How Did Stafford Get Jobbed for the Pro Bowl Thrice???

I don't think Matthew Stafford is a Hall of Fame QB yet. He hasn't had the type of post-season success or regular season domination that you would expect from the elites at his position. But I do believe he should be closer to the conversation than he is, and one of the biggest detractions on his resume is the lack of Pro Bowl appearances. Somehow, after all the years he's played in the NFL and all the yards he's racked up, he only made it as an injury replacement in 2014? How is this possible?

2011 -

In 2011, Stafford was statistically superior to Eli Manning in most respects. He eclipsed the 5,000 passing yard mark (hard to do), and threw 41 TDs (also hard to do), but had the misfortune to do so in a season when 2 other QBs also reached those numbers. Still, it's hard to look at the two seasons and conclude that Eli was better.

However, Cam Newton making the roster over Stafford is absolutely indefensible. Stafford was the superior QB in literally every single way. Cam was the ROY darling, but it's not like Stafford was old news. He's only a year older than Cam, and had missed most of the previous season due to injury. I have no rational explanation for this.

2015 - 

This PB roster is a head scratcher. Again, Eli Makes it in over Stafford despite being not quite as good. Aaron Rodgers makes it over Stafford because he's Aaron Rodgers, not because he was better that year (he wasn't). But the NFC had 2 QBs who had no business being on a Pro Bowl roster. Don't get me wrong, Bridgewater had a nice season and Winston was decent for a rookie, but come on! The Vikings had Adrian Peterson running the ball in 2015, and he was All Pro that year. Teddy B was a glorified game manager. Winston...he threw for a decent number of yards, but he had not a lot of TDs and a lot of INTs, and he just wasn't very accurate.

Objectively,  Stafford deserved to make it in over all 4 of those guys. I have no freaking clue how he didn't manage to make it in over even one of them.

2017 -

2017 doesn't have quite as strong a case for Stafford as we had in the previous 2 examples, but it's still a snub if not outright robbery. Out of these 4 QBs, Stafford has the most yards, most yards per game, the best completion percentage, etc. Looking at the numbers across the board, I'd have to put Carson Wentz ahead of Stafford that season, but Jared Goff is debatable, and Wilson really has no case. Goff, like Bridgewater in 2015, was aided SIGNIFICANTLY by having an All Pro running back carrying the offense.

The hidden numbers for Wilson in 2017 are his rushing yards. If you factor that in with his passing yards (and do the same for Stafford), they basically break even. Stafford was inarguably the better passer in 2017, but Russell Wilson had very little help running that offense, leading the team on the ground as well as through the air.

The problem is if "lack of help" is the argument to justify Wilson getting the nod over Stafford, what's the argument for Goff? Or any of the guys in 2015 or 2011 that were listed? As far as carrying the offense goes, the Lions' rushing attack has been famously anemic. Since 2011, there have been only eight 100-yard GAMES by a Lions running back, and we've had only three 700-yard rushing seasons! Until Kerryon Johnson broke the streak in 2018, the Lions had gone nearly 5 seasons without a 100-yard rushing game.

I know the Lions lose a lot (believe me, I KNOW), and I realize that they might be the least "sexiest" franchise in the NFL, but that just becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if they don't get recognition when they actually deserve it. It's hard to look at the numbers for these three years and not conclude that the game is somehow rigged.