Star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, top receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell were among an NFL-high eight Pittsburgh Steelers named Tuesday by the league to the 2018 Pro Bowl.
Joining “Big Ben” and his two biggest weapons in the Steelers’ attack were offensive linemen Alejandro Villanueva, David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey plus kicker Chris Boswell and linebacker Ryan Shazier, who suffered a season-ending spinal injury earlier this month.
They are set to star for the American Conference against their rivals from the National Conference in the annual all-star matchup, set for January 28 at Orlando, Florida.
Teams involved in the Super Bowl do not send players to the contest.
At 11-3, the Steelers are level with the defending champion New England Patriots for the best record in the American Conference.
The Patriots boast four players on the honor squad, including star quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski.
In the National Conference, the NFL-leading Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) and New Orleans (10-4) each had a conference-best six players, including their star quarterbacks, Drew Brees for the Saints and Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz, who is out for the season with a knee injury.
Four rookies will reach the Pro Bowl in their opening NFL season, including Kansas City rusher Kareem Hunt, Arizona special teams player Budda Baker, New Orleans rusher Alvin Kamara and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Others chosen for the American Conference include San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, Buffalo rusher LeSean McCoy and Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Others chosen in the National Conference include Atlanta receiver Julio Jones, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson and Saints rusher Mark Ingram. (Agence France-Presse)
