The rosters for the annual Pro Bowl were announced on Wednesday, and one thing that stood out was the lack of elite quarterbacks on the NFC squad.
Yes, Jalen Hurts is having a banner year for the 13-1 Philadelphia Eagles, but the other two signal-callers chosen were Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings and Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks, both of whom are playing well but not quite at the highest level.
It has made some wonder if the Detroit Lions‘ Jared Goff should’ve gotten a Pro Bowl nod instead of either Cousins or Smith.
Goff was a Pro Bowl participant in 2017 and 2018 back when he was a member of the Los Angeles Rams, and back then, he was derided by some as good, but not that good.
It was one reason why the Rams traded him to Detroit for Matthew Stafford prior to last season, which put them over the top and got them a Super Bowl championship.
Goff has played well of late in leading the Lions to six wins in their last seven games, and as a result, they’re now in the hunt for a playoff spot.
Should that have put him over the top in the balloting?
Close, But Not Quite
This season, Goff has put up 3,604 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns and a 97.2 passer rating.
Most impressively, he hasn’t thrown an interception in his last six games, and he has just one in his last eight contests.
Jared Goff in the last six Lions games:
Nine touchdown passes, no turnovers pic.twitter.com/qgn07Nm6Fx
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) December 18, 2022
Although Cousins’ passer rating is just 92.0, he has 3,818 passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns on the season while leading Minnesota to an 11-3 record.
Smith, meanwhile, has been perhaps the surprise of the season, as he’s having a career season with 3,671 yards and 26 touchdowns on a league-high 71.4 completion percentage through 14 games.
The cruel thing about Pro Bowl balloting is that some very deserving players get snubbed every season simply because there is so much talent around the NFL, but there are only so many spots on the AFC and NFC rosters.
Goff should be applauded for stepping up his production lately, but his overall production falls just a bit short of making him deserving of a Pro Bowl nod.
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