Pro Bowl Games 2026
The 2026 Pro Bowl Games presented by Verizon will take place during Super Bowl LX Week in the Bay area. The event will spotlight flag football, featuring the league's elite players in an AFC versus NFC game, previewing the sport ahead of the LA28 Olympics debut. The Pro Bowl Games will be televised and broadcasted from the Moscone Center, which will transition into a flag football arena. Coverage will begin on ESPN starting at 6:30 p.m. ET with the flag game at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Feb. 3. The game will be aired on ESPN, Disney XD and ESPN Deportes. Prior to the exhibition, ESPN will highlight the week festivities with a Pro Bowl show spotlighting the rosters and player stories on Sunday, Feb. 1, airing an NFL Live special at 11 a.m. ET and more content on ABC at 12 p.m. ET.
Saints' Defense
The Bucs will face Brandon Staley's defense on Sunday. Out of the Vic Fangio tree, Staley's defense plays a physical brand of football that tries to force everything underneath. The Fangio system features a light box and two safeties deep pre-snap. Two of the key fixtures in Staley's defense are nickel Alontae Taylor and linebacker Demario Davis. Davis possesses short-area burst and is adept at mitigating outside runs. He drives through his hips with explosiveness and Taylor re-routes receivers and effectively reads the quarterback's eyes. Taylor is physical and possesses elite change-of-direction with lower body flexion.
"The top down secondary, not trying to let you have shots downfield and they are not as much re-route as [Vic] Fangio teaches it with Cooper DeJean," said Baker Mayfield. "Alontae Taylor is a physical nickel and so, he really makes things go in the secondary but then when you have the linebacker duo of Pete [Werner] and Demario [Davis], that is really where it starts. Being able to communicate based on formations and those guys get everybody going. Definitely always have to know where 56 is."
Todd Bowles on Saints' Offensive Weapons
Spencer Rattler has amassed 1,450 yards and eight passing touchdowns for a 88.4 passer rating in 2025. He can scramble and extend plays, slipping by would-be sacks. Rattler is adept at throwing off-platform and is effective off RPO looks, and at letting routes develop before letting it rip. Chris Olave has been one of his primary targets and leads the Saints in receptions (44), receiving yards (440) and receiving touchdowns (three). He can uncover at all three levels of the field and pairs smooth routes with top-end speed to stress defenses vertically. Olave is proficient at settling in voids on hitches and curls, while Shaheed is a big-play threat and seems to operate at a different speed than other players on the field. He picks up YAC and eludes in the open field.
"Definitely moving around the pocket and he is running a lot more with his legs," said Todd Bowles on Spencer Rattler. "He has a strong arm and we had a rough one last week as well so we are trying to get over that part of it. He has been playing good football for them and he throws the deep ball well. He has connected with [Chris] Olave and [Rashid] Shaheed very well and they still have [Alvin] Kamara so he has a lot of weapons."
