Wide receiver A.J. Green and defensive tackle Geno Atkins were named to their second consecutive Pro Bowl and their first as starters Wednesday.

“We’re happy for both guys,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “It’s a great honor from fellow players and coaches and the voting fans. They’ll represent us well if they’re in the game, but I have to add that it’s our goal to make them both unavailable (by the team advancing to the Super Bowl).”

The Pro Bowl will be played Jan. 27, 2013, one week ahead of Super Bowl XLVII.

Offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth and tight end Jermaine Gresham were named first alternates, although Gresham is expected to make his second consecutive trip to Honolulu after the Pittsburgh Steelers placed tight end Heath Miller on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday.

Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton, who made the Pro Bowl last year as a rookie, and cornerback Leon Hall were voted third alternates. If all six Bengals end up going, it will be the franchise’s most since sending six in 1989.

Roster spots are determined by votes from fans, players and coaches, with each group weighted equally.

“It feels good finally getting respect around the league that I show out there on the field,” said Atkins, who is the first Bengals defensive player to make back-to-back Pro Bowls since David Fulcher went to three in a row from 1988-90.

“I told a lot of people there was going to be a boycott if he didn’t make it this year because he’s playing out of his mind,” Green said of Atkins. “It’s great to have a fellow teammate and another Georgia Bulldog out there, somebody I can hang out with.”

Atkins began the day with 13 sacks but had his total reduced to 12.5 due to a scoring change that credited teammate Wallace Gilberry with a shared sack of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in Sunday’s 13-10 win in Pittsburgh.

The 12.5 sacks are the most in the NFL among tackles.

“He’s got (12.5) sacks, and that doesn’t even tell the story,” Whitworth said. “The real story is people turning on the film and see play in and play out how he disrupts plays. The truth is he’s far more disruptive than just 12 sacks.”

Green’s 1,324 receiving yards rank fifth in the league, and his 95 catches rank seventh. Both numbers are much greater than the 65-1,057 he recorded last year as a rookie.

“Two years, two Pro Bowls. That’s got a good buzz to it,” Green said. “But I’ve got a long way to go to be where I want to be. I want to be great. Like I told everybody when I came into this game, I don’t want to be one ordinary receiver. I want to be mentioned with some of the best that ever played.”