Philip Rivers was drafted #4 overall by the New York Giants in 2004. He was promptly traded to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning and some additional draft picks. After holding out and losing the starting QB to Drew Brees he sat on the bench for his first 2 years as Brees completed his career for the Chargers. In 2006 Rivers took over the starting gig. Here's the brief summary of his career as the starting QB:
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2006: The team went 14-2 with him at the helm, but was ousted from the playoffs in a home loss to the New England Patriots in the divisional round.
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2007: Rivers then captained the team to an 11-5 regular season record. In the playoffs, he helped the team to a home victory over the Tennessee Titans and started the game divisional round game against the Colts. The team would go on to win without him in that game after he suffered an injury. After an under-the-radar surgery Rivers valiantly returned to quarterback the team in the AFC Championship game loss.
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2008: He was the key cog in the high powered machine that was the Chargers offense. The team went 8-8, miraculously made the playoffs and even picked up a home playoff win against those same Colts that tore up his knee the year before.
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2009: He continued to put his stamp on the NFL by again leading a top offense. The passing offense, for the second consecutive yearm finished #1 by DVOA. However, for the first time since 2006 though he was at the helm when the team was knocked out of the second season without a win.
- 2010: This past season, the team suffered a down year in many ways, but Rivers was invited to his 3rd Pro Bowl and led the league in passing yards.