SAN DIEGO _ Philip Rivers is not the problem. But he's not the fix.
If he could entirely rectify every Sunday what is broken within the Chargers' broken roster, people would be celebrating feasts in his name and calling on him in prayer. The Catholic Church would waive a couple of the steps, and he'd be immediately canonized.
But Rivers cannot perform the miraculous and get the Chargers to not commit three penalties the first six times they line up in the second half. He can't forego the need for the defense to call two second-half timeouts because it can't get its personnel and assignments straight. He's started 164 straight games but can't heal the legion of infirm in his midst.
So ... here we go again.
The Chargers are wasting a franchise quarterback, a Hall of Fame talent.
It honestly makes no sense Rivers is still here.
He is the Chargers' best chance. Yet, he's not enough.
There is no reason to believe the Chargers will win a Super Bowl in the three to five years Rivers has remaining. (More on that time frame later.)
For all the bad luck the Chargers have endured, there is more to this. It's a toxic ethos they thought they had eradicated but obviously have no idea how to truly remedy.
What the best Charger ever said this week on NFL Network about the best Charger now isn't new. I've written twice in recent years that the Chargers should trade Rivers if they're not going to build a team around him that has answers for all its recurring questions.
LaDainian Tomlinson knows as well as any of us that such a move would be drastic bordering on ridiculous. But when things are this bad for this long, maybe it's time for radical.
If you root for greatness, if you want to see the best play on the grandest stage, it is sickening to witness Rivers' tears of a clown act again and again.
"You try to laugh to keep from crying," he said Sunday after the Chargers' latest collapse.
I'd love to say the Chargers should explore trade scenarios for Rivers this offseason in which they could get a bounty to help them build a better future.
But that's just too tidy of a solution. There are too many holes in this tempting plea.
First, the salary cap hit would be $18.5 million in dead money next year, not entirely unmanageable but certainly a deterrent. Second, you have a stadium initiative on the November ballot and probably will be trying to win public support for a stadium again next year.
Third, there are only a handful of teams that meet the qualifications of being good enough to believe they're only a quarterback away. (Maybe the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets or the post-Carson Palmer Arizona Cardinals.)
That would be the only type of team willing to part with a first-round pick. The Chargers don't owe Rivers anything. Everything they do must be for the good of the team. They need a first-round pick for him, at least.
And going to a contender would be the only thing to possibly get Rivers to consider waiving his no-trade clause. He doesn't want to leave San Diego. He proved that when he hedged his bets against the team's moving to Los Angeles and signed a contract extension in 2015.
But he wants to win, too.
He remains resolute that the Chargers can win now with what they have, but that is delusion born of his competitiveness.
He's not winning here.
The offensive line is in shambles. Again. A true fix there will take two drafts and/or astronomical money spent on free agents (and eaten on current contracts).
The No.1 receiver is out. Again. The No. 2 receiver isn't the No.1 he's being asked to be. The No. 3 receiver is out again. The top tight end is a rookie. The Hall of Fame tight end is out. Again.
The defense makes plays and then it plays dead. That side of the ball isn't in great health either. Again. It was revealed Wednesday that cornerback Jason Verrett, a Pro Bowler when healthy, is out for the season. Again.
The Chargers are a disaster, a crime perpetrated on the good folks of San Diego. And in the midst of that offense is a greater crime _ the larceny of what should be a Hall of Fame career.
Rivers is being decried as a choker, a QB who can't bring his team back.
That is preposterous. It is true that while he is 20th all-time with 21 fourth-quarter game-winning drives, he has failed more than he's succeeded in such situations. Most QBs, even elite ones, have. Moreover, he's often the reason the Chargers are in position to be close late. Without him, they're the Cleveland Browns.
Rivers is taking the snap several times a game with receivers lined up in the wrong place. He's practically having to explain left from right to some guys.
Year after year after year, it's more questions than answers for this team.
It's bad luck. It's bad mojo. It's a bad culture.
The Chargers have to be mindful, too, of how that will affect Rivers.
He loves football but doesn't need it. Be assured that while his contract says he's playing through 2019, he could walk away at any time if there are enough Sundays like he's endured the past two seasons.
What a waste that would be for both parties. For everyone.
