SAN DIEGO -- Philip Rivers doesn’t want your sympathy.

He’s happy with the decision he made during the offseason last year. Rivers signed a four-year, $83.25 million contract extension in August 2015 despite speculation the San Diego Chargers entertained a draft-day trade that would have sent him to the Tennessee Titans and given the Chargers an opportunity to draft a quarterback of the future in Marcus Mariota.

Chargers brass never wavered in wanting Rivers to stay in San Diego. Since then, the Chargers have compiled a 5-16 record, with former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson pointing out that the future Hall of Fame quarterback is wasting the twilight of his career on a bad team.

“I guess I should take that as a compliment,” Rivers said. “But at the same time, nobody should feel sorry for me, really. I have an opportunity to play quarterback in the NFL, live here and play here.

“My faith, my family and this football is more than I could ever imagine as an 8-year-old little boy. Yeah, we’re in a tough stretch, but there’s doesn’t need to be any sympathy for me. I look at it as, while I honestly feel I’m playing pretty good, I look at it as my job is to find a way to lead us to win games. We've won five of 21 with me at quarterback, and I take responsibility for that, too."

"Nobody should feel sorry for me, really," Philip Rivers said. "I have an opportunity to play quarterback in the NFL, live here and play here." Jamie Squire/Getty Images

It’s not like Rivers hasn’t had some success during his decade as a starter for the Chargers. He’s led San Diego to the playoffs five times, reaching the AFC Championship Game during the 2007 season.

He’s earned five trips to the Pro Bowl, and with 42,916 career passing yards needs just 125 more on Thursday against the Broncos to pass Dan Fouts (43,040) for the all-time franchise record. Rivers also is ninth all-time in the NFL with 292 career touchdown passes.

Rivers still had a year left on his deal when he signed the contract extension. And even if he didn’t come to an agreement with the team, the Chargers likely would have slapped the franchise tag on Rivers after the end of the 2015 season.

Rivers was never going to reach free agency. The Chargers were not going to allow him to leave, and he’s fine with where he is.

“I feel awesome about it,” Rivers said when asked about staying in San Diego. “I don’t feel awesome about being 1-4, but I’m thankful for the opportunity to be the quarterback here with the Spanos family, and the chance they gave me to lead an organization, lead a group.

“And it’s a group I really have a great deal of belief in. We’re not currently the team from a roster standpoint that we all thought we were going to be. That being said -- although it hasn’t turned into wins -- we’re better equipped to handle this year than we were in previous years.”

As far as his team’s struggles in late-game situations, Rivers feels the Chargers should at least be 3-2. They lost a 21-point lead in the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs in the season opener and a 13-point lead in the last eight minutes of the game against the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago.

The Chargers would be in a much different situation with those two wins, rather than 1-4 and with head coach Mike McCoy on the hot seat.

“We gave two away, and that’s what really drives me crazy,” Rivers said. “I can watch the Colts game and say, ‘We didn’t win. I missed a throw here and there; we didn’t win the game.’

“We didn’t win the other ones either, but we dominated those two games for the better part of 50 minutes, and that’s what makes us sick.”