Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and safety Kevin Byard III drew the fourth- and fifth-most fan votes for the Pro Bowl, according to the final results released by the NFL.
The online fan voting, which ended Dec. 15, counts for a third of the weight toward determining the AFC and NFC rosters, which will be announced Tuesday at 9 a.m. NFL players and coaches, who make up the other two-thirds, voted on Friday.
Williams was third among quarterbacks in fan voting (216,838), but was the top vote-getter in the NFC ahead of the Los Angeles Rams’ Matt Stafford (fifth), Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott (sixth) and Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love (seventh).
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As of Monday, Williams ranked 20th in quarterback rating (89.5%) and 26th in completion percentage (57.8%) among qualified quarterbacks, but he has engineered six fourth-quarter comeback victories and led the Bears to their first playoff berth since 2020.
Byard (203,638 votes), a 32-year-old two-time Pro Bowler, entered Monday night leading the NFL with six interceptions.
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce, who is considering retirement, gained the most votes at 420,383, despite a down year by his standards that included the Chiefs being eliminated from the playoffs for the first time after 10 consecutive appearances.
Here’s the breakdown of the top five overall votes:
Travis Kelce, tight end, Kansas City Chiefs: 420,383
Josh Allen, quarterback, Buffalo Bills: 263,127
Drake Maye, quarterback, New England Patriots, 259,978
Caleb Williams, quarterback, Chicago Bears: 216,838
Kevin Byard III, free safety, Chicago Bears, 203,638
While fans’ votes won’t ensure a spot on the 88-man Pro Bowl roster (44 for each conference), they give several candidates quite a head start.
Bears fans (and perhaps many impressed NFL fans) showed up in force, helping place 26 Bears among the top-10 vote-getters in 18 of the 20 positions. Fullback (the Bears don’t use one) and kicker were the two positions Chicago didn’t crack the top 10.
The Bears led all teams in total votes.
To put it into context, between Nov. 27 at 10 a.m. and Dec. 15 (with the ballot closing that night), no Bears landed in the top 10 among vote totals through NFL.com and team websites. But Williams and Byard made the top five in the final tally of all fan voting by Monday.
In fact, the Bears boasted 10 first-place vote-getters their positions, including running back D’Andre Swift, cornerback Nahshon Wright, guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dalman, offensive tackle Darnell Wright, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, free safety Byard, strong safety Jaquan Brisker, punter Tory Taylor and return specialist Devin Duvernay.
The Pro Bowl also recognizes players who typically operate in obscurity, such as special team coverage players.
The Bears’ Josh Blackwell has been involved in a couple of pivotal plays this season: a game-clinching blocked field goal kick against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4 (for which he was NFC Special Teams Player of the Week) and Saturday’s onside kick recovery that was key to the Bears’ fourth-quarter comeback against the Packers.
Bears coach Ben Johnson said Monday, “(We were) talking as a staff yesterday, where does Blackwell look like relative to the league? We feel like he’s one of the best special teams players in the NFL right now. Whether he gets that recognition or not publicly, I don’t know.
“Yet, he’s a part of our success as a team, our special teams unit as a whole. He’s really found quite a niche there.”
Beyond the Bears’ 10 first-place-holders, here’s how the other 16 finished:
Second place: guard Jonah Jackson, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, long snapper Scott Daly and special teams player Josh Blackwell
Third: tight end Colston Loveland and defensive end Montez Sweat
Fourth: cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett
Sixth: cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and wide receiver Rome Odunze
Seventh: defensive tackle Andrew Billings and wide receiver Luther Burden III
Eighth: defensive end Austin Booker and cornerback Nick McCloud
The Pro Bowl — as a flag football game — is scheduled for Feb. 3 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Live coverage of the festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN, with the game airing at 7 p.m.
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