The 2018 NFL Pro Bowl pits the best of the AFC against the best of the NFC. The game will once again be played in Orlando, Florida at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and the NFC is favored by a field goal. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 64, down a full touchdown from where it opened.
Before you make any kind of pick on the Pro Bowl 2018, you need to see who SportsLine stat geek R.J. White is backing.
The 2017 NFL season has been extremely profitable for those listening to White. He is currently SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert and finished in the top 1 percent of the Las Vegas SuperContest -- his second cash in three years in the world's most prestigious handicapping competition. That was no fluke, either. Two seasons ago, he finished in the top 2 percent. Anyone who has followed his advice has reaped big paydays.
Now, he has studied every angle of this battle between the NFC and AFC and locked in his pick. He's only sharing it over at SportsLine.
White knows Ben Roethlisberger, Derek Carr, and Alex Smith will be under center for the AFC, while Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, and Jared Goff will quarterback the NFC. Combined, that's 76 passing TDs during the regular season for the AFC and 85 for the NFC.
Steelers WR Antonio Brown will be catching passes for the AFC. He was second in targets during the regular season with 162 and No. 1 in yardage with 1,533. Also at receiver for the AFC are Keenan Allen, Jarvis Landry, and T.Y. Hilton.
The NFC also has a strong stable of receivers including Adam Thielen, Michael Thomas, Doug Baldwin, and Davante Adams. Thielen was fifth in receiving yards during the regular season with almost 1,300, while Thomas was fourth in catches of at least 20 yards with 22.
The AFC won last year, 20-13, in a defensive duel. And in the NFC vs. AFC Pro Bowls before that, the teams alternated wins for the previous five years. Every margin of victory over the last seven Pro Bowls pitting the two conferences would have covered a three-point spread.
The Saints' Sean Payton will coach the NFC team, while the Steelers' Mike Tomlin will coach the AFC.
The Jaguars' Malik Jackson, A.J. Bouye, Jalen Ramsey, and Telvin Smith will all suit up for the AFC a week removed from a crushing defeat at the hands of the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
Similarly, the Vikings' Adam Thielen, Kyle Rudolph, Linval Joseph, Xavier Rhodes, and Harrison Smith will suit up for the NFC after their demolition as favorites by the Eagles last Sunday. Whether the Vikings and Jaguars stars will make a statement or come out flat remains to be seen.
With two talent-laden rosters, it's no surprise White is leaning Over, but he has evaluated all of the circumstances and identified a strong x-factor that has him confidently backing one side. Find out what it is, and who to back, over at SportsLine.
So who is White backing on Sunday? Visit SportsLine now to see who you should back and what x-factor you're not thinking about will determine the point-spread winner of the 2018 Pro Bowl, all from the man who finished in the top one percent of the nation's top handicapping tournament.