The N.F.L. Pro Bowl teams were announced Tuesday, naming the top players as determined by the votes of fans, players and coaches. And, not surprisingly, players on the best teams tended to fare better than players on weaker teams, particularly at positions where few individual stats are recorded.
Two “special teamers” are selected, which are intended to identify the best special-teams players excluding punters, place-kickers and return specialists. The two selections happen to play for the New England Patriots (Matthew Slater) and the Arizona Cardinals (Justin Bethel), two teams that possess two of the three best records in the N.