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Atlanta Falcons kicker Matt Bryant won’t be taking the field at the Pro Bowl tomorrow despite earning his first bid in his 15-year career. Instead, he’ll be traveling to Houston to get ready to play in Super Bowl LI.
Bryant has been reliable for the Falcons throughout his tenure, coming through in the clutch on game-winning drive after game-winning drive. He has deserved Pro Bowl recognition for some time, and it is wonderful that he finally made his way onto the roster.
But he is not upset about missing his first Pro Bowl. Bryant and his teammates are precisely where they want to be.
“It was an honor to be recognized to begin with, and one way or another, I’m going to get a jersey to hang up on the wall,” Bryant said. “But playing in this, at the beginning of the year, you want to go to the Super Bowl, and you want to win the Super Bowl. And everything else after that is secondary.”
Bryant converted 34 of 37 field goal attempts this season, and missed just one of 57 attempted PATs. (Wow, the Falcons sure did score a lot of touchdowns.)
The Pro Bowl recognition for Bryant is well-deserved and has been a long time coming, but missing the actual game for the Super Bowl isn’t a big deal for any player. Hopefully Bryant will have a Super Bowl ring to show for it.