For the first time since he became an NFL starter, Patrick Mahomes is not a Pro Bowler.<\/p>\n
The superstar quarterback, whose Kansas City Chiefs are an NFL-best 15-1, was among the most notable omissions when the selections for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games came out Thursday.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Buffalo Bills\u2019 Josh Allen was voted to be the AFC\u2019s starting quarterback, while the Baltimore Ravens\u2019 Lamar Jackson and the Cincinnati Bengals\u2019 Joe Burrow were named reserves.<\/p>\n
All three boast much gaudier statistics than Mahomes, who has made six Pro Bowls since becoming the Chiefs\u2019 starting quarterback in 2018. Burrow leads the NFL with 42 touchdown passes, while Allen and Jackson have both totaled at least 40 touchdowns between the air and ground.<\/p>\n
But Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl winner who is currently pursuing an unprecedented third consecutive championship, is the best player on the NFL\u2019s best team. His five fourth-quarter comebacks and seven game-winning drives lead the NFL.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the latest example that statistics do not tell the entire story.<\/p>\n
Mahomes\u2019 3,928 passing yards rank third in the AFC, while his 26 touchdown passes and 67.5% completion percentage both rank fourth. He has thrown 11 interceptions.<\/p>\n
His numbers are not far off from those of Aaron Rodgers, who has completed 63% of his passes for 3,623 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for the 4-12 Jets.<\/p>\n
Mahomes, 29, led the Chiefs to the AFC\u2019s No. 1 seed despite losing his No. 1 wide receiver, Rashee Rice, to a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. He also played without veteran speedster Marquis \u201cHollywood\u201d Brown for the first 14 games due to a shoulder injury.<\/p>\n
Kansas City\u2019s leading receivers this season are 35-year-old Travis Kelce (823 yards) and rookie Xavier Worthy (638).<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the Chiefs have not been as dominant as their 15-1 record suggests.<\/p>\n
In Week 1, Isaiah Likely\u2019s toe landed out of bounds on a would-be-game-tying touchdown at the end of the Chiefs\u2019 27-20 victory over the Ravens.<\/p>\n
In Week 2, a questionable pass interference call on fourth-and-16 with 38 seconds remaining extended what ended up being a game-winning field-goal drive in the Chiefs\u2019 26-25 win over the Bengals.<\/p>\n
In Week 9, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers opted to kick a game-tying extra point with 27 seconds left in regulation rather than go for two \u2014 and the win \u2014 on the road. The Chiefs won the coin toss in overtime and scored an opening-possession touchdown, preventing the Bucs\u2019 offense from seeing the ball again.<\/p>\n
In Week 10, the Chiefs blocked the Denver Broncos\u2019 would-be-game-winning 35-yard field goal as time expired to escape with a 16-14 win.<\/p>\n
In Week 13, the Las Vegas Raiders botched a snap with 15 seconds remaining in regulation and lost a fumble, ending a potential game-winning drive while already in field goal range. The Chiefs left with a 19-17 victory.<\/p>\n
And in Week 14, Chiefs kicker Matthew Wright doinked a 31-yard field goal attempt off the left upright, only for the ball to carom through the goal posts as time expired, giving Kansas City a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.<\/p>\n
None of this takes anything away from the Chiefs, but it does serve as a reminder that it\u2019s been an especially strange season for Kansas City.<\/p>\n
And Mahomes being left off of the Pro Bowl roster is the latest abnormality.<\/p>\n
Mahomes could still end up making the Pro Bowl Games, which are set to take place on Jan. 30 and Feb. 2 \u2014 the week before Super Bowl LIX \u2014 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.<\/p>\n
Pro Bowl alternates are yet to be announced, and at the very least, the players whose teams make the Super Bowl will need to be replaced.<\/p>\n
Of course, Mahomes plans to be playing in the Super Bowl \u2014 not the Pro Bowl Games.<\/p>\n
____<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the first time since he became an NFL starter, Patrick Mahomes is not a Pro Bowler. The superstar quarterback, whose Kansas City Chiefs are an NFL-best 15-1, was among the most notable omissions when the selections for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games came out Thursday. Instead, the Buffalo Bills\u2019 Josh Allen was voted to be the AFC\u2019s starting quarterback, while the Baltimore Ravens\u2019 Lamar Jackson …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":22783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"yoast_head":"\n