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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Five things you need to know about the Pro Bowl

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- It may not be as warm as Hawaii or have an ocean for players to frolic in, but Arizona will host this year’s Pro Bowl, marking the second time since 1980 that the game won't be played offshore.

While most of the attention this week has been paid to the deflation controversy, there have been plenty of Pro Bowl storylines in the desert leading up to the 8 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium (ESPN). For the second consecutive year, the game won’t feature an AFC vs. NFC format. This year’s teams will be led by a pair of Hall of Fame wide receivers: Michael Irvin and Cris Carter.

Here are five things you need to know about this year’s Pro Bowl:

Watt could win offensive and defensive MVPs: While there may not be an official line on whether the Houston Texans' J.J. Watt wins the defensive MVP, he is the perceived favorite. Watt may also be the most versatile player at this year’s game. He had the second-most sacks in the NFL this season with 20.5 and scored two defensive touchdowns. But he also scored three offensive touchdowns, and there’s this: Watt kicked at least one field goal during Friday’s Pro Bowl practice. He was also seen catching passes in the end zone.

Kickers will have to be more precise: One of the more significant changes at this year’s Pro Bowl will make both kickers -- the Philadelphia Eagles' Cody Parkey and the Indianapolis Colts' Adam Vinatieri -- work harder. The NFL narrowed the uprights from 18 feet wide to 14 feet wide for the game. The goal is to make extra points and field goals more challenging since kickers made about 84 percent of their field goal attempts this season. And as the NFL did during the first two weeks of the preseason, it is moving the extra point back to the 15-yard line, making it a 33-yard attempt instead of a 20-yard kick.

Pro Bowl is the NFL’s laboratory: Not only will the league experiment with the goalposts and extra points, the NFL will also implement changes for instant replay. Instead of going under the hood to review plays, the referee will watch replays on a Microsoft Surface, the same tablet teams have been using all season to review plays. The replays will be streamed to the tablet.

QBs will see familiar WRs: Of the six quarterbacks at the Pro Bowl, four will have a teammate lining up at wide receiver or tight end on their team. The Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo will throw to Jason Witten and the Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford will have Golden Tate as one of his receivers for Team Irvin. On Team Carter, the Colts' Andrew Luck will have T.Y. Hilton, while late addition Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals will have A.J. Green. The four quarterback-receiver tandems combined for 22 touchdowns this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Luck and Hilton had the most with seven, followed by Dalton and Green with six, Stafford and Tate with five, and Romo and Witten with four.

Stats and facts: Of the 115 players selected for the Pro Bowl this season, 88 will play. This is the sixth consecutive season 100 or more players were chosen. ... Last year, Team Rice beat Team Sanders 22-21 with the fewest points scored by a winning Pro Bowl team since 1996. ... Members of the winning team, including coaches, earn $55,000; those on the losing team get $28,000. ... Each team has the same number of AFC and NFC players this season. ... The Denver Broncos had the most Pro Bowl selections with 11, while three teams -- the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings -- didn’t have a selection. ... There are 36 first-time Pro Bowl selections this year. ... Five rookies will play in the game: New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr., Cowboys G Zack Martin, St. Louis Rams DT Aaron Donald, Baltimore Ravens LB C.J. Mosley and Eagles K Cody Parkey.

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