start the game.

He then completed his 24th and 25th passes of the game, tying the NFL record for most consecutive completions at any point, which was set by Donovan McNabb and Ryan Tannehill. However, he was unable to break the streak, as his 26th pass attempt fell incomplete.

That said, Rivers’ 25th consecutive completed passes are the most in a single game in history, as McNabb and Tannehill had streaks over multiple games. This truly has been a special outing from the Chargers signal-caller.

Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Mike Williams with one more to top target Keenan Allen, and Melvin Gordon added two rushing touchdowns for the Chargers offense, allowing Los Angeles to take a 35-10 lead on the Cardinals in the third quarter.

Closing in on an 8-3 record, the Chargers are one of the best teams in the AFC, even if they have been overshadowed by the Chiefs, among others in a top-heavy conference that also features the New England Patriots and high-flying Pittsburgh Steelers.

Rivers nearly became the first quarterback in NFL history to complete 100-percent of their passes in a game with more than 10 attempts, but, again, his 26th attempt fell incomplete.

As a whole, he made great usage of all of his weapons, per usual, though Allen has once again led the way with seven receptions for 72 yards.

Rivers was at 224 passing yards with 9.0 yards per pass attempt when the Chargers took a 35-10 lead in the third quarter off of his score to Allen, and the Cardinals simply had no answer for Rivers. When he’s at peak performance, Rivers is as good as any quarterback in the NFL, and Arizona’s defense just witnessed this first-hand.