Eight Steelers named Pro Bowl players
Pittsburgh will be minus Brown for Christmas
NEW YORK — The Pittsburgh Steelers lead the NFL in one category this season: most Pro Bowl players.
Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger are among eight Steelers selected for the all-star game. They will be joined on Jan. 28 in Orlando, Fla., by tackle Alejandro Villanueva, guard David DeCastro, center Maurkice Pouncey, kicker Chris Boswell, and linebacker Ryan Shazier, who is injured. Brown, also injured but expected back for the playoffs, was voted a starter, as were Bell and the three offensive linemen.
The Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints each placed six players in the game in balloting announced Tuesday.
Four rookies were chosen in voting by NFL players, coaches and fans: running backs Alvin Kamara of the Saints and Kareem Hunt of the Chiefs, cornerback Marshon Lattimore of the Saints, and safety Budda Baker of the Cardinals as a special teamer.
STEELERS: Coach Mike Tomlin said Antonio Brown will miss Pittsburgh’s Christmas Day visit to Houston with a contusion on his left calf. The NFL’s leading receiver left in the second quarter against the Patriots after getting tangled up while trying to catch a pass in the end zone. Tomlin declined to get into the specifics of Brown’s injury and didn’t put a timetable on a possible return. BRONCOS: Shane Ray’s season is over in Denver, where the third-year outside linebacker played in just eight games after breaking his left wrist in July and undergoing surgery.
Ray had the screws removed Friday, a day after the Broncos (5-9) beat the Indianapolis Colts.
FALCONS: Atlanta’s path to the playoffs is simple — win this week at New Orleans, and they’re in. If only it were that easy. Atlanta (9-5) has yet to figure out how to put away opponents on the road. Monday’s 24-21 win at Tampa Bay gave the Falcons a fifth road victory, but each of them has been decided in the closing seconds.
“Here’s what I like about that,” coach Dan Quinn said Tuesday. “There is a hardening that takes place, a confidence from coming through in those environments to know that this is our time to stand up and make opportunities count.”