Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning took to Twitter to commend his contemporary, Philip Rivers, on a fine career after Rivers announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday.
Congrats to Philip on an outstanding career. It was fun to watch my fellow Qb from 2004 draft class compete these past 17 years. Enjoy the next phase. https://t.co/RIYici7ZPN
— Eli Manning (@EliManning) January 20, 2021
Eli and Rivers’ career will always be entwined due to the circumstances that unfolded on Draft Day 2004. The San Diego Chargers selected Manning first overall even though they knew he had no intention of playing for them. The Giants chose Rivers with the fourth pick and the two clubs engineered a swap that sent Rivers out west and Eli to New Jersey.
The rest you know. Manning would go on to lead the Giants to two Super Bowl championships, while Rivers went on to have a very productive career but never made it to the big game.
Rivers, who finished his career this season with the Indianapolis Colts, amassed 63,440 passing yards which is the fifth-most in the history of the NFL. Only Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre threw for more. His 421 passing touchdowns is also fifth all-time behind those four Hall of Famers. Manning is eighth in passing yards (57,023) and ninth in touchdown passes (366).
Rivers and Manning faced off just three times in their long careers. The Chargers won all three with Rivers passing for 716 yards and nine touchdowns in the series. Eli never beat the Chargers, going 0-4 — three losses against Rivers and one in 2005 when Brees was the Chargers’ starter.
