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.

The Chargers have signed 28-year old center Eric Ghiaciuc.  Ghiaciuc played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bengals last season.  He has now played in 48 games (42 starts) in his four years in the NFL.  He should be a good back-up to Nick Hardwick the rest of the year for the Chargers.

The Chargers have lost starting center Scott Mruczkowski for the rest of the year due to a ankle injury.  He played in 14 games (13 starts) for the Chargers this season.  It was his first as a starting player for the Chargers as he has played in 58 games (15 starts) in his career with them.  28-year old Nick Hardwick will take over as the starting center the rest of this season for the Chargers.  He has played in 1 game (1 start) for the Chargers this season.  He has now played in 69 games (all starts) in his six years with the Chargers.  Hardwick should do a decent job for the Chargers.

The San Diego Chargers (11-3) got a big kick from Nate Kaeding with only 3 seconds left to lift them over the Cincinnati Bengals (9-5).  There wasn’t much doubt that Kaeding’s 52-yarder was good as soon as he kicked it, and this win sealed the AFC West Title for the Chargers.  Philip Rivers had a decent day, but did turn the ball over too many times.  He finished with 308 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions on 24/38 passes.  His favorite target on the day was Vincent Jackson who had a very strong game.  Jackson had 5 catches for 108 yards, including 2 touchdown catches.  The Chargers did not get enough out of their running game though, finishing with only 70 yards as a team.  They are going to need more out of LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles come playoff time.

The Chargers defense played very well for three quarters, but they blew an 11-point lead in the 4th quarter.  They also let Bengals’ quarterback Carson Palmer throw for over 300 yards for the first time since the 2007 season.  Palmer went 27/40 for 314 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.  They did do a good job containing the Bengals talented running back Cedric Benson to only 53 yards on 15 carries.  This was an exciting last second win for the Chargers who beat a team determined to win for their former teammate Chris Henry, who tragically died three days before the game.  The Chargers have now won nine straight games.

The San Diego Chargers (10-3) had a very good fourth quarter to help them fight off the Dallas Cowboys (8-5) on Sunday.  It was all tied up at 10 going into the fourth quarter, but Philip Rivers and the Chargers went up by 10 with under 2 minutes to play to put it out of reach for the Cowboys.  The Cowboys did score again, but there was no time for a full comeback effort with only seconds left.  LaDainian Tomlinson helped eat up some clock in the fourth and finish the game with a touchdown and 50 rushing yards on 21 carries.  It was LT’s 10th rushing touchdown of the year, making that nine straight seasons with at least 10 rushing scores for him.

The defense played Tony Romo and the Cowboys’ offense very well, especially in the first half.  They held them to only 3 points in the first half and stuffed Marion Barber three straight times at the goal line.  They did give up too many rushing yards, with Barber and Felix Jones combining for 98 yards on 24 carries.  With the offense scoring an uncharacteristic low amount of points, the defense did a good job holding off the Cowboys.

The San Diego Chargers (9-3) have reeled off seven straight wins and they are looking to make it eight this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys (8-4).  Both offenses are capable of scoring a lot of points, so the Chargers defense needs to be ready to attack Tony Romo.  Despite losing last week, Romo went off for 392 yards and 3 touchdowns.  The Chargers cannot let him put up those kinds of numbers  this week.  The running game is even stronger, averaging 130 rushing yards per game, so it will be a good challenge for the Chargers defense.

I think the Chargers will be able to make it eight straight, even if the defense doesn’t play great.  That is because Philip Rivers is playing very well and he finally has a strong running game to rely on as well.  LaDainian Tomlinson has stepped it up in the last few weeks, and with him taking some pressure of off Rivers the Chargers offense should have a lot of success.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  San Diego Chargers 34, Dallas Cowboys 28