Last January, the NFL's Pro Bowl left Hawaii for Orlando, Florida, relocating nearly 5,000 miles from its home for 35 of the previous 37 years. In a way, however, that game was more of a departure in style than location.
Amid concerns that the league's annual all-star game had become a glorified walk-through played at less than full speed, particularly in the trenches, something unexpected happened in the 2017 Pro Bowl: The defenses showed up. The AFC beat the NFC, 20-13, in the lowest-scoring Pro Bowl since the 1995 season, and the game generally featured a more competitive atmosphere than it had in years.