HOUSTON \u2013 When the NFL announced its final Pro Bowl balloting, one of the biggest perceived snubs was not including star defensive end Danielle Hunter.<\/p>\n
Hunter is a five-time Pro Bowl selection who didn\u2019t make this year\u2019s Pro Bowl despite recording 15 sacks. The voting was split between himself and Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who was named to the first-team and there are no alternates this year for linemen due to the flag football format for the Pro Bowl games.<\/p>\n
Saturday morning, Hunter was named a second-team All-Pro while Anderson and Derek Stingley Jr. were named first-team All-Pros. <\/p>\n
Hunter finished third in the NFL in sacks and recorded 54 tackles, 15 tackles for losses, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery. He had one game with a career-high tying 3 1\/2 sacks, four tackles for losses, four quarterback hits and one forced fumble.<\/p>\n
He became the only player in franchise history and the third player in the NFL this season to record at least 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and one forced fumble in a single game. Hunter has now reached 14 or more sacks four times in his career, becoming the 13th player in NFL history to accomplish the feat. Hunter is not a self-promoter and he has a low-key personality. He simply does his job in outstanding fashion with a high standard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI promise he gets a lot of attention from opposing offenses, so I\u2019ll start there,\u201d Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. \u201cHe\u2019s a quiet guy. Probably the quietest 15-sack season maybe in a while. So, I don\u2019t really know. Again, I\u2019m not sure that he has a lot of focus outside being the best he can be and being a good player. Again, I have zero social media presence or anything, so I\u2019m not sure what his marketability is in that world. <\/p>\n
\u2018But he\u2019s a great player, a really good player for us. Likes to come to work and try to get better. Whatever this year is for him, 12 years in the league, and he\u2019s still trying to perfect his craft and improve. Had an excellent season for us, and I hope it continues moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
This represents the first time two Texans were first-team All-Pro since 2018 when J.J. Watt and DeAndre Hopkins were both named first-team All-Pro. It\u2019s the first time the Texans had three players on the All-Pro team since Jadeveon Clowney, Benardrick McKinney and Whitney Mercilus were second-team selections in 2016.<\/p>\n
Stingley is the only cornerback in franchise history to earn Associated Press first team All-Pro honors while Anderson joins Watt and Stingley as the only three defensive players in team history to earn the award. Anderson and Hunter become the first edge duo since 2010 (New York Giants\u2019 Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora) to each receive All-Pro honors in the same season.<\/p>\n
Stingley made it for the second consecutive year.<\/p>\n
He is avoided for the most part by opposing quarterbacks because of his rare coverage skills and penchant for intercepting passes.<\/p>\n
He recorded 36 tackles, 15 passes defensed and four interceptions for a defense that finished the season ranked first in the NFL in total yards allowed per game (277.2), second in points allowed per game (17.4) and allowed the league\u2019s third-lowest passer rating (76.2). He is the only cornerback in the NFL to record at least four interceptions in each of the previous three seasons.<\/p>\n
He returned his first interception for a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders and forced a fumble. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. He led all ballots with 130 votes.<\/p>\n
Anderson was named first-team All-Pro honor for the first time and had career highs in nearly every major category, including total tackles (54), tackles for loss (20), sacks (12) and three forced fumble. He also recorded the first fumble recovery touchdown of his career against the Seattle Seahawks. His 20 tackles for loss ranked fourth in the AFC, while his sacks ranked fifth.<\/p>\n
According to Next Gen Stats, Anderson finished with the second-most quarterback pressures in the NFL (85) and the third-highest pressure rate (20.5 percent) among players with at least 200 pass-rush snaps. He also set the NFL record for most third-down pressures (48) in a single season in the Next Gen Stats era.<\/p>\n
Texans nickel Jalen Pitre finished third in the All-Pro voting behind the Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 Cooper DeJean and Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James.<\/p>\n