Foles, Mathis head to Pro Bowl

With the de-emphasis on the importance of the game and the nature of excuses that players use to skip out on it, it's inevitable that guys two or three deep will eventually have their names called to the Pro Bowl.

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Eagles hit the jackpot in that respect, with quarterback Nick Foles and guard Evan Mathis having been taken off the alternates list and bumped up to full-fledged members.

Foles wrested the starting job from Michael Vick earlier in the season, then shook off a concussion to post 2,891 yards passing and 27 touchdowns against just two interceptions on 203-of-317 attempts in 13 games for the NFC East champions.

He tied an NFL record with seven TD passes in a 49-20 rout of the Raiders in Oakland on November 3, and threw for at least three touchdowns in a game on four other occasions.

Signed by the Eagles in 2011, Mathis has earned the respect of the organization enough to earn a five-year contract extension. This past year, Mathis took part in all 1,104 offensive snaps for the highest scoring offense in franchise history, and was one of the primary reasons for LeSean McCoy's franchise-record 1,607 rushing yards.

Always one to crack a joke, Mathis tweeted that he no longer needed Tonya Harding's help to reach the Pro Bowl.