It’s finally here -- the biggest game of the season, featuring the best talent in the league. It’s the one you’ve all been waiting for ... the 2015 Pro Bowl! Of course, that’s how the league would like reality to look, and that’s certainly how they try and bill it, but the Pro Bowl has struggled to maintain viewers in recent years.
Pro Bowl 2015: Time, TV schedule, rosters, rule changes, and online streaming
The 2015 Pro Bowl is here, and we’ve got all you need to know heading into the game.
Whatever the case, the latest iteration of the game continues to evolve as the league tries to find the sweet spot that keeps people interested, and it’s set for Sunday night on ESPN. This year, they had two former players serve as captains to draft the respective teams to play in the Pro Bowl, something they started doing last year. That event drew some attention, though it also did as much last year while the game itself saw its ratings drop.
This year, it's Michael Irvin and Cris Carter captaining the two teams. Irvin, naturally, grabbed a whole bunch of Dallas players for his team, including Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray, Tyron Smith and Jason Witten. Carter ended up with some big-name players, including Andrew Luck and J.J. Watt.
Rule changes
There’s been plenty of rule tweaks for this year’s game. First off: there will be no kickoff, for whatever reason. It might be that the league doesn’t want players to get injured in an exhibition game, but whatever the case, the coin toss will determine who gets the ball first, and said ball will be placed at the 25-yard line.
That will occur after scores, but also at the start of each quarter. The league is adding a two-minute warning to the first and third quarters, and the ball will change possession at that point. The thinking here is that two-minute drills are more exciting for fans. Also along that same vein, cover two and press coverage will be allowed in the game.
Outside of that, the rest has to do with the game clock. The clock will stop if the offense does not gain at least one yard in the final two minutes of each quarter, preventing stalling to let the clock run out. The clock will start after an incomplete pass after the signal of a referee outside of the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half. There will also be a 35-second/25-second play clock as opposed to the typical 40-second/25-second play clock.
How to Watch
Date: Sunday, Jan. 25
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
TV: ESPN
Announcers: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden
Online Streaming: WatchESPN
Here are the rosters for the game:
Team Carter
Coach
John Harbaugh
Offense
QB Andrew Luck
QB Drew Brees
QB Andy Dalton
RB Jamaal Charles
RB Justin Forsett
RB Alfred Morris
FB John Kuhn
WR Antonio Brown
WR A.J. Green
WR T.Y. Hilton
WR Jordy Nelson
TE Martellus Bennett
TE Greg Olsen
OT Joe Staley
OT Duane Brown
OT Ryan Clady
OG Josh Sitton
OG Evan Mathis
OG Mike Pouncey
OC Maurkice Pouncey
OC Jason Kelce
Defense
DE J.J. Watt
DE Mario Williams
DE Calais Campbell
DT Marcell Dareus
DT Dontari Poe
DT Kyle Williams
OLB Justin Houston
OLB Connor Barwin
OLB Tamba Hali
ILB C.J. Mosley
ILB Lawrence Timmons
CB Patrick Peterson
CB Antonio Cromartie
CB Aqib Talib
CB Sam Shields
S Donte Whitner
S Glover Quin
S Antoine Bethea
Special teams
K Cody Parkey
P Pat McAfee
PR Devin Hester
ST Justin Bethel
LS Jon Dorenbos
Team Irvin
Coach
Jason Garrett
Offense
QB Tony Romo
QB Matthew Stafford
QB Matt Ryan
RB DeMarco Murray
RB Mark Ingram
RB C.J. Anderson
FB Marcel Reece
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
WR Randall Cobb
WR Emmanuel Sanders
WR Golden Tate
TE Jimmy Graham
TE Jason Witten
OT Tyron Smith
OT Joe Thomas
OT Trent Williams
OG Zach Martin
OG Marshal Yanda
OG Kyle Long
OC Travis Frederick
OC Nick Mangold
Defense
DE Cameron Wake
DE Robert Quinn
DE DeMarcus Ware
DT Aaron Donald
DT Geno Atkins
DT Sheldon Richardson
OLB Von Miller
OLB Clay Matthews
OLB Elvis Dumervil
ILB Luke Kuechley
ILB D'Qwell Jackson
CB Joe Haden
CB Vontae Davis
CB Brent Grimes
CB Chris Harris
S T.J. Ward
S Eric Weddle
S Mike Adams
Special teams
K Adam Vinatieri
P Kevin Huber
PR Darren Sproles
ST Darrell Stuckey
LS L.P. Ladouceur
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