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The Bears will send Khalil Mack, Cordarrelle Patterson and Eddie Jackson to the 2020 Pro Bowl, the team announced on Tuesday night. The likes of Eddie Goldman, Kyle Fuller and Tarik Cohen were all listed as Pro Bowl alternates.
This marks the fifth Pro Bowl appearance of Mack’s six-year career, as well as the fifth consecutive game he has been elected to. Though he currently has 7.5 sacks through 14 games—the lowest total of his career since his rookie season, he has still been pretty productive this year while drawing several double-team blocks and chip blocks. His status as one of the league’s most marketable defensive players also helps his case when Pro Bowl voting comes around.
With this year’s nomination, Patterson notches the third Pro Bowl of his career, having played in the game in 2014 and 2017. However, this marks the first time he has been voted in as a special teamer—his first two appearances came as a kick returner. He leads the league in kick return yards with 799 yards on 27 returns and has a 102-yard touchdown to his name, as well as a 25.9 yards per return average that is currently second in the league. He has also served as a valuable gunner for Chicago’s punt unit, as well.
Jackson now has two Pro Bowl appearances to his name, having been voted in last year, as well. He hasn’t been as productive as he was in 2018—he has one interception and 4 pass deflections, as opposed to 6 interceptions and 15 deflections last year—but he has still been a reliable coverage safety for the Bears. His name value also helps his case as one of the more popular safeties in the league.
The most surprising snub for Chicago is Allen Robinson, who was not even named as an alternate despite having 83 catches, 1,023 yards and 7 touchdowns through 14 games. He has played at a very high level, currently sitting within the top 15 of all three of the aforementioned categories.
Though some of the Bears’ alternates could participate if players back out due to injury or Super Bowl commitments, Chicago’s current total of three sits five short of their total in 2018, when they sent eight players to the event. They had a combined three players make it to the Pro Bowl from 2014 to 2017, with two of those appearances being from Kyle Long.