Column: Chargers will try to remain consistent when they play Bengals on Sunday

NFL history could be five throws away for Philip Rivers. But don’t expect the San Diego quarterback to have that on his mind Sunday when the Chargers play at Cincinnati.

Rivers completed his final 20 passes against Detroit in the opener, yet didn’t realize until the following day that he had that robust streak going. The league record for consecutive completions is 24, set by former Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb.

“We were in a pretty good groove,” Rivers told reporters this week.

Compared with the importance of winning, a personal record isn’t even a blip on Rivers’ radar screen. And the Bengals present quite a challenge, having beaten the Chargers three of the four times they’ve played since 2010.

San Diego’s lone victory in those meetings came in a 2013 first-round playoff game at Cincinnati, when the Chargers feasted on three second-half turnovers by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and cruised to a 27-10 victory.

The Chargers had 12 receptions in that postseason game. They’re now coming off an opener in which third-year receiver Keenan Allen had 15 catches on his own, tying a club record set by Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow.

Allen this week said that coming off that monster game his personal objectives are clear: “Building. Stacking. Being consistent.

“It’s about going back to work, like we ain’t played a game yet, like the stats are still zero-zero.”

Attention to detail has been an issue in the past for Allen, who is tremendously talented but was getting a reputation for inconsistent preparation in his first two seasons. If the Chargers handed out a most-improved-player award in training camp, Allen might have won it. By all accounts, he has become more of a pro in the way he eats, hones his craft, and approaches the game in general.

There’s still some reluctance by teammates to heap too much praise on him, though, for fear that he might take his foot off the gas.

“He had a great game,” All-Pro safety Eric Weddle said. “Let’s just keep him level-headed right now. We need Keenan great every week, and he knows that. We want consistency week in and week out. That’s what separates the good and great ones.”

And as Chargers receivers have come to know, when they create that separation … Rivers will find them.

By the book

Sunday’s New England-Buffalo game will mark the 14th time in his career as a head coach that Rex Ryan has game-planned against quarterback Tom Brady.

Ryan, who coached the New York Jets for six seasons before taking over in Buffalo this off-season, is 3-9 against Brady-led teams in the regular season, and 1-0 in the playoffs.

In the new book “Brady vs. Manning,” which delves into the illustrious careers and friendship of the Patriots star and Peyton Manning, Ryan said he feels a bit of apprehension when facing either quarterback with a game on the line.

“I fear nobody… maybe a little bit,” Ryan told author Gary Myers, whose book will be in stores this week. “I’ve been beaten by both of them in those situations. It’s like, Oh…, this guy is going to do it to me again. They are deadly. It’s impossible to choose between the two.”

Longtime NFL executive Ernie Accorsi told Myers he hates making comparisons, but if he did…

“I’m talking about style. Brady is more like [Joe] Montana. Peyton is more like [Johnny] Unitas.”

Youth is served

Since Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Baltimore’s Joe Flacco opened their careers as first-stringers in 2008, the NFL has had at least one rookie quarterback start in Week 1. That eight-year streak is the league’s longest since at least 1950.

Considering the success they had — both Flacco and Ryan quarterbacked 11-5 teams and made the playoffs — it’s no wonder they sparked a trend.

The biggest bumper crop of Day 1 starters during that span came in 2012, when rookies Andrew Luck of Indianapolis, Robert Griffin III of Washington, Ryan Tannehill of Miami, Russell Wilson of Seattle, and Brandon Weeden, then of Cleveland, all started their career openers.

The two rookies who made that list this fall are Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston and Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota.

Wish you were here

Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett, whose 0-1 team plays at Green Bay on Sunday night, said the Seahawks are feeling the effects of All-Pro safety Kam Chancellor’s contract holdout.

“I think we miss Kam Chancellor not just because of the way that he plays, but because of the way that he approaches the game and his leadership,” Bennett said.

He added: “He’s our brother, we fight for him, we feel for him, we understand his pain… We want him to come back and understand that there’s no hard feelings to what he’s going through or what he’s dealing with.”

Asked whether he can see himself in Chancellor’s cleats, potentially as a future holdout, Bennett said he would have to answer to a higher authority than the Seahawks or Coach Pete Carroll.

“At the end of the day, my situation is different than his,” Bennett said, referring to Chancellor. “I’ve got three kids, I’ve got a wife. My wife wouldn’t let me hold out, so I had to come to work.”

Words of wisdom

Bennett said he has a lot of respect for Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and just how physically tough he is. But he also said the Packers quarterback does a lot of talking on the field.

Asked by reporters what Rodgers says when he gets hit, Bennett didn’t have to think too hard to recall.

“‘Ehhh…’ Stuff like that,” he said. “Moaning sounds.”

Chatterbox.

Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesfarmer