As the 2024 season for the Los Angeles Chargers draws closer, it's always a good time to review the team's storied history.
Though the Chargers have failed to acquire a Lombardi Trophy, the team has had numerous great players who have put forth tremendous individual seasons and overall careers. Diving into the team's record books, which records might never be broken?
The team has several records that could stand the test of time, but these are the four that are the most unlikely to ever be equaled.
Los Angeles Chargers most unbreakable records
Antonio Gates: Most Career Receptions, 955
Unbelievably, if Keenan Allen had not been traded this offseason, he almost certainly would have broken this record. He had 904 career receptions for the Chargers, an amazing mark, before being shipped off to the Chicago Bears back in March.
Antonio Gates, who was shockingly left out of this year's Hall of Fame class, could easily hold this record forever. His 955 career catches will be tough to top and if it ever falls, it won't be for a long time.
The team's current active leader, Josh Palmer, has 143 career receptions. That ranks No. 35 on the team's all-time list.
Philip Rivers: Career Passing Yards, 59,271
This is just a massive number. Philip Rivers ranks sixth on the NFL's all-time passing yardage list, though he did play his final season with the Indianapolis Colts.
His 59,271 yards passing are more than 16,000 yards more than the man in second place, Dan Fouts.
Justin Herbert already ranks fourth on the list and is on a torrid pace, throwing for 17,223 yards in four seasons. That is an average of about 4,306 yards per season. Still, to catch Rivers, he needs nearly a decade longer of that kind of production.
Is it doable? Sure, but it won't be easy. And even if Herbert is still playing at a high level, things change quickly and often in the NFL. Will he even be on the team in 10 years?
Gil Byrd: Career Interceptions, 42
This is a strange record to include on the list, but when you look at the team's career interceptions leaders, it is an impressive number.
Gill Byrd was a first-round pick for the Chargers in the famed 1983 draft. He played 10 seasons with the team, going to the Pro Bowl twice in the latter stages of his career. His 42 career interceptions are easily at the top of the team's all-time list as the guy in second place, Dick Harris (1960-65), has 29.
No player in team history has even approached Byrd's number. The most recent player to even cross the 20-interception mark was Quentin Jammer in 2012.
The team's active leader is Derwin James with eight career interceptions.
LaDainian Tomlinson: Single Season Rushing Touchdowns, 28
It's still astonishing to see this number. LaDainian Tomlinson's 28 rushing touchdowns in 2006 are not only a team record, they are also an NFL record. His 31 total touchdowns that year are also a league record.
Tomlinson, the best player in team history, had an incredible season that year, also rushing for over 1,800 yards and over 500 yards receiving en route to being named the NFL MVP.
LaDainian Tomlinson is the best RB I’ve ever watched play football. Man was a fantasy cheat code. He scored 481.1 fantasy points in 2006. 🤯🤯pic.twitter.com/8EC8m7MTZw
— Kevin (@Daboys_22) April 3, 2022
Tomlinson was a scoring machine and his 28 rushing touchdowns will almost undoubtedly never be topped. The second-best mark for the team was set by Chuck Muncie, who found the end zone 19 times in 1981. The next five best single-season totals after that all belong to LT.
You can make the argument that no player in NFL history has ever had a better individual season than what Tomlinson accomplished in 2006.
