NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Brady is one of eight Patriots and Patrick Willis one of eight 49ers to make the Pro Bowl, the most on each roster.

Defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay (14-1), led by starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Baltimore (11-4), led by veteran linebacker Ray Lewis, have seven apiece for the Jan. 29 game in Honolulu, the NFL announced Tuesday.

Brady is one of seven starters from New England (12-3). The others are receiver Wes Welker, tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, defensive end Andre Carter, and guards Brian Waters and Logan Mankins all are starters for the AFC from the Patriots. Special teamer Matthew Slater is the other New England representative.

Linebacker Willis, DE Justin Smith, cornerback Carlos Rogers and tackle Joe Staley will start for the NFC from the 49ers (12-3), who had only Smith and Willis make the Pro Bowl last year.

Green Bay’s Rodgers is the starting NFC quarterback, backed by record-setting Drew Brees of New Orleans (12-3).

“It does have special significance, because when I was voted in in 2009, I was the third guy and I was very thankful to be voted in, and got the opportunity to start because of some injuries and guys not going,” Rodgers said. “It’s great to be voted in as a starter, that means a lot to me and it’s a special honor.”

Four of the NFL’s biggest headline makers this season did not get voted in by players, coaches and fans: Lions DT Ndamukong Suh, Steelers LB James Harrison, Panthers rookie QB Cam Newton, and Denver QB Tim Tebow.

Tebow, who supplanted Kyle Orton after the Broncos stumbled to a 1-4 start, is a second alternate.

Suh might have lost support after drawing a two-game suspension for stomping an opponent, and Harrison’s one-game suspension for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns QB Colt McCoy might have reduced his support.

Fifteen first-time Pro Bowlers made the NFC squad, including Rogers, Staley and safety Dashon Goldson of the 49ers. Thirteen AFC players were first-time selections, including Gronkowski, Carter and Slater of New England. Carter is on injured reserve (left quadriceps) and won’t play.

“If you look around the NFC, you see a ton of amazing and talented players at tight end,” said the Saints’ Jimmy Graham, the starter at the position and a first-time Pro Bowler. “And to be thought of in that company by my peers, the head coaches and the fans who follow the NFL is something I take seriously.”

Fourteen teams from each conference were represented, with St. Louis (2-13) and Washington (5-10) drawing blanks in the NFC, Buffalo (6-9) and Tennessee (8-7) shut out in the AFC.

Pittsburgh (11-4), New Orleans and Chicago (7-8) each had five representatives.

Three rookies were chosen: Denver linebacker Von Miller, Cincinnati receiver A.J. Green, and Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson, selected as a kick return specialist. He has tied an NFL record with four punt runbacks for TDs this season.

“As I’ve said before, A.J. is the best first-round draft pick that I’ve ever been around,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “He has shown the other players in this league, and the fans, that he deserved this honor. I have not seen a receiver better than he is at getting to the ball.”

All the kickers are from Bay Area teams.

NFC special teamers included two 49ers: record-setting placekicker David Akers, and punter Andy Lee; Peterson; and Corey Graham of Chicago.

For the AFC, the Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski is the placekicker, Shane Lechler the punter. The kick return specialist is Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown, and the special-teams player is Slater.

NFC starters will be Rodgers, Eagles RB LeSean McCoy, Packers FB John Kuhn, Graham, Panthers C Ryan Kalil, Saints guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks, Eagles tackle Jason Peters and Staley, Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald and Lions WR Calvin Johnson on offense.

On defense, it will be Vikings DE Jared Allen and Eagles DE Jason Babin, Cowboys DT Jay Ratliff and Smith, Packers OLB Clay Matthews and Cowboys OLB DeMarcus Ware, ILB Willis, Packers CB Charles Woodson and Rogers, Seahawks safety Earl Thomas and Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson.

AFC starters will be Brady, Ravens RB Ray Rice and FB Vonta Leach, Gronkowski, Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey, Mankins and Waters at guard, Browns tackles Joe Thomas and Dolphins tackle Jake Long, Welker and Steelers WR Mike Wallace.

On defense, it will be Broncos DE Elvis Dumervil replacing Carter, Colts DE Dwight Freeney, Wilfork and Ravens DT Haloti Ngata, Miller and Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs, Lewis, Jets CB Darrelle Revis and Broncos CB Champ Bailey, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Ravens safety Ed Reed.

Players who make the Super Bowl will be replaced on the Pro Bowl rosters.

