Pittsburgh Steelers land 8 Pro Bowl selections and one major snub

The Pittsburgh Steelers led the NFL with eight Pro Bowl selections in 2017, but missed one major player.

Although the Steelers aren’t trying to end their season in Hawaii, they could have plenty of representation in the AFC come February. With eight selections total, this team leads the NFL in Pro Bowl selections, with players representing all aspects of the team.

Of these players, some are easy guesses, such as Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, but there are some guys who’s impact this season helped them land a spot representing the black and gold.

Ryan Shazier, who is still recovering from a brutal spine injury suffered in Week 13, was named the only Steeler on the defensive side to land a spot. Although many believe there should’ve been more, the Pittsburgh inside linebacker would’ve have been the only player on defense wearing a Steelers helmet.

Here is a full list of the eight players selected:

WR Antonio Brown

RB Le’Veon Bell

QB Ben Roethlisberger

OT Alejandro Villanueva

G David DeCastro

C Maurkice Pouncey

ILB Ryan Shazier

K Chris Boswell

The bigger story outside of these eight selections is the snub in Pittsburgh. Cam Heyward is known league-wide as one of the most dominant defensive linemen in the sport. Somehow, though, he wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl.

With 41 tackles, 10 sacks, seven tackles for loss, a forces fumble and fumble recovery, Heyward’s stats alone should’ve landed him a spot in the Pro Bowl. But what’s even bigger is that through 14 games this season, he’s been the heart and soul of a defense that has turned completely around in one season.

How Heyward was left off the list is unknown, but there’s a general consensus that he’s the biggest Pro Bowl snub in the AFC. Even if the team isn’t trying to have anyone play in the game, knowing you were selected goes a long way.

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Heyward will have to use this as motivation for the rest of the season, and prove to the voters that he’s more than deserving to be named one of the top AFC defensive linemen in the game.