Since 2008, every quarterback who has led the NFL in passer rating earned a Pro Bowl spot that same season. Go back to before 2008 and you’ll see that trend continue. That all changed yesterday as Tua Tagovailoa missed out on the Pro Bowl roster despite holding the highest passer rating in the league.
Tua Tagovaioa Is Disrespected
It’s a direct result of the constant disrespect Tua receives from his peers in the league and the national media. I believe Tua deserved to be a Pro Bowler this season but the coaches and players around the league essentially said “no”.
Tua actually led the entire league in fan voting, not just for QBs but for every player. However, fan voting only accounts for a third of the results. The rest of the voting is left up to both the coaches and the players, who left him out of their top three QBs. I can’t really knock the three they put ahead of him, as they certainly deserved their recognition too. But I can make the case for Tua as a Pro Bowler and compare that with the likes of Joe Burrow this season and other Pro Bowl QBs in the past.
Tua Tagovailoa Compared to Other Pro Bowl QBs
In about 11.5 games, Tua has thrown for 3,238 yards, with 24 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He leads the NFL in passer rating, touchdown-interception ratio, yards per attempt, and yards per completion.
For comparison, in a full 17 starts last year, Mac Jones threw for 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions and still made the Pro Bowl. I know it’s a bit unfair to compare numbers to last year’s Pro Bowlers, but that year Mac Jones was chosen over the likes of Josh Allen and Joe Burrow, who objectively had better seasons.
So what did they all see in Mac that they don’t see in Tua? Or Mitch Trubisky in 2018 for that matter?
This season, Joe Burrow has played a full 14 games and thrown for 3,885 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He’s admittedly had a fantastic year. Burrow has a better completion percentage and overall numbers than Tua, but mostly because he’s played over 2 more games.
When Tua has played, I believe he has been a top-three QB in the AFC. Pro Bowl or not, he’s enjoyed a breakout year and has his sights set on a playoff run.
When asked by Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald about him potentially being named a Pro Bowler, Tua responded “That would be cool but my hope is I’m not available for it.”
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