Philip Rivers is in the concussion protocol, which places his streak of 185 consecutive starts in jeopardy. More importantly, it means the desperate but not dead yet Chargers (3-6) could be without their starting quarterback when they face the Bills on Sunday. 

On Thursday, Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said that he believes Rivers will be able to play, but made it clear that the decision isn't up to him or Rivers. It's the doctors' choice. 

"We think he'll play, but that's up to the doctors," Lynn said, per ESPN. "That's not my decision."

Rivers suffered the concussion at some point during the Chargers' overtime loss to the Jaguars on Sunday. He played the entire game and self-reported symptoms on Monday. According to the team's injury report, he was limited at practice on Wednesday, but practiced fully on Thursday, which bodes well for his chances to play on Sunday.

Amazingly, Rivers hasn't missed a game since he became the Chargers' starter in 2006. Only Eli Manning boasts a longer active consecutive starts streak (208). The Chargers desperately need Rivers to extend his streak to 186 starts if they have any shot of overcoming their 3-6 start to the season. 

At 3-6, the Chargers can't afford to lose a home game to an East Coast team, which is in the middle of a two-game losing streak and just benched their starting quarterback for a rookie. But they can only beat 5-4 Bills with their starting quarterback. So far this year, Rivers has completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 2,263 yards (7.0 YPA), 15 touchdowns, seven picks, and an 87.8 passer rating. He hasn't played at the kind of level we've seen in years past, but he's still capable and light years better than the Chargers' backups, Kellen Clemens and Cardale Jones. 

The game takes on even more importance considering the Bills currently the hold sixth and last playoff spot in the AFC. Of course, there are a ton of teams between the Chargers and the Bills, but most of those teams don't boast the kind of talent that the Chargers do. For the Chargers, it's about putting all of it together and most importantly, winning some close games. 

For a closer look at the NFL playoff picture, click right here.