San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers tied Dan Fouts‘ all-time team record of 254 touchdowns in the team’s 33-28 win over the Detroit Lions Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium.
Rivers made his climb to the record in a grand fashion, completing 35-of-42 passes for 404 yards and two touchdowns. The record-tying touchdown was a 13-yard strike to tight end Ladarius Green in the fourth quarter, which helped clinch the team’s win.
“We all know how much respect I have for Dan Fouts, and everybody does. He’s a Hall of Famer and he’s a legend here with the Chargers,” Rivers said to Chargers.com following the win. “I think it’s something you look back on later and really, really appreciate it.”
The 404 passing yards by Rivers was the most in team history for an opening day game.
While Keenan Allen didn’t catch a touchdown, he helped Rivers get into scoring range all game, catching 15 passes for a career-high 166 yards.
Allen’s 15 receptions tied the team record set by tight end Kellen Winslow and were the most receptions by a player in the NFL on opening day since 1970.
‘We appreciate every day being a pro. It’s your job,” Allen said to Chargers.com. “When you have fun like we did today, it doesn’t feel like a job…when you hear a play call and it gets to third down, I just get fired up.”
Allen wasn’t the only Charger wide receiver to reach a milestone in the Week 1 win.
Malcolm Floyd caught just one pass for 29 yards, but it put him over 5,000 yards for his career.
“Malcom is going to be a big part of (the season). He always is,” Rivers said. “He’s in the top three or four all time yards per catch (in the) history of the NFL. ”
While the offense seemed to have stolen the show late in the game, the defense made several plays that put the team in good positions to score.
Rookie linebacker Kyle Emmanuel flourished in his first career start, recording a sack and an interception.
He also played a role in forcing Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford into throwing an interception to cornerback Patrick Robinson in the third quarter.
The secondary also did a stellar job holding Calvin Johnson to two catches for 39 yards.
The Chargers hit the road next week to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at 10 a.m.
