We already know the NFL's Pro Bowl Games are a joke. Gone are the days of a semi-competitive game with actual football being played, replaced with meaningless skills competitions and a flag football game.
If the format of the event wasn't enough fodder, the participants made it virtually unwatchable. One in particular shouldn't have even been there: Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
How did Shedeur Sanders look in the Pro Bowl?
The rookie passer finished the 2025 season with more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (7) and still somehow got a Pro Bowl nod. He didn't help his case much in the flag football game, tossing for two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in the AFC's 66-52 loss to the NFC. Both picks were to members of the Chicago Bears defense.
No pick-six but Kevin Byard gets the INT and a great call by Jason Kelce 😂
— NFL (@NFL) February 4, 2026
Pro Bowl Games on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/HUJtItjT6M
Sanders' two picks were the fifth such turnovers he's surrendered to the Bears this season, each to a different player. Sanders, nor any of the players around him, seemed to care about his turnovers. If anyone should've, it ought to have been Sanders. It's clear that his colleagues viewed his inclusion as a joke. Sanders had a chance to prove them wrong, but instead played right into the laughter.
Shedeur Sanders' Pro Bowl inclusion was an embarrassment to the NFL
Sanders from displaying an astonishing amount of overconfidence this week.
"I proved to myself I'm able to dominate in this league," Sanders told Kay Adams ahead of the game Tuesday. Well, the numbers say otherwise.
His 1,400 passing yards in 8 appearances aren't terrible (175 yards per game) but the 18.9 QBR, that's abysmal.
Tyrann Mathieu reacts to Shedeur Sanders’ Pro Bowl selection 😳
— In The Bayou With Tyrann Mathieu (@InTheBayouPod) February 2, 2026
“We cannot reward mediocrity… If you have more interceptions than touchdowns, there’s no way you should be rewarded.” pic.twitter.com/IIj3nbGopr
"We cannot reward mediocrity," former NFL safety and three-time Pro Bowler Tyrann Mathieu said on his In The Bayou podcast Monday. "If you have more interceptions than touchdowns, there's no way you should be rewarded."
I get it, Sanders has confidence and he's not going to hang his head over a bad start to his NFL career, but there is such thing as humility and character development that will only benefit his talents down the road. Getting humbled and missing the Pro Bowl, like most rookies do, should've added a chip on his shoulder that could motivate him to do better for Cleveland.
Why Shedeur Sanders made the Pro Bowl
The NFL rewarded Sanders for name brand recognition and further stained the honor of being named a Pro Bowler. There's money at stake with these titles. Contracts are negotiated with Pro Bowl selections in mind, now Sanders' inclusion has tanked the value for others moving forward.
If the league wants to do away with the Pro Bowl as a competition, fine. Just hand out Pro Bowl selections like All-Pros and rebrand the games to something else separate. We all know it's a ratings and cash grab (and even that isn't grabbing much).
Sanders shouldn't be catching all the flak either. He didn't name himself to the Pro Bowl and he didn't want to play poorly this season. This should be a lesson to the league to remember the hard work that goes into each player's respective campaign and the Pro Bowl is to reward the exceptional not just entertain the already bored masses.