Weeks 9 and 10 proved to be open season in the NFL where records set by Dan Marino are concerned. Patrick Mahomes firstly became the fastest player to attain 100 passing touchdowns, doing so in just 40 games – four fewer than Marino.
In the same week, Lamar Jackson tied the record for a QB’s win-rate from 30 games started, going 25-5. Then, in week 10, Phillip Rivers went fifth in the NFL’s all-time regular season passing yards list for individual careers. He achieved his feat via an 11-yard pass to Jonathan Taylor, ultimately taking his total to 61,666 by the close of play.
Tough competition as Rivers looks onwards and upwards
Rivers will be aided in his quest to move up the all-time regular-season passing stakes by any playoff appearance, and with the Colts sitting at the top of the division in the wake of his achievement, that seems to be a possibility.
Yet, by the close of week 10, Rivers has 10,000 more yards to accumulate if he wants to leapfrog Brett Favre, and it is generally agreed amongst NFL experts that Rivers will need at least another three seasons to match Favre.
While the Colts are odds-on to win the AFC South division, their odds of winning the Super Bowl are hovering at a stark +2500 – not impossible, but certainly one of the biggest upsets in NFL this century if they prevail. In any case, the latest NFL odds and tips remain in a state of constant movement, and with plenty of room for change in the AFC South’s trajectory, so too is there an opportunity for Rivers to capitalise upon any inconsistencies elsewhere.
Can Rivers reach the Passing podium?
With Rivers in his 17th year as a professional, and Favre not going anywhere, Rivers is seen to have a good sporting chance of making it into the top four. Despite his landmark achievement, Rivers remains significantly behind the names immediately above him, with two of them – Tom Brady and Drew Brees still active in the NFL.
Although the standpoint of NFL experts shows optimism surrounding Rivers’ chances of breaking into the all-time top three for regular season passing yards, talk of his retirement within as little as a year remains an ember waiting to be stoked with zeal by other pundits. Rivers responded in kind on the last occasion such talk reignited, re-affirming his intention to continue after speculation over his retirement resurfaced earlier this year.
Such determination will carry him a long way, and if the arms and the brain can continue to cash the proverbial checks that the legs struggle to write, Rivers’ bid to crack the top three will be an intriguing side story alongside his primary objective – to get the Colts back in the frame for glory after years in the wilderness.