This season’s Pro Bowl voting demonstrates why football is a team game.

The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, leaders in the AFC and NFC, each had only two players voted into the league’s all-star game, which will be played Feb. 8 in Honolulu.

“You are a little deflated for a few minutes, but then you move on,” John Harbaugh, the Eagles’ special teams coach, said Thursday. “We have bigger and more important things to be concerned with.”

The Eagles and Patriots aren’t the first winning teams to be snubbed in the voting by fans, players and coaches.

Last season, Tennessee had no Pro Bowlers and used the snub as motivation and made it all the way to the AFC title game. This season, the Titans had four, led by quarterback Steve McNair.

The Patriots and Eagles seem to be doing the same as they point to those “bigger and more important things” — the playoffs.

“It is kind of bittersweet, because even though we have one of the best records in the league, we only had two guys get selected,” said cornerback Ty Law of the Patriots, whose only other Pro Bowler is defensive lineman Richard Seymour.

“It’s sort of a shame, and it just goes to show you how we still have so little respect across the league.”

Quarterback Donovan McNabb and cornerback Troy Vincent were the only Eagles on the NFC squad.

One player clearly overlooked was LaDainian Tomlinson of 3-11 San Diego, who leads the NFL in combined yardage. But he finished behind Jamal Lewis of Baltimore, Clinton Portis of Denver and Priest Holmes of Kansas City for running back spots on the AFC team.

“I’m not surprised at all.” Tomlinson said, adding when he was asked why: “3-11.”

“You can say it’s unfair or whatever it may be; life is unfair,” Tomlinson said. “I’m certainly disappointed. But that just shows you what kind of respect we have around the NFL, which is none.”

Several players who have not had strong years made the game, most notably Dallas’ Larry Allen, troubled all year by injury and inconsistency. He was chosen because seniority is a huge factor in offensive line voting — if you make it once, you’re liable to make it forever, and this is Allen’s eighth Pro Bowl.

Others chosen most likely won’t play because of injury. Jeremy Shockey of the New York Giants, who leads NFC tight ends with 48 receptions, hasn’t played since injuring a knee Nov. 9.

Baltimore and Kansas City had the most picks, eight each. Four teams had no one chosen: San Diego, Cleveland, Houston and Oakland.