SAN DIEGO – Two of the Chargers’ Pro Bowl alternates will make the trip to Honolulu after the results of Sunday’s AFC Championship game.
The five players will represent San Diego at 3:30 p.m. PST Sunday at Aloha Stadium. The game will be broadcast on NBC.
San Diego’s four offensive players on the AFC Pro Bowl roster are the most of any team in the conference. New England had five offensive players selected, but none will participate due to their appearance in the Super Bowl.
Jackson’s third 1,000-yard season in four years also included a career-high nine touchdown catches, tied with his ’09 total. The only receiver to play in all 16 games this season, Jackson led the team with 1,106 yards. His 60 catches were second to Gates’ 64.
Mathews produced the finest statistical season by a Chargers running back since ’07. He ranked seventh in the NFL with 1,546 yards from scrimmage, caught 50 passes and rushed for at least 100 yards in four different games. His 4.9 yards per carry placed him sixth in Chargers history.
The Chargers have produced at least one Pro Bowl starter every season since 2003 and have had at least three Pro Bowl representatives for 10 consecutive years.
RIVERS NOMINATED: In addition to attending the Pro Bowl this week, the NFL named Rivers a finalist for its Man of the Year award Sunday.
Baltimore center Matt Birk and Chicago cornerback Charles Tillman are the two other nominees.
The quarterback’s Rivers of Hope Foundation, launched in 2010 to raise awareness of the plight of foster children in the San Diego area, has raised more than $650,000. Rivers has pledged to donate 100 percent of his off-the-field earnings to the foundation.
Along with his foundation’s programs, Rivers’ financial contributions helped San Pasqual Academy, a residential education campus for foster teens, build a football field in 2011.
