Peyton Manning drops back to pass during last Sunday’s game in Oakland. Manning was 31-of-44, with 340 yards and five touchdowns in the win. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
Bovada.lv’s current odds lists the Broncos as slight Super Bowl favorites, 13/4 compared to the Patriots’ 13/2. A look at Wednesday’s 2015 Pro Bowl voting on NFL.com shows many fans agree.
In the fan balloting — which compromises one-third of the selection process — Peyton Manning leads all vote-getters (359,598), Von Miller ranks first among outside linebackers (101,875) and receiver DeMaryius Thomas, tight end Julius Thomas, defensive end DeMarcus Ware, left tackle Ryan Clady and cornerback Aqib Talib sit second at their positions.
The Colts’ Andrew Luck (284,575), Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers (280,394) and the Patriots’ Tom Brady (254,807) follow Manning in the quarterback voting.
New England lists three leading vote-getters: tight end Rob Gronkowski, kicker Stephen Gostkowski and special teamer Matt Slater.
Fan voting runs online at NFL.com through Dec. 15. The Pro Bowl players are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third toward determining the 88 All-Star players who will be eligible for the Pro Bowl Draft. NFL players and coaches will cast their votes on Dec. 19.
The Pro Bowl players will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 23 and assigned to teams through a draft, the second year of the process of an “unconferenced” game. The game is set for Jan. 25, 2015, from the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
