ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Pro Bowl is supposed to offer a cushy remedy for playoff heartache. Players once shell-shocked by a late-season loss are reminded they are on vacation in Florida, still rich and still famous.
A 13-win season that ends in a Pro Bowl isn't as pleasant as Alejandro Villanueva would have hoped.
"When you’re able to share victory with your teammates, it feels better than when you come here individually," Villanueva said last month after an AFC practice. "You were close to a Super Bowl and now you’re watching from the couch."
The 2017 Pittsburgh Steelers season was fully stocked with every storyline imaginable: star player tantrums, internal issues over the anthem, a devastating injury that shook the locker room, trade requests, questions about discipline, a franchise sack leader trying to force his way out of town and a ton of wins.