Rivers' errors coming at tough times for Chargers

There has been a lot of hand wringing in San Diego this season over the Chargers defense, and with legitimate reason. It isn't nearly as effective as it was a year ago, when it led the league in takeaways and sacks.

Now it leads the league in firing defensive coordinators. Period.

But all the talk about what's wrong with the defense diverts attention from what's wrong with the offense, and what's wrong with the offense right now is Philip Rivers. Pure and simple, he isn't the quarterback he must be for San Diego to reach the playoffs.

Sure, he makes big-time throws and completes more passes than he misses. But he also makes big-time mistakes at the most inopportune moments, which wasn't the case earlier this year or most of last. It can be a fumble here or an interception there. Or, as it was in Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh, it can be a fumble and an interception.

Yeah, I know, Rivers had two interceptions against the Steelers, but the first wasn't his fault. First of all, Vincent Jackson should've made the catch. Second, safety Troy Polamalu made an astonishing one-handed stab of a deflection that should've hit the ground.

So he gets a pass there.

No such luck on a horrible throw at the end of the first half. The Chargers held a 7-2 advantage and were driving for a sure score. On first-and-10 at the Pittsburgh 17, Rivers threw to a wide open Jackson ... only the pass fell short -- way short -- and into the hands of Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison.

The gaffe not only cost the Chargers points; it led to a Pittsburgh field goal at the end of the first half.

"That was obviously a crucial play in the game," Rivers said.

So was a second-quarter sack in the end zone, with Harrison blowing past tight end Brandon Manumaleuna to belt Rivers, force a fumble and produce a safety. Do the math, and you have five points the direct result of Rivers' turnovers, and those points cost the Chargers another game.

"We just made too many mistakes," Rivers said. "I made too many mistakes. And we came up short."

Once that was unusual in San Diego. Not anymore it's not. Now it's typical, and that's a problem the Chargers need to fix ... and fast. There is a raft of talent on this team, including the quarterback, yet it's limping along at 4-6. And it's limping along because Philip Rivers is in a funk.

Normally, the guy is money in the clutch. I look back to what he did a year ago, and it wasn't his courageous performance on one leg in the AFC Championship Game that impressed me as much as it was his courageous performance on one leg in a Dec. 9 overtime defeat of Tennessee.

Rivers was tough, resilient and magical -- rallying the Bolts to a victory that seemed out of reach.

But that was then, and this is now. And now he's struggling to find himself. He keeps committing critical mistakes, often at precisely the worst moments, and the results speak for themselves: The Chargers lost three of their last four, winning only when they escaped Kansas City in the dying seconds of a 20-19 decision.

'I want to do everything I can to help us win,' Philip Rivers says. (Getty Images)

In their first six games this season, Rivers had 14 touchdown passes, four interceptions and one safety. In his past four, he has seven touchdown passes, six interceptions, two lost fumbles and a third fumble that became a safety.

He still is the second-ranked quarterback in the NFL, with a league-high 21 touchdowns and a gaudy 100.8 passer rating. But inopportune mistakes the past five weeks cost San Diego shots at victories over Buffalo, New Orleans and Pittsburgh.

"I want to do everything I can to help us win," he said.

Understandable. The Chargers have the 26th-ranked rushing attack, the 32nd-ranked pass defense and the 27th-ranked overall defense, so somebody must do something to help them win. Rivers has tried, but with mixed results. Look, I'm not looking to blame the poor guy for the Chargers' shortcomings. But if he doesn't get himself straightened out they're cooked. Philip Rivers can lift this team -- just as he lifted them to that 30-10 blowout of New England earlier this season in a game that offered a glimpse as to what he ... and they ... could become.

But then came Buffalo, and then started Rivers' run of bad karma. He committed two costly turnovers in the last six minutes, the most damaging an interception in the Buffalo end zone that cut short a go-ahead drive. He also lost a first-half fumble that led to a touchdown.

A week later he rallied the club to within a touchdown of New Orleans, only to throw an interception at the Saints' 10 with a little more than a minute to play. In the Kansas City win he had two more interceptions, including one at the goal line. Then came Pittsburgh and maybe his worst game as a pro.

"From an individual standpoint," Rivers said, "I'm not struggling. I've had some errors that have turned out to be costly."

No kidding. And if they don't stop they could cost the Chargers the season.

Rivers is what coaches call "mentally tough," which means he can play without a conscience -- shaking off a setback to move on to the next big play. He is confident, too, confident in his abilities to excel and in the abilities of those around him.

Maybe those qualities help him pull out of this slump. The Chargers can only hope. Because if Philip Rivers can't break this run of bad luck, neither can San Diego. It's as simple as that.