Sometimes, the headlines speak for themselves. After last night — the Chargers lost when the potential game-tying field goal was blocked in the final second — Los Angeles nee San Diego has now lost 18 of its last 23 games decided by 8 or fewer points.

Query Results Table Poin Poin Poin Rk Tm Year Date

▼ Time Opp Week G# Day Result OT PF PA PD 1 SDG 2017 2017-09-11 10:20 @ DEN 1 1 Mon L 21-24 21 24 -3 2 SDG 2016 2016-12-24 1:00 @ CLE 16 15 Sat L 17-20 17 20 -3 3 SDG 2016 2016-12-18 4:25 OAK 15 14 Sun L 16-19 16 19 -3 4 SDG 2016 2016-12-04 4:25 TAM 13 12 Sun L 21-28 21 28 -7 5 SDG 2016 2016-11-27 1:00 @ HOU 12 11 Sun W 21-13 21 13 8 6 SDG 2016 2016-11-13 4:05 MIA 10 10 Sun L 24-31 24 31 -7 7 SDG 2016 2016-11-06 4:25 TEN 9 9 Sun W 43-35 43 35 8 8 SDG 2016 2016-10-30 4:05 @ DEN 8 8 Sun L 19-27 19 27 -8 9 SDG 2016 2016-10-23 4:05 @ ATL 7 7 Sun W 33-30 OT 33 30 3 10 SDG 2016 2016-10-13 8:25 DEN 6 6 Thu W 21-13 21 13 8 11 SDG 2016 2016-10-09 4:25 @ OAK 5 5 Sun L 31-34 31 34 -3 12 SDG 2016 2016-10-02 4:25 NOR 4 4 Sun L 34-35 34 35 -1 13 SDG 2016 2016-09-25 4:25 @ IND 3 3 Sun L 22-26 22 26 -4 14 SDG 2016 2016-09-11 1:05 @ KAN 1 1 Sun L 27-33 OT 27 33 -6 15 SDG 2015 2016-01-03 4:25 @ DEN 17 16 Sun L 20-27 20 27 -7 16 SDG 2015 2015-12-24 8:26 @ OAK 16 15 Thu L 20-23 OT 20 23 -3 17 SDG 2015 2015-12-13 1:03 @ KAN 14 13 Sun L 3-10 3 10 -7 18 SDG 2015 2015-11-29 1:03 @ JAX 12 11 Sun W 31-25 31 25 6 19 SDG 2015 2015-11-09 8:30 CHI 9 9 Mon L 19-22 19 22 -3 20 SDG 2015 2015-11-01 1:02 @ BAL 8 8 Sun L 26-29 26 29 -3 21 SDG 2015 2015-10-25 4:05 OAK 7 7 Sun L 29-37 29 37 -8 22 SDG 2015 2015-10-18 4:25 @ GNB 6 6 Sun L 20-27 20 27 -7 23 SDG 2015 2015-10-12 8:30 PIT 5 5 Mon L 20-24 20 24 -4 View Original Table Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com

For his career, Philip Rivers has a 54-26 record in games decided by more than 8 points, and a 43-54 record in games decided by 8 or fewer points. Read differently, Rivers has lost 28 *more* times in close games than in non-close games. That is (for now) tied with Rich Gannon for the largest spread ever.

The table below shows the record for all QBs prior to 2017 (in other words, this is not updated for week 1) with at least 40 starts in both close games and non-close games. Here’s how to read the table below. Gannon last played in 2004, and had 34 wins in close games, 42 losses in close games, and zero ties, for a 0.447 winning percentage. In “big” games – i.e., decided by more than one score — he had 42 wins and 14 losses, for a 0.750 winning percentage. He had 28 more losses in close games than big games, which is the column at the far right.

Oh and how about Russell Wilson? After the 8-point loss to the Packers in week 1, Wilson is now an even 20-20-1 in games decided by 8 or fewer points… and 36-4 in all other games! A 50% winning percentage in close games and a 90% winning percentage in all other games is even more ridiculous than Rivers’ numbers.