Philip Rivers got off to one of the most efficient starts for any quarterback in NFL history on Sunday, but he ended up falling just one completion short of being in the record books by himself.
Rivers completed 25 consecutive passes against the Arizona Cardinals, which tied an NFL record that was previously set by Ryan Tannehill. He tried to complete a dump-off to running back Austin Ekeler in the third quarter that would have broken the record, but the pass fall incomplete. The reaction from Rivers indicated he was well aware of the situation.
Phil Rivers reacts to not breaking the NFL consecutive completion record pic.twitter.com/aMo2bfNXGO
— CJ Fogler (@cjzer0) November 25, 2018
Despite not breaking the record, that is still a remarkable feat. Rivers mixed in three touchdown passes during his string of 25 straight completions, but fans would have loved to have seen him get to 26.
Take a bow, Philip Rivers. pic.twitter.com/TidJQmtOfK
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) November 25, 2018
Philip Rivers got within one out of a perfect game.
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) November 25, 2018
Just your run of the mill 25-of-25 start for Philip Rivers before finally missing one #LAChargers
— John McMullen (@JFMcMullen) November 25, 2018
Philip Rivers just got his first incompletion … in the middle of the third quarter pic.twitter.com/Qhz2rdrwYD
— SB Nation (@SBNation) November 25, 2018
Philip Rivers streak is over.
25/26 isn’t bad.— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 25, 2018
Philip Rivers' QB rating so far today pic.twitter.com/I2cbo7L8oM
— BetStars USA (@BetStarsUSA) November 25, 2018
Incompletion for Philip Rivers. What a Bum.
— Pat Ward (@WardDPatrick) November 25, 2018
Philip Rivers is human. He threw an incompletion. He's now 25 for 26.
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) November 25, 2018
Rivers is having a remarkable season at age 36, and it got even better on Sunday. Getting that 26th consecutive completion would have been something, but he did end up setting an NFL record after being pulled with the game well in-hand.
Philip Rivers finishes the day with the highest completion percentage (96.6%) in a single game in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/LV8VywXuDU
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) November 25, 2018
That’s not a bad consolation prize.
