Philip Rivers had another death by a million paper cuts performance Sunday, as the San Diego Chargers avoided a letdown by defeating the winlessJacksonville Jaguars 24-6.
The Chargers quarterback completed his first 14 passes of the game -- his first incompletion came with 53 seconds left in the second quarter. Rivers finished 22-of-26 passing for 285 yards and one touchdown.
Rivers led four scoring drives of 10 plays or more, including a 13-play, 80-yard drive in which he spread the ball to seven different receivers to start the game.
The Mike McCoy difference continues to show itself as Rivers' already high completion rate of 72.6 percent only will improve after Sunday's strong performance.
Rivers surpassed 30,000 yards passing for his career. The quarterback now is second in franchise history, but he has a ways to go before catching the great Dan Fouts and his 43,040 yards.
Here is what else we learned:
- Ryan Mathews recorded his second straight 100-yard rushing performance (110 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown). He's run with more confidence in the last two weeks. If Mathews can stay consistent -- and healthy -- he'll continue adding a different dimension to the Chargers' offense. Of course, we've said that before.
- The trio of Jaguars receivers -- Justin Blackmon, Cecil Shorts and Mike Brown -- have a bright future. They combined for 258 yards on 19 receptions. Chad Henne had decent numbers. However, the offensive line was terrible in both pass protection and in the running game, short-circuiting any positives.
- The Chargers' offensive line suffered two big injures in the first half, losing left tackles King Dunlap (concussion) and Mike Remmers (ankle). With just seven offensive linemen dressed, rookie tackle D.J. Fluker flipped to the left side of the line. The losses didn't kill the Chargers against the Jags, but it's something to keep an eye on this week.
- Rivers probably should retire the quarterback draw at the goal line with no timeouts and seven seconds left on the clock in the first half -- especially when Keenan Allen is wide open in the end zone.
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