For months, Philip Rivers openly admitted how much he was looking forward to the Thanksgiving game.
From the moment the schedule was announced in April, the quarterback embraced the monumental stage that came with playing the Dallas Cowboys on Turkey Day. After the Super Bowl, there may not be a more marquee game in the NFL all year.
It turned out to be everything he hoped for and then some.
"Playing on Thanksgiving was everything it was cranked up to be," Rivers said. "It was an awesome atmosphere. I know our guys are fired up"
Playing under the bright lights, number 17 delivered one of the finest performances of his career.
It's one that drove the Cowboys nuts.
"Philip Rivers was outstanding the whole game," Dallas Head Coach Jason Garrett said to open his postgame press conference. "He did a really good job getting the ball to his receivers on little plays and plays down the field. Did a really good job sustaining drives really throughout."
Rivers finished 27-for-33 for 434 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. It all added up to a 149.1 passer rating, which ranks as the third-highest in his Hall of Fame worthy career. Not only that, it marked the highest passer rating against the Dallas Cowboys in franchise history when the opposing quarterback had at least 30 pass attempts.
Meanwhile, Rivers' 434 passing yards were the fourth-most of his career. He surpassed 400 yards for the ninth time, and it marked the third occasion he also tossed three touchdowns while eclipsing the 400-yard plateau.
In addition, he became only the second QB to ever pass for over 400 yards on the road on Thanksgiving.
However, after the game, Rivers only cared about the team getting the 28-6 win. He also credited the other 10 men on the field.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "Anytime as the quarterback, you want to play well and throw it to your guys. We did that a lot today. But I'm more excited about our team. The guys up front were awesome going against guys who were leading the league in sacks. They didn't get one. We didn't give up a sack. The guys were playing awesome, and (so were) the guys on the outside. They were getting separation. There were some contested throws, and they caught a lot of them, and that's fun…. It was an all-around team win, and one we needed to keep us in the mix."
If Rivers didn't want to talk about his spectacular play, his teammates were more than willing to weigh in.
"Shoot, he's locked in every day, but today he was on point for sure," Hunter Henry said. "There are not many that are like him. That's why I think he's a Hall of Famer. It was special for him to do this in this stadium this atmosphere and this magnitude of a game."
"He was crazy today," added Tyrell Williams. "To have only six incompletions, throw for over 400 yards and have over 400 yards, it was awesome."
