2021 Pro Bowl
The 2021 Pro Bowl was to be the National Football League all-star game for the 2020 NFL season. It was originally scheduled to be held on January 31, 2021, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL canceled the Pro Bowl game in October 2020, and deferred Las Vegas's hosting of the game to 2022.
| Date | January 31, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Stadium | Game canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alternative festivities held in its place. |
The league then announced plans to still conduct the fan vote to determine the Pro Bowl roster, and organized alternative festivities honoring them, including Verzuz battles and a "virtual" Pro Bowl in Madden NFL 21 featuring NFL players and celebrity participants controlling the AFC and NFC players.
Background
The original site for the game was announced on June 16, 2020. The Las Vegas Raiders' home Allegiant Stadium's bid won out over Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida and SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles metro area.[1]
On October 14, 2020, the league decided to cancel the game due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Allegiant Stadium was awarded the 2022 Pro Bowl instead.[2] The league further announced that the Pro Bowl rosters for the 2020 season will still be voted upon, and that they will instead hold an alternative event to honor those players chosen.[3]
Alternative festivities
On November 17, 2020, the NFL announced that it would organize an esports event on the original January 31, 2021 date of the game, where "celebrities, NFL Legends, current players, and streamers playing as the official Pro Bowl rosters" on the video game Madden NFL 21.[4][5][6] Voting also began on November 17 on the NFL's website and via Madden NFL 21, and on Twitter starting on December 1. Voting on all platforms then ended on December 17 with the rosters being announced on December 21.[7][8]
The NFL partnered with Verzuz to air a series of Pro Bowl "highlight battles" from January 26 through 29.[9]
ABC, ESPN, and Disney XD aired a television special on January 31 at 3 p.m. ET in place of the game—the Pro Bowl Celebration—which was presented by ESPN's NFL studio analysts, and featured segments and interviews honoring the Pro Bowl roster.[10][11] The Madden event was then streamed later in the day at 5 p.m. ET on the NFL's social media outlets and Twitch (with an encore airing on NFL Network later that evening), and hosted by Michael Strahan and Charissa Thompson. From their respective homes, in order, quarterback Deshaun Watson, former wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, running back Derrick Henry, and Snoop Dogg each played one quarter as the AFC team, while quarterback Kyler Murray, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, strong safety Jamal Adams, and former running back Marshawn Lynch each played one quarter as the NFC team.[12] Kyler Murray was later named the MVP.
Virtual game box score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| NFC | 7 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 32 |
at N/A (Madden NFL 21)
- Date: January 31, 2021
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. EST
- Source: NFL Pro Bowl: Madden '21 Edition on YouTube
AFC roster
Offense
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | 15 Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City |
17 Josh Allen, Buffalo 4 Deshaun Watson, Houston |
| Running back | 22 Derrick Henry, Tennessee | 24 Nick Chubb, Cleveland 28 Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas |
| Fullback | 42 Patrick Ricard, Baltimore | |
| Wide receiver | 10 Tyreek Hill, Kansas City 14 Stefon Diggs, Buffalo |
13 Keenan Allen, Los Angeles 11 A. J. Brown, Tennessee |
| Tight end | 87 Travis Kelce, Kansas City | 83 Darren Waller, Las Vegas |
| Offensive tackle | 72 Eric Fisher, Kansas City 78 Laremy Tunsil, Houston |
78 Orlando Brown Jr., Baltimore |
| Offensive guard | 75 Joel Bitonio, Cleveland 56 Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis |
66 David DeCastro, Pittsburgh |
| Center | 53 Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh | 78 Ryan Kelly, Indianapolis |
Defense
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | 97 Joey Bosa, LA Chargers 95 Myles Garrett, Cleveland |
55 Frank Clark, Kansas City |
| Defensive tackle | 97 Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh 95 Chris Jones, Kansas City |
93 Calais Campbell, Baltimore |
| Outside linebacker | 55 Bradley Chubb, Denver 90 T. J. Watt, Pittsburgh |
99 Matthew Judon, Baltimore |
