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If Philip Rivers wants to stop all the head-scratching about his astounding regression this season, today would be the ideal day to do so.
Nothing would make skeptics of the struggling Chargers quarterback shut up faster — at least for one week — than a victory over Aaron Rodgers and the seemingly invincible Packers this afternoon in San Diego.
A legitimate top-five passer as recently as last season, Rivers has been such a sloppy, mistake-prone mess the first half of this year that many around the NFL wonder if he’s hiding an injury.
Rivers is piling up the yards (his 297.7-yard per game average is the highest of his career), but his piling up the turnovers, too.
The other half of the Eli Manning trade with the Giants has thrown 11 interceptions in just seven games, and Rivers already is on the verge of matching his 16-game 2010 interception total of 13.
Rivers also has lost two fumbles, none more glaring than an inexplicable botched snap at the Kansas City 15-yard line in the final seconds of a tie game Monday night that turned a near-certain Chargers victory into a crushing, 23-20 overtime loss that dropped them to 4-3.
Former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson, who said Rivers “seems distracted,” wasn’t the only outsider to ask what the heck is going on. Rivers, in keeping with his short-tempered personality, hasn’t taken the criticism well.
Rivers can quiet the critics today against the unbeaten Packers and Rodgers, his lava-hot counterpart who leads the league with an almost cartoonish 125.7 passer rating built on 20 TD passes against just three interceptions.
Rodgers’ TD percentage is 8.4, while no other passer in the league averages better than 6.6, and his average gain per completion is an astounding 9.92 — more than a yard higher than Tom Brady, Drew Brees and every other starter in the league.
Even Rivers at his best wasn’t in that kind of zone. Nevertheless, not only has San Diego won eight consecutive games in November, but the Chargers are 27-8 at home under Norv Turner.
Plus, Green Bay also has been winning despite a defense that ranks 28th in the league overall and next-to-last against the pass.
San Diego offers Rodgers a great test with the NFL’s fourth-ranked pass defense, but even the ‘85 Bears might struggle to contain him right now.
PICK: Green Bay, 41-27.
CONTENDERS
Ravens at Steelers: Fresh off its throttling of the nemesis Patriots, Pittsburgh will have revenge on its mind again today against a Baltimore team that lately has hardly resembled the one that pounded the Steelers 35-7 on opening day behind seven forced turnovers. Ben Roethlisberger is 7-1 at home against the Ravens in his career.
PICK: Steelers, 20-7.
Bears at Eagles (Monday): Even at 3-4, Philadelphia arguably is still the favorite in the NFC East thanks to an offense that has caught fire with Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy, and the Giants’ brutal schedule over the next six weeks. Chicago’s 28th-ranked pass defense looks like easy pickings.
PICK: Eagles, 34-17.
bhubbuch@nypost.com