10 Insights: Philip Rivers is NFL's Best When Pressured

Oct 18, 2018 at 11:43 AM

Chris Hayre

TEAM REPORTER

Below are 10 quick-hitting insights entering the Chargers' Week 7 matchup against the Titans from Wembley Stadium in London:

1) The Chargers' last game in London was in 2008 – a 37-32 shootout loss to the New Orleans Saints at Wembley Stadium. Philip Rivers threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Antonio Gates caught six balls for 96 yards and a score.

2) Ten years later, the quarterbacks from that 2008 game – Rivers and Drew Brees – have the two-highest QB ratings in the NFL entering Week 7 (Brees, 122.3; Rivers, 115.1).

3) Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel has played against Rivers seven times as a linebacker for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, including playoffs. He's the only current NFL head coach who's faced Rivers as a player.

4) Rivers is 7-1 all-time against the Titans, including playoffs.

5) More Rivers: He has a 99.5 quarterback rating when pressured this season, top in the league per ESPN's NFL Matchup Show. Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota's rating under pressure is 24.2 – third-worst in the NFL. Mariota was sacked 11 times last week by the Ravens, one shy of a league record.

QBs must learn to function when UNDER PRESSURE from the defense to thrive in the #NFL!

This can involve pocket movement, quick decisions, off-platform, and off-schedule throws.#FightForEachOther #Skol #InBrotherhood #LARams #GoPats #FlyEaglesFly #SeizeTheDEY #GoSaints #Texans pic.twitter.com/wDPVfvPop3
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) October 17, 2018

6) Here are running back Melvin Gordon's stats through the first six games of his 2016 Pro Bowl season: 14 receptions, 515 total yards (393 rushing) and seven total touchdowns.

Gordon through the first six games of 2018: 30 receptions, 745 total yards (466 rushing) and nine total touchdowns.

7) The Chargers are the only team in the NFL with two players in the top 15 in yards from scrimmage among running backs (No. 4 Gordon; No. 14 Austin Ekeler, 470 total yards).

8) Entering Week 7, Gordon has 40 more rushing yards and five more rushing touchdowns than the Titans' running back duo of Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis combined (426 rushing yards and one touchdown).

9) The Chargers are the fifth-highest scoring team in the NFL entering Week 7 (29.2 points per game). They've scored 88 more points this season than the Titans, who are 30th in scoring (14.5 points per game).

10) A win Sunday would give Los Angeles its first 5-2 start since 2014. The team has started 5-2 twice since 2006.