The Pro Bowl used to be held the week after the Super Bowl (which itself was held the week after the conference championships), which allowed big game participants to participate in this last hurrah for the season. However, in an effort to ramp up media hype allow teams more time to prepare, the Pro Bowl was moved from the week after the Super Bowl to the week before it.
Players whose teams are in the Super Bowl aren't the only ones who miss the Pro Bowl. Injured players (including the Texans' J.J. Watt) understandably bow out of the game, too. However, this season's Pro Bowl set a record, with 133 players receiving invites to a game the NFL doesn't even care about or want to put on. My understanding is that if Duane Brown hadn't suffered that season-ending injury, he would have gone to the game as an alternate as well.
However, we get to see two of our own, DeAndre Hopkins and Jon Weeks, play this week on Team Irvin, headed by professional loudmouth Michael Irvin.
This is your Pro Bowl Open Thread. Enjoy!