Earlier this week, the New York Giants made the surprising decision to bench quarterback Eli Manning, which will effectively end his streak of starting 210 consecutive games.
It will also no longer make him the official ironman of the league, as Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers now holds that prestigious honor, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
The second-longest consecutive starts streak for a quarterback in NFL history will end on Sunday when Geno Smith, not Eli Manning, starts for the Giants. That leaves Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers with the league’s longest active streak of consecutive starts.
Rivers has started 187 consecutive games, which is the fourth-longest streak in NFL history behind Brett Favre’s 297, Eli Manning’s 210 and Peyton Manning’s 208. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has started 126 games in a row, which is the fifth-longest streak in NFL history.
Rivers still has quite a ways to go before he can test either of the Manning brothers, but this speaks to his durability to have played in every regular season game the 2006 campaign. He has been the one source of consistency for the franchise over the last 12 seasons that has become the face of the franchise in the process.
There may not be much success over the last several seasons for the Chargers, but he has been the one source of stability for the franchise over that span.
Rivers has continued to perform at a high level even into his late 30s, as he's putting together one of his most productive years, helping lead the Chargers back into playoff contention.
The 37-year-old is also coming off one of his most productive games with a season-high 434 passing yards, on 27 of 33 completed attempts, with three touchdown passes. If he can maintain this type production there, Rivers could be under center for the Charger for several more years and further extend that consecutive start streak.
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