Browns K Phil Dawson and LT Joe Thomas Selected to Pro Bowl

The Cleveland Browns’ season has quickly fallen apart – as they so often do – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t at least a few bright spots.

Just as the team is reliable for posting a losing record, so too is left tackle Joe Thomas for having a Pro Bowl-caliber season. This year, it was nothing different, as Thomas was selected as a starter for the AFC squad.

This is the sixth straight selection for Thomas, who joins running back Jim Brown as the only two Browns to be elected to the Pro Bowl in their first six seasons. In other words, Thomas’ workmanlike quest for the Hall of Fame continues.

The surprise selection, though, comes in the form of kicker Phil Dawson. Led by a fervent voting campaign, Dawson is now going to his first Pro Bowl after 14 seasons in the NFL. It’s a much-deserved honor; Dawson is 28 of 29 on field goals this year and remains the model of consistency (along with Thomas) for a franchise in constant disarray.

Kick returner Josh Cribbs, linebacker D’Qwell Jackson and center Alex Mack were all selected as first alternates.