It’s easily the worst all-star game of the four major American sports leagues, but for those bettors who are having withdrawal symptoms from pro football action, the annual AFC-NFC Pro Bowl is Sunday night on NBC from Honolulu, with the NFC as a 4-point favorite on Bovada’s NFL football odds.
 
Get all your NFL player props and NFL team props at Bovada’s online sportsbook.
 
As is usually the case, this game is more about who isn’t playing. Of course no member of the New England Patriots or New York Giants will be there as they are slightly busy with other things. Both Pats QB Tom Brady (as a starter) and Giants counterpart Eli Manning were selected for the Pro Bowl. They have each been replaced by a rookie: Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton and Carolina’s Cam Newton, respectively.
 
It’s likely that Brady will be replaced as starter by Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger. He plans to play despite an ankle injury that bothered him for the final weeks of the season. If Big Ben were to pull out at the last minute, the Broncos’ Tim Tebow would be added to the AFC’s roster, although then the Chargers’ Philip Rivers would probably start. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers will start at QB for the NFC as he did in 2009.
 
The NFC has won three of the past four Pro Bowls, including 55-41 last season when Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall was the MVP. Hall intercepted Rivers in the end zone, returned a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown and tied for the NFC team lead with six tackles. The game was a snoozer, with the NFC jumping to a 42-0 second-quarter lead. There is usually little defense in this game. The last two Pro Bowls have surpassed this year’s Bovada total of 72. The record total in a game was the NFC’s 55-52 win after the 2003 season.
 
Hall, by the way, was the first defensive player to win MVP honors since the Bucs’ Derrick Brooks in 2005 (season). Defensive players haven’t taken back-to-back MVPs since 1987 and ’88 when the Eagles’ Reggie White and Bills’ Bruce Smith, two Hall of Famers, did so, respectively. Quarterbacks have won the most MVP awards with 16.
 
Super Bowl XLVI: Claim Your $100 Free Bet at Bovada! Join Now.

 

Social Bookmarking