The 2014 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2013 season. It took place at 2:30 pm local time on January 26 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was televised nationally by NBC and was the final Pro Bowl on network television before ABC's airing in 2018 as part of a simulcast with sister network ESPN, whose parent company Disney currently holds domestic television rights to the game.
Significant changes to the Pro Bowl format were adopted in an attempt to make the game more "fan-friendly". These changes were proposed by National Football League Players Association president Dominique Foxworth and developed in partnership between the league and the players' union.
The most significant change was a switch to a "fantasy draft" format rather than pitting AFC all-stars against NFC all-stars. Hall of Fame players Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders were chosen, as honorary team captains, and joined by two active players each to assist in their selections. Chuck Pagano of the AFC South winning Indianapolis Colts coached Team Sanders, while Ron Rivera of the NFC South winning Carolina Panthers coached Team Rice. These coaches were selected for coaching the highest seeded teams to lose in the Divisional round of the playoffs, which has been the convention since the 2010 Pro Bowl.
Team Rice won the game 22–21.
Rule changes The rosters now consist of 44 players per squad, with an additional defensive back added. Two former players, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders, drafted players to be members of the teams. Each was assisted by two player captains, and a top player from NFL.com fantasy football. The player captains were the top two offensive and defensive players from teams not in the conference championships, as determined by a vote; Drew Brees and Robert Quinn represented Team Rice, while Team Sanders was represented by Jamaal Charles and J. J. Watt. The draft was held on January 21 and 22, 2014, with the selection of top offensive and defensive positions held during a primetime broadcast on the second day, aired by NFL Network. A "Game within the Game" format saw the addition of two-minute warnings to all four quarters, with a change of possession to start each quarter. The intention of this rule is to encourage four exciting two-minute drills. No kickoffs. A coin toss will determine which team is awarded possession first, and the ball will be placed on the 25-yard line at the start of each quarter and after scoring plays. The defense is now permitted to play "cover two" and "press" coverage. In the previous years, only the "man" coverage was permitted, except for goal line situations. Beginning at the two-minute mark of every quarter, if the offense does not gain at least one yard, the clock stops as if the play were an incomplete pass. A 35-second and 25-second play clock is used instead of the usual 40-second and 25-second clock. The game clock does not stop on quarterback sacks outside of the final 2 minutes of regulation.
Summary To begin the game, the coin toss was won by Team Sanders. They decided to defer to the second half, so Team Rice started with the ball.
The game featured six interceptions and nine sacks, while the 22–21 score was the lowest since the 2006 Pro Bowl, which ended with a 23–17 NFC win.
Scoring summary The scores broken down by quarter:
Rosters
Team Deion Sanders Team SandersQuarterbacks
Running backs (C)
FB
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive tackles
Guards
Centers
Defensive ends
(C) Defensive tackles
Outside Linebackers
Inside Linebackers
Cornerbacks
Safeties
Punter
Placekicker
Return Specialist
Long Snapper
Special Teamer
Team Rice Team RiceQuarterbacks (C)
Running backs
FB Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive Tackles
Guards
Centers
Defensive ends
(C)
Defensive tackles
Outside Linebackers
Inside Linebackers
Cornerbacks
Safeties
Punter
Placekicker
Return Specialist
Long Snapper
Special Teamer
Selected but did not participate Selected but did not participateQuarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive Tackles
Guards
Centers
Defensive tackles
Outside Linebackers
Inside Linebackers
Cornerbacks
Safeties
Placekicker
Notes: (C) signifies the player was selected as a captain Replacement selection due to injury or vacancy Injured player; selected but did not play Selected but did not play because his team advanced to Super Bowl XLVIII (see Pro Bowl "Player Selection" section)
Number of selections per team
+ American Football Conference Team Selections Kansas City Chiefs 10 Cleveland Browns 6 Denver Broncos 5 New England Patriots 5 Baltimore Ravens 4 Buffalo Bills 4 Miami Dolphins 4 Houston Texans 3 Indianapolis Colts 3 Cincinnati Bengals 2 New York Jets 2 Pittsburgh Steelers 2 San Diego Chargers 2 Jacksonville Jaguars 1 Oakland Raiders 1 Tennessee Titans 1+ National Football Conference Team Selections San Francisco 49ers 10 Carolina Panthers 7 Seattle Seahawks 6 Chicago Bears 5 Dallas Cowboys 5 New Orleans Saints 5 Philadelphia Eagles 5 Arizona Cardinals 4 Washington Redskins 3 Detroit Lions 2 Minnesota Vikings 2 St. Louis Rams 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 Atlanta Falcons 1 Green Bay Packers 1 New York Giants 1
Broadcasting The game was televised nationally by NBC and was the final Pro Bowl on network television until 2018. ESPN took over the exclusive broadcast rights to the Pro Bowl, effective in 2015, and eventually began simulcasting the game on ABC in 2018. In France, the game was televised by BeIN Sport, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland, by Sky Sports. In Slovenia, the game was televised by Šport TV, and in Germany, by Sport1 US.
Westwood One radio also broadcast the game nationally.
Ratings 7pm; Cris Collinsworth's Sunday Night Football Special HH: 3.6; Viewers: 5.555 million
7:30pm; 2014 Pro Bowl HH: 6.6; Viewers: 11.378 million
10:47pm; Pro Bowl Post-Game HH: 4.7; Viewers: 7.822 million 7:30 – HH: 6.3; Viewers: 10.809 million 8:00 – HH: 7.1; Viewers: 12.502 million 8:30 – HH: 7.1; Viewers: 12.588 million 9:00 – HH: 6.4; Viewers: 11.248 million 9:30 – HH: 6.4; Viewers: 10.961 million 10:00 – HH: 6.3; Viewers: 10.514 million 10:30–10:47 – HH: 6.5; Viewers: 10.750 million
References
External links Official website for the Pro Bowl Game box score