San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was left "disappointed" by his side's failure to close out yesterday's match against the Houston Texans.

Rivers threw four touchdown passes to give his side a 21-point lead with less than five minutes to go in the third quarter, but the Texans roared back with three touchdowns of their own before a field goal in the dying seconds gave them a 31-28 victory.

Rivers admitted that losing in such fashion hurt even more than usual and blamed the defeat on his side not keeping their focus in a fourth quarter that saw them surrender 17 points.

"You lose this way, and it stings a little more. It's disappointing we didn't finish the game, because we had control. You've got to play all four quarters," Rivers told The AP.

Rivers has been with the Chargers for his entire NFL career, having joined the franchise in 2004.