San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers dismissed talk of the severity of his injured ribs after a 13-6 victory over the Oakland Raiders, but his teammate and longtime target in the passing game, Antonio Gates, made sure to let the media know about his quarterback's toughness.
Philip Rivers playing through ‘very severe’ rib injury
Rivers has bruised ribs and possible cartilage damage, but told reporters he’s “no more banged up than any other quarterback.”
Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Gates revealed to the media after the Week 11 victory that Rivers has been dealing with a “very severe rib injury” that he suffered earlier in the year. Rivers told Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he’s fine and “no more banged up than any other quarterback in the league.”
His tight end disagreed and raved to the Union-Tribune about the quarterback’s ability to play through pain:
“He’s showed a lot in the past, his mental toughness, his will to win and overcome anything he’s dealing with from a physical standpoint,” Gates said. “Not for once did I think he was going to go out of the game. I watched the guy play with a torn ACL. He takes some shots. He’s taken some shots all year. For those who don’t know, he’s been dealing with a rib injury, a very severe rib injury, so he’s been toughing it out these last three or four weeks.”
Later Sunday night, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Rivers has bruised ribs and possible cartilage damage that he has been playing with. Luckily for Rivers and the Chargers, none of the ribs are broken and the injury has not done any damage to his lungs.
Rivers finished Sunday 22-of-34 passing for 193 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He is one of six starting quarterbacks in the NFL with a passer rating over 100 for the year.
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