Week 17 could mark end of KC Chiefs rivalry with Philip Rivers

The KC Chiefs wrap up their 2019 regular season on Sunday, and the regular season finale comes against Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers. This could be it for Rivers in a Chargers uniform.

January 2nd, 2005 marked the first time that Philip Rivers ever squared off against the Kansas City Chiefs. No one knew at the time, but this would be the first of many Rivers vs Chiefs match-ups and the Chargers wouldn’t have another quarterback taking snaps for them at all over the next 14 years.

Sunday could be the end of Rivers’ time with the Chargers organization and if so, it’ll also be the end of Kansas City’s rivalry with him. Sure, Rivers could end up signing with the Raiders or Broncos and end up staying in the division, but with his age and the fact that he has nine children, it wouldn’t be shocking if Rivers opted to call it a career and hang up the cleats.

Ask any Chiefs fan what their opinion of Rivers is, and very few would have anything nice to say about him. Most would probably say that he’s whiny and joke “Cry me a Rivers!” while others might make note of his childish temper tantrums he throws on the sidelines or on the field when things don’t go in his team’s favor.

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Personally, my favorite memory of Rivers against the Chiefs came in 2011 when the two teams were playing on Monday Night Football, which landed on Halloween that year. With the ball right along the goal line and the opportunity to ice the game, Rivers went to field the snap and dropped the football. Later, he could be spotted on the sideline mouthing the words “Worst day ever”.

His antics and ability to trash talk without cursing made Philip Rivers a character and for awhile, he had Kansas City’s number, at one point sitting with a record of 13-3 against his divisional foes.

It was frustrating playing against Rivers then because his Chargers always seemed to get the better of the Chiefs. It wasn’t until 2014 that the Chiefs got their first win against Rivers for the first time since the end of the 2011 season. From then on, it was a clean sweep of Rivers and his Chargers for four straight seasons, as he’s gone 1-11 against them since then.

When the Chargers went 12-4 and nearly won the division a season ago, it looked like this rivalry might have a spark again, but alas, it did not. Los Angeles has gone a mere 5-10 to this point and even with a win over Kansas City on Sunday, the 2019 campaign will be deemed as a huge disappointment.

For Rivers, however, there’s a lot at stake for him this weekend regarding his rivalry with the Kansas City Chiefs. At the moment, Rivers sits with a .500 record (14-14) against the Chiefs. A win puts him one game over .500 and a loss puts him one game under .500 against one of his biggest rivals throughout his career.

This article could end up being all for naught if Philip Rivers winds up remaining in Los Angeles in 2020, but with his declining play and getting older, the Chargers need to start thinking about the future.

If Sunday is the final game of Rivers’ Chargers tenure, then it’s been a fun rivalry. Here’s to hoping he comes out of it with a losing record though, after having dominated the rivalry for so long.