IRVING, Texas – Two Cowboys players will be heading to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.
Dez Bryant and Tyron Smith have both been named to the 2014 Pro Bowl for the first time in their respective careers.
Bryant recorded his second straight 1,000-yard receiving year this season, and it's also his second straight season with 12 receiving touchdowns.
He's hauled in 85 catches for 1,134 yards through 15 games and would need seven catches and 248 yards in the finale to tie his numbers from last season. But Bryant's been more efficient and rarely seemed out of sync or out place with Tony Romo's passes.
His 12 receiving touchdowns this season tie him with Brandon Marshall and Demaryius Thomas for most in the NFL among wide receivers. Tight end Jimmy Graham leads all players with 15 receiving touchdowns.
Bryant's recorded three games this season with at least 140 receiving yards and four games with at least 100 receiving yards. He's also got a touchdown in each of his last four games.
Smith began as a right tackle before switching over to the left side last season, and his play dramatically increased toward the middle portion of the 2013 season, turning quickly into the elite player the Cowboys envisioned when they used their first-round pick on him in 2011. [embedded_ad]
Smith's rise and the addition of Travis Frederick and Ronald Leary in the middle helped bolster the Cowboys' line and turn it from the weak link in 2012 to one of the team's strong suits this year.
This is the first time since DeMarcus Ware's rookie season he hasn't been named to the Pro Bowl. Jason Witten, who's made eight Pro Bowls, including every year from 2004-2010 and another last season, also didn't make it this year.
This marks the first time since 2010 the Cowboys have sent a receiver to the Pro Bowl, when Miles Austin went. It also marks the first time since 2010 the Cowboys took an offensive lineman to the Pro Bowl, when they sent Andre Gurode. It's the first time since 2008, when Flozell Adams made the Pro Bowl, that a Cowboys offensive tackle was selected.
Unlike previous years, this year's Pro Bowl offers something much different. There's no more AFC lined up against the NFC. The all-stars will be drafted without conferences, but it will be back in Hawaii on Jan. 26, 2014, at Aloha Stadium.
The Pro Bowl players were determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group's vote counted a third toward determining the Pro Bowl selections announced today. Two additional "need" players will be chosen by each head coach and must be long snappers.
The "unconferenced" Pro Bowl player draft will be held Jan. 22 in Hawaii. Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders will be team captains. Once again, players competing in the Super Bowl won't be involved and more Cowboys could be asked to join the event as alternates in the future.
The Chiefs and 49ers sent a league-best eight players each to the Pro Bowl. Dallas and Philadelphia, which sent LeSean McCoy and Jason Peters, were the only two NFC East teams to send two players to the Pro Bowl. In all, 27 teams had at least one player selected and 22 had multiple players selected.
