Analysis: Las Vegas fixed some but not all of Pro Bowl’s problems

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, Feb. 7, 2022 | 2 a.m.

The four Las Vegas Raiders who were selected to the Pro Bowl spent the past five days acting as a “free concierge service” to their colleagues, in the words of punter A.J. Cole.

The job might not have been quite as easy as it sounds. Two full rosters consisting of many of the NFL’s best players didn’t descend upon town to sit in their hotel rooms.

The unavoidable ambassadorship of the hometown Raiders had them reaching out to players fans may not expect, traditional rivals.

“I told (Travis) Kelce and (Patrick) Mahomes, if they ever need anything, a lay of the land, they’ve got my number,” Raiders Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby said after the AFC’s first practice last Thursday. “I’m that guy.”

Many may have expected the Kansas City Chiefs’ contingent to sit out the Pro Bowl after their devastating upset loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game, and maybe in a normal year, they would have.

But, based on how much fun they appeared to be having all week, they weren’t going to miss out on Las Vegas.

Mahomes looked like the friendliest Pro-Bowler on the sidelines of both the game and practices, as the quarterback chatted up everyone. The tight end Kelce grinned as he attempted to break teammate edge rusher Frank Clark’s top score on a machine measuring the impact of a spiked ball at Thursday’s practice. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill shotgunned not one but two beers on live television at the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday.

Such revelry did result in one unfortunate situation after all the official events had concluded when Saints running back Alvin Kamara was arrested on battery resulting in substantial bodily harm charges Sunday evening. But that couldn't mar the whole weekend, not with everyone else seemingly enjoying themselves more appropriately — including the fans.

The Strip looked like an NFL United Nations meeting all weekend given the various team jerseys and merchandise. There’s no denying Las Vegas and the Pro Bowl was a match.

“We all know this is a destination,” Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett said at practice.

Only 18 non-Super Bowl participating players selected for the Pro Bowl opted out of attending, notably none without citing injury or retirement. That may sound like a lot, but it’s the fewest in at least six years.

At least 21 players no-showed in each of the last three years the Pro Bowl was in Orlando and a whopping 29 passed the last time the event was held in its longtime Hawaii home in 2016.

That level of apathy among the players was a big reason why the NFL started to hold the Pro Bowl elsewhere. And if the league is looking for a more permanent site where players want to come, then Las Vegas is an easy choice.

Everything seemed to be going impeccably from Wednesday to Saturday when the NFL took over Las Vegas Ballpark as its headquarters starting with a made-for-television skills competition.

Then the game itself happened on Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium. It proved some things just might be beyond repair.

Actual football was non-existent in the AFC’s 41-35 victory over the NFC. The game was more like two-hand touch rules played at quarter-speed.

It’s understandable that football doesn’t translate well to an all-star game format as it’s unfair to expect the players to risk injury for the ultimate exhibition. But it would be nice if the NFL could figure out a way to get the players to care at least a little bit more.

Maybe that’s by leaning further into the skills-competition route and making it the marquee event. The NFL brought the competition back for the first time in three years on Wednesday night at Las Vegas Ballpark, and though it wasn’t perfect, it was promising.

Two of the most memorable parts of the whole weekend occurred, first when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson put on a clinic in a blowout win in the passing challenge. Then, Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons beat Hill (who may not have been fully trying) and Browns running back Nick Chubb in a fastest-man race shirtless despite near-freezing temperatures with the wind chill.

Parsons was among the few showing some semblance of effort in Sunday’s game, finishing with eight tackles and a sack. The crowd gasped at one point in the third quarter when he put an actual hit on Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson.

It might have been the loudest moment of the afternoon sans Crosby sacks on Wilson and Minnesota's Kirk Cousins — not actually bringing them down, of course — and a touchdown catch by Raiders receiver Hunter Renfrow from Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. Crosby was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the Pro Bowl, with Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert earning Offensive MVP for a pair of touchdown passes.

Raiders linebacker Denzel Perryman didn’t get his own big moment in the game, but that might have been fitting considering he skirted his hosting responsibilities all week.

“(Other players) asked me, ‘Oh man, you’ve got to show me where to go.’ I’m like, ‘Good luck with that because I don’t know,’” Perryman laughed at practice. “I don’t go out like that.”

That makes him a rarity among the Pro Bowlers. Other than the game, the players made the most of the experience.

And that’s why the Pro Bowl should be back, if not stick on a more permanent basis, in Las Vegas.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or