The numbers justify the omission. The name makes it stunning.
For the first time since becoming the starting quarterback of the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes has missed the Pro Bowl roster.
The stats, or lack thereof, warrant it. Yes, Mahomes is second in the AFC in completions and third in yards. But he has 26 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. And his passer rating of 93.2 lands squarely in the middle of the pack.
Still, it’s Patrick Freaking Mahomes. Tight end Travis Kelce made it, despite career lows in yardage, yards per catch, and touchdowns.
Then again, Kelce got more fan votes than any other player. With the roster determined by a 1/3-1/3-1/3 split between fans, players, and coaches, Kelce benefits from the fan bump.
Mahomes can’t be upset. It wasn’t a snub. There are three spots, and the players who made it — Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow — deserved them.
Still, the Chiefs are the top seed in the AFC playoff field. And Mahomes is the most important player on the team. That arguably counts for something.
If it does, it didn’t count for enough to get him on the Pro Bowl roster.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have their sights set on bigger prizes this season, but they can celebrate being the team with the most players selected for the Pro Bowl for the time being.
Nine Ravens players have been selected to take part in the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando. In addition to Jackson, the Ravens Pro Bowlers are quarterback Lamar Jackson, running back Derrick Henry, fullback Patrick Ricard, wide receiver Zay Flowers, center Tyler Linderbaum, defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, and safety Kyle Hamilton.
The event will conclude with a flag football game on February 2, although the Ravens will be hoping to miss that event because they’re in New Orleans for the Super Bowl.
The full rosters for the AFC and NFC are listed below:
AFC
Quarterback: Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson.
Running Back: Derrick Henry, Joe Mixon, Jonathan Taylor.
Fullback: Patrick Ricard.
Wide receiver: Ja’Marr Chase, Jerry Jeudy, Nico Collins, Zay Flowers.
Tight end: Brock Bowers, Travis Kelce.
Offensive tackle: Dion Dawkins, Laremy Tunsil, Rashawn Slater.
Offensive guard: Quenton Nelson, Joe Thuney, Trey Smith.
Center: Creed Humphrey, Tyler Linderbaum.
Defensive end: Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, Maxx Crosby.
Interior defensive lineman: Cam Heyward, Chris Jones, Nnamdi Madubuike.
Outside linebackers: Nik Bonitto, T.J. Watt, Khalil Mack.
Inside linebackers: Roquan Smith, Zaire Franklin.
Cornerback: Derek Stingley, Pat Surtain II, Denzel Ward, Marlon Humphrey.
Free safety: Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Strong safety: Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James.
Long snapper: Ross Matiscik.
Punter: Logan Cooke.
Kicker: Chris Boswell.
Kick returner: Marvin Mims.
Special teamer: Brenden Schooler.
NFC
Quarterback: Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Sam Darnold.
Running back: Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, Josh Jacobs.
Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk.
Wide receiver: Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Terry McLaurin.
Tight end: George Kittle, Trey McBride.
Offensive tackle: Lane Johnson, Penei Sewell, Tristan Wirfs.
Offensive guard: Landon Dickerson, Tyler Smith, Chris Lindstrom.
Center: Frank Ragnow, Cam Jurgens.
Defensive end: Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, Rashan Gary.
Interior defensive lineman: Jalen Carter, Dexter Lawrence, Vita Vea.
Outside linebacker: Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jared Verse.
Inside linebacker: Fred Warner, Zack Baun.
Cornerback: Jaylon Johnson, Byron Murphy, Jaycee Horn, Devon Witherspoon.
Free safety: Xavier McKinney.
Strong safety: Budda Baker, Brian Branch.
Long snapper: Andrew DePaola.
Punter: Jack Fox.
Kicker: Brandon Aubrey.
Kick returner: KaVontae Turpin.
Special teamer: KhaDarel Hodge.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is leading the NFL in both passing yards and passing touchdowns, and if he has a big game against the Steelers on Saturday, he could join a very exclusive club in league history.
Burrow has 4,641 passing yards and 42 passing touchdowns, which means with 359 yards and three touchdowns against the Steelers, he’d finish the season with 5,000 yards and 45 touchdowns. That has only happened four other times before: Dan Marino in 1984, Drew Brees in 2011, Peyton Manning in 2013 and Patrick Mahomes in 2018.
It’s worth noting that Burrow would be reaching the 5,000-yard, 45-touchdown milestone in his 17th game of the season, and the other four quarterbacks did it in 16 games. And Burrow has also benefited from the NFL’s evolving passing environment, which makes life easier than it was for quarterbacks of the past, especially Marino, whose 1984 season is one of the great statistical outliers in the history of sports.
Burrow also has three or more touchdown passes in eight straight games, and if he does it again he’ll join Tom Brady as the only quarterbacks in NFL history who have thrown at least three touchdown passes in nine games in a row.
Despite Burrow’s MVP numbers, the Bengals need to beat the Steelers on Saturday, and then get some help on Sunday, to make the playoffs.
Cornerback Donte Jackson was added to the Steelers injury report on Wednesday.
Jackson was limited in the team’s second practice ahead of Saturday’s game against the Bengals. A back injury is listed as the reason for his addition to the report.
jackson has 38 tackles, five interceptions, and a fumble recovery in 15 games this season.
Running back Jaylen Warren (ribs) and quarterback Russell Wilson (rest) were bumped up from limited to full participation. Quarterback Justin Fields (abdomen), cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (knee), wide receiver Roman Wilson (hamstring) and wide receiver Ben Skowronek (hip) were full participants for the second straight day.
The Associated Press doesn’t want the 50 awards voters to vote for Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold as comeback player of the year. That hasn’t stopped sports books from taking bets on Darnold — or bettors from making Darnold one of the favorites to win it.
At DraftKings, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is the current favorite, at -200. Darnold’s odds are +175. There’s a steep drop to the next player: Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins, at +2000.
As the Associated Press explained to voters in October, as Darnold was starting to get comeback player buzz, “The spirit of the AP Comeback Player of the Year Award is to honor a player who has demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season.” A tweet from Rob Maaddi of the AP made it clear that, under this guidance, Darnold isn’t eligible.
The phrase “other circumstances” creates enough wiggle room to vote for Darnold, who has overcome the circumstances of being ruined by a bad franchise that drafted him in 2018 and traded to another bad franchise before being relegated to backup status because of it before landing in Minnesota as a 14-win starter. When we asked the AP four specific questions in October — (1) will votes for Sam Darnold be rejected?; (2) will any votes that don’t mesh with the new guidelines be rejected?; (3) who will decide the players that are and aren’t within the new guidelines?; and (4) when will those decisions be made? — we received this answer: “We have given voters the criteria and will follow up regularly to make sure the guidelines are clear. We expect voters will follow the criteria, and the award recipient will meet the criteria.”
I’ll make my decision on comeback player of the year after Week 18. Chances are both Burrow and Darnold will be on my ballot. Will Darnold be rejected? It’s still not completely clear.
When I tried to put Commanders running back Brian Robinson on the comeback player ballot two years ago (he’d been shot during training camp), it was rejected because rookies aren’t eligible for the award. We’ll see whether votes for Darnold are rejected.
If they are, there might be plenty of pissed-off gamblers.
UPDATE 1:52 p.m. ET: The AP has confirmed that votes for Darnold will not be rejected, even if they don’t meet the revised criteria.
