The 2018 Pro Bowl was the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

for the 2017 season, which was played at

Camping World Stadium Camping World Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Orlando, Florida, Orlando, Florida, United States located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Kia Center, the Dr. Phil ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

on January 28, 2018. For the first time since 2009, the game started during afternoon hours instead of primetime hours for U.S. Mainland viewers with a 3 p.m. ET start. It marked the second year the game was played in Orlando. It was televised nationally by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and simulcasted on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. The roster was announced on December 19 on

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

. The AFC team won the game 24–23, the second straight year the Pro Bowl was won by the AFC.

Background

Host selection process

Under a three-year deal that began in 2017, the Pro Bowl will once again be hosted by Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

Side events

The Pro Bowl Skills Challenge was held on January 25 at the

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company. ...

and its

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a multi-purpose sports complex located at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex allows families to combine tournaments and competition with a visit to ...

Game format

Rule changes

The game format was the same as for 2017, highlighted by: *Forty-four players were assigned to each team, up from 43 in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

(a regular game-day active roster has 46). *The two-minute warning that was given in the first and third quarters (in addition to the second and fourth quarters) in previous years was eliminated, and the ball did not change hands after the first and third quarters. *The coin toss determined which team was awarded possession first. There were no kickoffs; the ball was placed on the 25-yard line at the start of each half and after scoring plays. *Defenses were now permitted to play cover two and press coverage. Prior to

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, only man coverage was allowed, except for goal line situations. *A 38-second/25-second play clock was used instead of the usual 40-second/25-second clock, and up from 35-second/25-second clock in 2016. *Replay reviews will be allowed; previously there was replay in the Pro Bowl only when new equipment tests were being conducted. *There are no

intentional grounding In gridiron football, intentional grounding is a violation of the rules where "a passer...throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion."Official Rules of the NFL, Rule 8-3-1. This typically happens when a quarterback about to be ...

rules. *Only

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

s and tackles may rush on passing plays, but those must be on the same side of the ball. The defense is not permitted to blitz. *All blindside blocks and blocks below the waist are illegal. *A

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

must be in every formation. *No more than two

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

s on either side of the ball. * Deep middle safety must be aligned inside the hash marks. *Play is stopped the moment a defender wraps his arms around the ball carrier. (This rule only applies to the quarterback in the backfield during regular NFL play.)

Summary

Box score

AFC rosters

The following players were selected to represent the AFC:

Offense

Defense

Special teams

NFC rosters

The following players were selected to represent the NFC:

Offense

Defense

Special teams

Notes: Players must have accepted their invitations as alternates to be listed; those who declined are not considered Pro Bowlers. :bold player who participated in game : signifies the player has been selected as a captain :Replacement Player selection due to injury or vacancy :Injured/suspended player; selected but did not participate :Replacement starter; selected as reserve :Selected but did not play because his team advanced to

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...

''(see Pro Bowl "Player Selection" section)''

Number of selections per team

Broadcasting

The 2018 Pro Bowl was televised nationally by

, and

ESPN Deportes ESPN Deportes (, ) is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the ...

. The simulcast marked the game's return to broadcast television, as well as its return to ABC for the first time since

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. To accommodate the return to broadcast television, the game moved from primetime to an afternoon start time to avoid interfering with ABC's Primetime Lineup.

Cheerleaders

All selected in a different way, some by fan vote, some by team vote and some by choice of their director, the 2018 Pro Bowl Cheerleaders were a team composed of only one representative from each NFL team. This elite group of women attended events, performed for fans, and learned new routines all throughout the week leading up to the game. The team performed for the entirety of the game and in the half-time routine with Jordan Fisher.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pro Bowl

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2017 NFL season 2018 in American football 2018 in sports in Florida 2018 in Orlando, Florida American football competitions in Orlando, Florida January 2018 sports events in the United States Simulcasts