He’s the odd man out,

the black sheep, the ugly duckling. He is Philip Rivers, quarterback of the San Diego Chargers.

Sure, the Chargers sit 4-2 straight up and lead the AFC West by a game over Oakland, but you wouldn’t know it by the flack they’re catching right now – and by “they” I really mean Rivers.

It seems crazy when you think of it logically. Again, the Chargers lead their division and own the NFL’s No. 8 total offense, not to mention the No. 7 passing attack.

Yet Rivers was forced to defend himself repeatedly this week and deny that he is playing injured. Such is life in the Year of the Quarterback.

The whole problem here stems from preseason predictions. Before Week 1, there was a lot of talk that Rivers could top 5,000 passing yards and challenge Dan Marino’s single-season passing record.

Considering what he did last season, it was certainly possible. With the 4,710 yards and 30 touchdowns he produced in 2010 still dancing in their heads, fantasy poolies and bettors drooled over the possibilities.

Instead, Rivers heads into Week 8’s date with the Chiefs at Arrowhead with seven touchdowns, nine interceptions and 1,715 yards passing – not exactly what everyone was hoping for, especially when every other Joe Quarterback was firing for 300 yards a game earlier this year.

Meanwhile, with public perception of an already popular team heading into this season at an all-time high, San Diego supporters have taken it on the chin as the Chargers sputter along at 2-4 against the number.

Again, it’s all about the perception of this team.

Rivers hasn’t been as sharp as he would have liked. He has missed some throws and at times it does look like he’s missing a bit of zip on the ball. But let’s not go overboard. Superfreak Antonio Gates has started just two games, while wideouts Malcom Floyd and have Vincent Jackson have been banged up too.

Plus, the way Ryan Mathews has been running the ball, the Chargers don’t need to sling it around like they did last year. It’s a different team and if the team can get healthy while cruising along at the top of the division, San Diego bettors will be happy to have this offensive balance.

It may be Halloween in Arrowhead on Sunday, but let’s not burn Rivers and the Chargers at the stake just yet.

San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (3.5, 44.5)

The Chargers are going to have a tough time kicking their attack up another level at Arrowhead with the Chiefs surging.

It looks as though Gates will be good to go again this week, though it’s pretty obvious he isn’t 100 percent. He’ll be a major weapon in the red zone, but we can’t expect his usual explosiveness just yet.

And if you haven’t noticed, the once left-for-dead Chiefs are pulling their Walking Dead routine, terrorizing the rest of the NFL.

They won their third straight game last week, devouring the Oakland Raiders 28-0 in one of the ugliest games you’ll ever see. They’re now back to .500 after losing to Buffalo, Detroit and Green Bay to start the season – not exactly a cakewalk in the bunch there.

San Diego will need its fifth-ranked total defense to come up big.

Pick: Under

Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills (-6, 46)

Just when everything was looking up for the Redskins, reality came crashing down on Mike Shanahan’s bunch.

Rex Grossman still isn’t an NFL starting quarterback. Tim Hightower can carry the load as a starting running back. No. 1 wide receiver Santana Moss is, indeed, 89 years old.

Shocking, right?

Now that the dust has settled, they’re left with John Beck under center, a pile of hit-or-miss running backs in the backfield and Jabar Gaffney as their top wide receiver. If tight end Fred Davis wasn’t around they’d be hard-pressed to put together a few first downs.

Buffalo has been killing it for over bettors all season but they may have to top the total themselves this week. Plus, the game’s in Toronto and it doesn’t sound like anybody is happy to be heading north of the border.

Can’t blame ‘em. I’m Canadian and I hate Toronto too.

Pick: Under

New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers (3, 52)

I look forward to the Patriots’ game off the bye every year like a kid planning his Halloween costume in July.

New England isn’t the type of team that takes a while to warm up after a week off. You just know Brady and Belichick have been huddled together over their playbooks in a dimly lit room in Gillette Stadium's basement, their evil cackles echoing throughout the corridors of the facility.

This is going to be the game of the week and the Steelers are going to have to have some tricks up their sleeves just to keep it close.

Pick: Over