Unfortunately, this year’s Pro Bowl won’t be taking place in sunny Hawaii. Instead, the festivities for the NFL’s version of the All-Star Game will be held in Orlando.
Mind you that three of the league’s teams are already based in Florida, having the event lose more of its luster amongst the players themselves. Heck, you can’t even blame Miami’s Ndamukong Suh for pulling out of the Pro Bowl and not wanting to take a three-hour Uber cab ride to Camping World Stadium and risk further injury.
Nevertheless, the Pro Bowl is here to stay, which means we still have more betting opportunities before we go full force on all the Super Bowl wagering action and its multitude of prop bets. Read on as we analyze this Sunday’s matchup featuring the return of the AFC vs. NFC format for this year’s run of the NFL’s most star-studded event.
If we were to make use of the AFC’s official Pro Bowl roster, this team would be really tough to beat. However, as it has become an annual custom, players who will participate in the upcoming Super Bowl won’t be able to partake in Pro Bowl action. There are even those who were voted in by the fans and players, but chose not to join in on the “fun” as well.
As such, the AFC won’t have their three legitimate quarterbacks available for Sunday: Tom Brady (Super Bowl LI bound), Derek Carr (injured) and Ben Roethlisberger (hurting, and possibly contemplating about his retirement). Heck, all three of Pittsburgh’s “Killer Bs” in Big Ben, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown opted out of the event altogether.
That leaves the team with San Diego’s one-two punch of Philip Rivers and Melvin Gordon as possible starters for Sunday’s game. Don’t get us wrong: Rivers and Gordon are tough competitors who will give it their all regardless of the circumstances, but the significant drop in talent is evident from what the team should really have. And if you ask us, it feels as if these two Chargers’ presence on the field is a mere marketing strategy for the NFL to ride the Los Angeles Chargers hype train for next season.
With a rather questionable offensive lineup, the AFC would have to resort to its defense to win Sunday’s contest, and that’s where the team really shines. Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller will anchor the D and he’ll be joined by his teammates from Mile High, Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, out in the secondary.
Heck, the AFC’s secondary alone is stacked with the best downfield defenders in the league, which includes Kansas City’s Marcus Peters and Eric Berry, as well as San Diego’s Casey Hayward (another Charger!). Hayward led the league with seven interceptions, and he combined with Talib, Peters and Berry combined for 20 picks in the regular season. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will have no problem with this unit on Sunday, especially with the familiarity he’s had with most of these players he’s either guided or played against in the AFC West.
Simply put, the AFC’s chances of winning hinge highly on creating turnovers against the NFC’s passing game. Then again, that might not be the case at all, because…
Even though the Falcons have the most Pro Bowl selections in the team with six – they’re all headed to Houston for Super Bowl LI – the NFC is still brimming with top-flight offensive talent. That still remains true even with Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers out of the equation as well.
Frankly, the NFC’s offense will look a whole lot like the Dallas Cowboys of this season, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The young tandem of quarterback Dak Prescott and presumptive Rookie of the Year Ezekiel Elliott will get to showcase their skills again, and you know they’ll both be extremely pumped for their first-ever Pro Bowl appearances. Other than that, wide receiver Dez Bryant also replaced Atlanta’s Julio Jones, and three of Dallas’ five offensive linemen made the cut as well.
Having said that, the NFC will definitely benefit from a Cowboy-centric offense that has some form of chemistry already in place. The team, which will be helmed by Dallas head coach Jason Garrett, by the way, will probably use Elliott on the ground quite often to avoid having to throw the ball into the AFC’s secondary. And just imagine what sort of damage Arizona stud running back David Johnson can do with an O-line that actually knows how to run-block.
We shouldn’t take the NFC’s defense lightly, either. Four players from Seattle’s much-vaunted defensive unit were selected to the Pro Bowl, and none of them have expressed their intentions to skip out on Sunday’s game yet. The NFC will have Seahawks standouts in all corners of its D, with Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett in the trenches, Bobby Wagner in midfield and Richard Sherman deep in coverage. The team’s front seven, in particular, appears very imposing indeed when you also throw Aaron Donald (Rams), Everson Griffen (Vikings) and Thomas Davis (Panthers) into the mix.
Writer’s Prediction
The NFC (-4.5) manages to generate way more offense and prevails with the 38-29 victory.
Create a betting account now to place your stakes on the Pro Bowl and, of course, Super Bowl LI before it’s too late!
