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Philip Rivers' turnaround season has earned him the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Rivers led the San Diego Chargers to a wild-card playoff spot with four straight victories to close out the schedule, giving them a 9-7 record. He led the league with a 69.5 completion percentage and threw for 32 TDs against 11 interceptions.

Finishing behind Rivers were Denver running back Knowshon Moreno and Philadelphia left tackle Jason Peters with eight selections apiece. Tampa Bay cornerback Darrelle Revis got six votes.

Rivers is the second Chargers quarterback to win the award; the man he replaced, Drew Brees, won in 2004.

The Denver Broncos held off a late rally by the San Diego Chargers to reach the AFC Championship game and set up another Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady battle.

The Broncos eventually won 24-17 after leading 17-0 going into the final quarter before the Chargers finally woke up. Until the final quarter San Diego had looked lost in the windy conditions at Mile High, conceding repeated neutral-zone infractions and failing to show any adventure on offense.

San Diego Chargers vs Denver Bronchos game preview and predictions

Before the wild-card weekend , the San Diego Chargers were the biggest longshots to win the Super Bowl of the playoff team . They entered their Sunday game with the Cincinnati Bengals as seven-point underdogs , getting barely arrived at the postseason as the No .6 seed . With the divisional round , approaching , though , the team stays alive , and trying to keep on their run against the Denver Broncos when the two teams meet at Sports Authority Field at Mile High .

San Diego pulled off the biggest surprise of the first round by easily beating the Bengals , 27-10 . The Chargers won in Cincinnati , that has been something no road team were capable of doing in the 2013 regular season .

After big game in the second half, Chargers win over Bengals 27:10. A few thoughts on the San Diego Chargers’ 27-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card round. 

What it means: San Diego’s Cinderella season lives on. The Chargers kept Cincinnati’s 22-year playoff drought alive, and in the process earned their first postseason victory since the 2008 season. San Diego advances to the AFC divisional round, where the Chargers will face a familiar foe in the Denver Broncos. The Chargers split with the Broncos during the regular season, losing 28-20 in San Diego on Nov. 10, and winning in Denver 27-20 on Dec. 12. 

Turnover bonanza: San Diego's defense forced the Bengals into four turnovers on Sunday – a fumble by running back Giovani Bernard and three costly miscues by quarterback Andy Dalton – a fumble and two interceptions. The Chargers only scored six points off those turnovers, but defensively San Diego did a nice job of putting consistent pressure in Dalton’s face. 

Cool-hand Rivers: While Dalton once again struggled in the postseason, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers showed the value of having a franchise quarterback. Philip Rivers didn’t throw for a ton of yards, but he didn’t need to. Rivers finished 12 of 16 for 128 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to tight end Ladarius Green. More important, Rivers and the San Diego offense finished with zero turnovers. 

Stock watch: Scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent during the offseason, Chargers linebacker Donald Butler showed way San Diego should consider keeping him around. Butler finished with a team-high 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a tackle for a loss. 

What’s next: The Chargers travel to Denver to face the Broncos in the AFC divisional round playoffs on Sunday, 4:40 ET.  

Article source: ESPN