Pro Bowl 2013: Players Who Will Make Showdown Exciting

In what could be the last Pro Bowl ever in the National Football League, the AFC and NFC teams are planning on doing something they didn’t do last year: try.

Last year’s games featured tons of broken tackles, a lack of enthusiasm from the players and just an overall lack of competition.

If the players truly want the Pro Bowl to stick around, then the 2013 edition of the game should be much more exciting, and here are the players who will fuel that excitement.

Petyon Manning (Quarterback, Denver Broncos)

Manning, possibly the Most Valuable Player in the league this year, as well as the Comeback Player of the Year, is sure to lead the AFC in the Pro Bowl and will hopefully get both teams fired up.

Manning is highly competitive and was one of the most prolific passers in the regular season, throwing for 4,659 yards and 37 touchdowns.

With those kind of numbers, Manning is bound to throw two or three touchdowns while he’s in the game, and his competitiveness and leadership might just be what the game needs to get players ready to go, especially since Manning missed the game last year.

Russell Wilson (Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks)

For anyone who saw Wilson play in the playoffs, it’s pretty obvious why he might be the most explosive player on the NFC side besides Adrian Peterson.

With Robert Griffin III out of the Pro Bowl roster, Wilson is an incredibly mobile quarterback, that players on the AFC may not have faced all year. Wilson is the kind of player who always want to prove something, and surely still has a chip on his shoulder after losing to the Falcons in the Divisional round of the playoffs.

If Wilson and Peterson are on the field at the same time, it could be one of the most entertaining things fans have seen all season.

Adrian Peterson (Running Back, Minnesota Vikings)

The NFL’s leading rusher and Peyton Manning's opponent in the MVP and Comeback Player of the Year races, Peterson isn’t ready to let up, even after coming nine yards short of the single-season rushing record.

Peterson has already gone public regarding his play in the Pro Bowl, telling Dave Campbell of the Associated Press that he’s “going to play hard.”

Peterson will be fun to watch no matter who is quarterbacking, and he could be a dangerous combination with Wilson, Drew Brees or Eli Manning. Peterson has never run at anything but full-throttle, and he might just be the thing the Pro Bowl needs for more fans to tune in.