LAS VEGAS -- While a flag-football game may have been more competitive, that doesn't mean the NFL's all-stars had no pride in their performance and eventual outcome in the 2022 Pro Bowl on Sunday.
No live tackling to the ground? No matter. Not to the fans who hung on every play at Allegiant Stadium, the first of three league events in Las Vegas, with the draft coming in April and Super Bowl LVIII in two years.
The goal, as players said throughout the week of practice, was to have fun and emerge unscathed. Mission accomplished, then, as the AFC beat the NFC 41-35 in a turnover-marred exhibition. It was the AFC's fifth straight win.