| Inside linebacker | 53 Darius Leonard, Indianapolis | 49 Tremaine Edmunds, Buffalo |
| Cornerback | 25 Xavien Howard, Miami 27 Tre'Davious White, Buffalo |
24 Stephon Gilmore, New England 44 Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore |
| Free safety | 39 Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh | 31 Justin Simmons, Denver |
| Strong safety | 32 Tyrann Mathieu, Kansas City |
Special teams
| Position | Starter(s) |
|---|---|
| Punter | 7 Jake Bailey, New England |
| Placekicker | 9 Justin Tucker, Baltimore |
| Return specialist | 18 Andre Roberts, Buffalo |
| Special teams | 18 Matthew Slater, New England |
| Long snapper | 46 Morgan Cox, Baltimore |
NFC roster
Offense
| Position(s) | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | 12 Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay | 3 Russell Wilson, Seattle 1 Kyler Murray, Arizona |
| Running back | 33 Dalvin Cook, Minnesota | 41 Alvin Kamara, New Orleans 33 Aaron Jones, Green Bay 26 Miles Sanders, Philadelphia |
| Fullback | 44 Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco | |
| Wide receiver | 17 Davante Adams, Green Bay 10 DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona |
14 DK Metcalf, Seattle 18 Justin Jefferson, Minnesota |
| Tight end | 88 T. J. Hockenson, Detroit | 88 Evan Engram, NY Giants |
| Offensive tackle | 69 David Bakhtiari, Green Bay 71 Trent Williams, San Francisco |
72 Terron Armstead, New Orleans |
| Offensive guard | 75 Brandon Scherff, Washington 74 Elgton Jenkins, Green Bay |
75 Andrus Peat, New Orleans |
| Center | 62 Jason Kelce, Philadelphia | 77 Frank Ragnow, Detroit |
Defense
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | 94 Cameron Jordan, New Orleans 55 Brandon Graham, Philadelphia |
99 Chase Young, Washington |
| Defensive tackle | 99 Aaron Donald, LA Rams 91 Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia |
97 Grady Jarrett, Atlanta |
| Outside linebacker | 55 Za'Darius Smith, Green Bay 52 Khalil Mack, Chicago |
90 Jason Pierre-Paul, Tampa Bay |
| Inside linebacker | 54 Bobby Wagner, Seattle | 54 Fred Warner, San Francisco |
| Cornerback | 20 Jalen Ramsey, LA Rams 23 Jaire Alexander, Green Bay |
23 Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans 24 James Bradberry, NY Giants |
| Free safety | 37 Quandre Diggs, Seattle | |
| Strong safety | 32 Budda Baker, Arizona | 33 Jamal Adams, Seattle |
Special teams
| Position | Starter(s) |
|---|---|
| Punter | 3 Jack Fox, Detroit |
| Placekicker | 7 Younghoe Koo, Atlanta |
| Return specialist | 84 Cordarrelle Patterson, Chicago |
| Special teams | 44 Nick Bellore, Seattle |
| Long snapper | 69 Tyler Ott, Seattle |
Number of selections per team
|
|
References
- Richard Bilbao. "Orlando Eyes Yet Another Year Of The Pro Bowl". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- "NFL to reimagine 2021 Pro Bowl; '22 Pro Bowl awarded to Las Vegas". www.nfl.com. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- Smith, Michael David (October 14, 2020). "Pro Bowl will not be played this season". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
- Nguyen, Kevin (November 17, 2020). "The NFL Pro Bowl will be hosted in Madden this season". The Verge. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- Golden, Jessica (November 17, 2020). "The NFL will hold a virtual Pro Bowl this year, with players competing in the Madden video game". CNBC. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "2021 NFL Pro Bowl fan voting opens today; game to go virtual in 'Madden NFL 21'". NFL.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- Rapp, Timothy. "NFL Announces Format, Schedule, Voting for Virtual Madden 21 Pro Bowl". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- Around the NFL Staff. "NFL reveals complete AFC, NFC rosters for 2021 Pro Bowl". NFL.com. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- "NFL teams up with Verzuz for first-ever "NFL Pro Bowl Verzuz presented by Verizon"". NFL.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- "The "Pro Bowl Celebration" seems like it will mostly be highlights and interviews". Awful Announcing. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- "The 2021 Pro Bowl Celebration presented by Verizon Premieres Sunday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN, ABC and Disney XD". ESPN Press Room U.S. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- Rothstein, Michael (January 25, 2021). "Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Jamal Adams, Derrick Henry playing virtual Pro Bowl using Madden NFL 21". ESPN. Retrieved January 28, 2021.