Getty Images

When Norv Turner was the Chargers’ coach, the team was not seen as one of the tougher outfits in the NFL.

Whether it was the nature of their offense or their propensity for wilting in big moments, the Chargers acquired a reputation for being a little softer than they needed to be. Turner is long gone at this point and coach Mike McCoy has put together a team that does things differently. After Sunday’s 31-0 joyride against the Jets, quarterback Philip Rivers had a message for anyone who thinks the old labels still apply.

“For whatever reason — whether it’s Southern California or the vibe that you get out here of just a finesse group of guys that like to throw it around in 75-degree weather,” Rivers said, via ESPN.com. “But I think we’ve shown our toughness. We talk about it all the time, not just being tough, but who’s going to be the toughest the longest — through four quarters, through 16 games, or through a tough stretch. They aren’t all going to be like this. We might hit a bump in the road going forward, but I think our toughness has been shown the last five weeks.”

The clearest sign of the team’s toughness has been their resilience in the face of injuries this season. They’ve lost multiple running backs, multiple centers and other players around the lineup without missing a beat on their way to a 4-1 record. Rivers himself banged his throwing hand on a teammate’s helmet early in Sunday’s game and got hit a fair amount by the talented Jets defensive line, but didn’t come out of the game until the Chargers emptied the bench in the fourth quarter.

No team likes to deal with so many injuries, but the Chargers have found out how deep their roster is through the opening weeks of the season and that seasoning is only going to help them navigate the bumps that will come as they play the remaining 11 games on their schedule.