'Old Man' Rivers Turns 400 ... Touchdowns, That Is
Philip Rivers is showing no signs of slowing down in his first season with the Indianapolis Colts.
The 38-year-old former NC State star surpassed several career milestones on Sunday while leading his team to a 36-7 rout of the New York Jets.
His touchdown pass to Mo Alie-Cox in the second quarter was the 400th of his career, making him the sixth NFL quarterback to reach that mark. The other members of the 400-touchdown club are Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Dan Marino.
Later in the game, Rivers surpassed the 60,000 career passing yard mark, joining those same Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers on that prestigious list as well. He also passed Marino for the No. 5 spot in career completions while his 125th career win moved him past Fran Tarkenton for No. 8 on the all-time list.
"I dreamed about playing quarterback in this league since I was a little kid, but some of those guys on that list are guys i grew up loving, I was a fan of, posters on the wall," Rivers said in a postgame Zoom conference. "Some of them I've been able to compete against. So it certainly is special.
"More than anything it's a longevity kind of deal and being consistent for the most part over a long period of time. I'm thankful, because there's always been a guy on the receiving end of those passes and then five guys or more blocking like crazy so I get to throw them. "
Rivers finished the game 17 of 21 for 217 yards and the touchdown. The Colts were so dominant in the game that fellow State alumnus Jacoby Brisset got a chance to finish things off -- completing two of his four passing attempts for 17 yards.
Another former Wolfpack star, running back Nyheim Hines, was the leading receiver for Indianapolis in the game with four catches for 40 yards. He also ran the ball seven times for 21 yards and returned a punt for 12.
Rivers isn't the only graduate of QB U making headlines these days.
Russell Wilson also continued his assault on the NFL record book Sunday by throwing five more touchdown passes to lead the Seattle Seahawks to a 38-31 win against the Dallas Cowboys.
Wilson completed 27 of 40 for 315 yards and no interceptions. He also rushed for 22 yards while setting a record for most scoring passes in the first three games of a season with 14. Patrick Mahomes threw for 13 TDs in three games in 2018.
He also became the first NFL quarterback to have at least four scoring passes in each of the first three games of a season. and the fifth player in league history to have back-to-back five-touchdown games, joining Ben Roethlisberger (2014), Tom Brady (2007), Daunte Culpepper (2004) and Tom Flores (1963).
Other performances of note among former Wolfpack players on Sunday include:
- Safety Juston Burris, who recorded six tackles, including one for loss, in the Carolina Panthers in a 21-16 win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
- Linebacker Germain Pratt, who had six tackles, a TFL and a pass breakup in the Cincinnati Bengals' overtime tie with the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Defensive end Bradley Chubb, who had three tackles, a TFL and a quarterback hurry for the Denver Broncos in a 28-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Safety Josh Jones of the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose eight tackles helped his team to a 31-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.
- And A.J. Cole, who averaged 45.3 yards (41.7 yards net) on three punts for the Las Vegas Raiders in a 36-20 loss to the New England Patriots.
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