A weekly examination of the San Diego Chargers’ quarterback play.

Rewind: Philip Rivers set a franchise record by completing his first 14 passes, finishing 22-of-26 for 285 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown to Eddie Royal in a decisive win at Jacksonville. Rivers also eclipsed 30,000 career passing yards, becoming the 38th player in NFL history to accomplish that impressive feat. Rivers joined Dan Fouts (43,040) as the only signal-callers in franchise history to throw for more than 30,000 yards.

Fast-forward: Rivers takes a much-needed break with the bye week, getting an opportunity to heal some nagging injuries before returning to action on Nov. 3 at Washington. Rivers and his wife, Tiffany, also are expecting the birth of their seventh child any day.

Royal plays through pain: Royal, San Diego’s slot receiver, hadn't had a touchdown reception since Week 2, but corralled his sixth touchdown catch in the first half of his team’s victory over the Jaguars. Royal suffered a toe injury two weeks ago against Indianapolis and did not practice all week. Royal toughed it out, playing 44 snaps for the Chargers and finishing with four catches for 69 yards.

Prediction: Can Rivers keep up his torrid, statistical pace for the rest of 2013? I don’t see any signs of him slowing down, as long as he plays within the framework of offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt’s take-what-they-give-you system. Rivers leads the league in completion percentage (73.9) and is second in the NFL in passing yards (2,132) and passer rating (111.1).