The Chargers have five players who were selected for the Pro Bowl but I think they would rather play the next week in the Super Bowl.  28-year old QB Philip Rivers played awesome football all season long earning this reward.  He has played in 15 games this season for the Chargers and he has completed 308 of 471 passes (65.4%) for 4,155 yards with 27 TD passes and 9 INTs (104.5 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 26 times for 50 yards (1.9 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  29-year old TE Antonio Gates is going with Rivers to Miami.  He has played in 15 games this season for the Chargers and he has caught 78 passes for 1,145 yards (14.7 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  28-year old guard Kris Dielman has done a great job for the Chargers this season both protecting Rivers and blowing open some impressive holes for the RBs.  Dielman is a big guy at 6′4″, 320 pounds and he has started all 15 games for the Chargers this season.  27-year old kicker Nate Kaeding will also be making the trip to Miami as he has turned in a excellent season for the Chargers.  He has made 29 of 32 field goals (90.6%) this season and he has made 48 of 49 extra points good for 135 points.  29-year old Kassim Osgood has made the Pro Bowl as the special teams player.  He has played in 15 games this season for the Chargers and he has 12 tackles.  The Chargers hope that they will be able to scratch these five players from the Pro Bowl so that they can play in the Super Bowl the next weekend.

The Chargers kicked the Titans’ butts all over the field last night as they wrapped up a first round bye in the playoffs.  Philip Rivers was excellent as usual last night completing 21 of 27 passes for 264 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Mike Tolbert was the leading rusher for the Chargers last night with 60 yards on 11 carries (5.5 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 11 yards last night.  LaDainian Tomlinson also had a decent game with 59 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 2 passes for 4 yards.  Darren Sproles pitched in with 5 carries for 38 yards (7.6 ypc) with 2 TDs and he also caught 2 passes for 23 yards (11.5 avg) with another TD.  Antonio Gates led the way in the passing game for the Chargers with 3 catches for 74 yards (24.7 avg) with a TD.  Vincent Jackson also had a decent game with 5 catches for 70 yards (14.0 avg).  The Chargers finished up with 425 total yards on offense last night (166 rushing, 259 passing) as they held onto the ball for 39:07.

The defense was outstanding against the pass but they had some issues defending Chris Johnson and Vince Young when he escaped the pocket.  CB Steve Gregory led the way for the Chargers in this game with 6 tackles.  Linebacker Stephen Cooper had another solid game with 5 tackles and a fumble recovery.  Safety Eric Weddle also made a positive impact in this game with 4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and a interception.  The Titans finished up with 270 total yards on offense (182 rushing, 88 passing) in this game.  The Chargers will get a bye in the first round of the playoffs as they improved to 12-3 on the year.

This should be a great match-up on Christmas Night between a great passing team (Chargers) and a great running team (Titans).  The Titans are allowing 265.1 yards passing per game so the Chargers will be airing it out on Christmas Night.  Philip Rivers should have more than enough time to throw the ball as the Titans don’t have much of a pass rush.  That will spell trouble for the Titans as the Chargers have a lot of good receivers with size advantages over their DBs.  So look for Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson to have huge games tomorrow night.  The Chargers will also likely have more running lanes than normal against the Titans who have lost linebackers Keith Bulluck and David Thornton for the year.

The Chargers have had some issues with stopping the run and that’s not a good thing when you are visiting Chris Johnson and Vince Young as the Titans are averaging 162.6 yards rushing and 5.3 yards per carry this season.  If the Chargers can contain Vince Young in the pocket then they will have a much better chance of holding the Titans’ offense down tomorrow night.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 31, TITANS 23

24-year old fullback Mike Tolbert just does whatever the Chargers ask him to and he does it well.  He has played in 14 games for the Chargers this season and he has carried the ball 14 times for 88 yards (6.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 13 passes for 172 yards (13.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Tolbert is a good special teams player too as he has made 19 tackles and forced a fumble this year.  Tolbert does the little things that teams need to make them a winner.

Philip Rivers has been one of the main reasons and the Chargers are 11-3 this season.  The Chargers have to be counting their blessings that Eli Manning didn’t want to play for them forcing a draft day trade in which they acquired Philip Rivers and more for him.  Rivers has played in 14 games for the Chargers this season and he has completed 287 of 444 passes (64.6%) for 3,891 yards with 25 TD passes and 9 INTs (102.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 25 times for 51 yards (2.0 ypc) with 1 TD run this season.  No one ever mentions Rivers when they talk about elite QBs but they should because he is a great player who plays with a fire in his belly often willing his team to victory.