NFL Pro Bowl 2022: how the all-star game works, dates, times, and where it's being held
The NFL's top talent head to Sin City for weekend that will culminate with the 71st Pro Bowl. The AFC and NFC will square off in the NFL's "All Star Game."
Have no fear football fans, the Pro Bowl is here. We may have to wait two weeks between Conference Championship Weekend and Super Bowl Sunday, but the NFL’s “All’-Star” game is here to save us.
Vegas gets ready for their first Pro Bowl
The top players in the league, voted by the fans, coaches and players will converge on Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium this Sunday afternoon as the AFC will take on the NFC for the 71st edition of the Pro Bowl
The voting results are split up between fans, coaches and players. The fans get a third of the voting power, while coaches and players represent the other two-thirds that will eventually decide who makes it to the showcase weekend.
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor received the most fan votes in the AFC with 265,370, while San Francisco 49er pass rusher Joey Bosa led the NFC with 264,687.
Vrabel and LaFleur selected to coach AFC and NFC
Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and and Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur will coach their respective conferences Pro Bowl team after leading their sides to the best records in the AFC and NFC.
The Pro Bowl used to be played the week after the Lombardi Trophy was hoisted, but before the 2010 season, the NFL decided to wedge it in between the conference championships and Super Bowl Sunday.
The decision was made to peak interest in a game that was not all that attractive even to the most die hard NFL fan, but It must be said that the ratings of the Pro Bowl have never been spectacular.
The Pro Bowl has never been a blockbuster event
The come down from the Super Bowl is hard to get over, and an all star game played at half speed has never been the remedy that football fans needed to drive up the Nielsen Ratings.
Ratings hit an a 20 year high the season after the NFL changed the date of the Pro Bowl from after the Super Bowl to the week before, but the peak didn’t last long. Since 2010 the numbers have been declining as the league looks for a way to spark interest.
The Pro Bowl has been held every year, except one, since the league inaugurated the idea in 1950. Due to restrictions and limitations put in place by the COVID-19 pandemic the NFL decided to cancel their all star weekend last year for the first time ever.
NFL said mahalo Hawaii, moved to Orlando in 2016
The majority of the Pro Bowls were been played in Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium. Hawaii was the home to 34 AFC vs. NFC matchups from 1980-2016. After the 2016 Pro Bowl the league ditched the sunny shores of Hawaii and moved their showcase weekend to south Florida.
Up until this year that is where the league’s best talent met to match up one last time before the offseason. This Sunday will mark the first time the Pro Bowl is played in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
While the pool of players is fantastic, there will be a few players who won’t be in attendance because they will be busy preparing for next Sunday’s title game. Three Cincinnati Bengals and four Los Angeles Rams will happily sit the Pro Bowl while all their attention turns to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy next Sunday.
Bengals and Rams won't be in Vegas
Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon, Ja’Marr Chase, and Trey Hendrickson were a part of the AFC’s team, while LA’s Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and Matt Gay were picked to represent the NFC this Sunday.
While some Super Bowl participants won’t be on display, there will be a jam packed field of talent taking the field at Allegiant Stadium. Kickoff is set for Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET from Las Vegas.