Six players on the Pittsburgh Steelers led their respective positions when fan balloting for the Pro Bowl ended last week.
Five were among the leading vote getters when the process began in November: center Maurkice Pouncey, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, inside linebacker Devin Bush and free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The sixth player might come as a surprise. It sure did to Tyler Matakevich, the fourth-year linebacker who emerged as the player with most votes among AFC special teams players.
Thanks to a late surge, Matakevich finished with 87,863 votes, pushing him past Matthew Slater of the New England Patriots, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection.
“I wasn’t even paying attention to it,” Matakevich said. “But it’s pretty cool. I know it’s only one part of it, but just to get the fan vote is pretty cool.”
The fan vote encompasses one-third of the Pro Bowl selection process. Players and coaches account for the other two-thirds of the votes. The 88 players selected to the Pro Bowl will be unveiled at 8 p.m. Tuesday on NFL Network.
“That would mean everything,” Matakevich said when asked about a Pro Bowl trip. “Shoot, that’s one of the highest things I could get at this level. It would be a tremendous honor to be recognized throughout the league for your play.
“It shows that all the hard work you have to put in is really paying off.”
Matakevich leads Steelers special teams players with 14 solo tackles, including two Sunday night in a 17-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. No other Steelers player has more than six solo stops on special teams.
“I just know I have to make every snap count,” Matakevich said. “It’s not like I’m out there on defense for 50-60 snaps. I’m out there for only a few, and how many times are there a touchback or a fair catch? You don’t always get an opportunity to make a play. To be recognized for what I’m doing on the field is a tremendous honor.”
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