FOXBORO — The New England Patriots have one major goal remaining in the regular season: clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. All they need to do is beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

That doesn’t seem so difficult for a team that has won its last seven games and will be at home against one that dropped seven straight before winning Saturday.

The Patriots (12-3) must keep avoiding turnovers and get decent play out of a makeshift offensive line should two starters remain sidelined. But the Bills (6-9) won 34-31 in the third game of the season, handing the Patriots one of their three losses. The Patriots gave the ball away four times in that game, all on Tom Brady’s interceptions leading to 24 points.

“I think everyone still has a pretty bitter taste in our mouths from the last time we lost to the Buffalo Bills,” Brady said yesterday on WEEI radio. “It was an incredibly difficult loss for our team. Everyone is going to be excited to go out there and see if we can do a better job.”

They’ve done much better at hanging on to the ball throughout their winning streak. In those seven games, the Patriots have 16 takeaways and just two giveaways. They lead the AFC with a plus-14 turnover differential.

In their first eight games, that differential was zero — 14 takeaways and 14 giveaways.

“In the beginning of the season, it just wasn’t very good,” offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said yesterday. “It’s kind of ironic playing

Buffalo this week and the challenges that they present. We turned the ball over four times against Buffalo in that game and we can’t do that. That’s just no way to win.”

Brady has thrown just one interception in the last seven games after having 10 in the first eight.

“Tom has done a much better job of taking care of the ball and he’s very, very conscious of it and it carries over to the rest of the offense,” O’Brien said. “If we can just continue to do that, that’s one of the major stats that equals wins, just taking care of the ball. The way our defense has been playing opportunistic football, that’s going to help us going forward.”

With better protection, Brady has more time to stand in the backfield and allow his receivers to get open. That was a big problem early in Saturday’s 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins in which the Patriots trailed 17-0 at halftime.

Left tackle Matt Light didn’t play after hurting his ankle in pregame warmups. Left guard Logan Mankins started but suffered a knee injury in the first quarter that ended his day.

There was no word on whether either would face the Bills.

“I don’t really know much more than I knew on Saturday” about Mankins, coach Bill Belichick said. “(Sunday) was Christmas, so today’s not a normal Monday. We’ll see where everybody is today and, more importantly, Wednesday when we hit the field again.”

Brady was sacked twice on New England’s first 10 offensive plays against Miami and was hurried often. But with offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia making adjustments, the protection was much better in the second half with rookie tackles Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon, and free agent guard Donald Thomas filling in.

“We have a lot of depth up there because we bring in guys that are multiple position guys,” O’Brien said. “They’re smart guys, they’re tough guys and then Dante gets them ready to play. When one guy goes down, it’s really the next-guy-up mentality.”

There are numerous reasons for the Patriots’ second-half turnaround, not the least of which is a lack of turnovers.

Sure, it has helped that the Patriots have averaged 34.6 points and faced a string of second-string quarterbacks during their seven-game winning streak, which has seen them go from 5-3 and tied for first place in the AFC East to 12-3 and the top spot in the conference.

But you dramatically improve your chances of scoring — and winning — when you don’t give the ball away. The Patriots have been doing all three for quite a spell now.

They committed 14 turnovers in their first eight games, their generosity placing them in the middle of the league. They have two giveaways in the last seven games and are now tied with the Saints (16) for third fewest, behind the 49ers (10) and Packers (12).

“We talk about it every day,” coach Bill Belichick said yesterday of the nonstop emphasis on ball security at One Patriot Place. “We talk about it from the first day of training camp. We talk about it every day, every week, every game. It’s a top priority for us — protect the football whenever we handle it, whether it’s on offense or in the kicking game or if we’re on defense and get possession of the ball.

“There’s never a day that goes by that it doesn’t get talked about and emphasized. Of course the players are aware of it, as they should be. They know how important it is and so does everybody else.”

Half of the Patriots’ turnovers have come in two games. They had four each in a 34-31 loss to the Bills in Week 3 and a 24-20 setback to the Giants in Week 9.

Since losing to the Giants, the only giveaways have been a lost Tom Brady fumble against the Chiefs and that infamous red-zone interception by Brady against the Redskins.

“I think it starts with the quarterback,” offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien said. “Tom has done a much better job of taking care of the ball and he’s very, very conscious of it and it carries over to the rest of the offense. If we can just continue to do that, that’s one of the major stats that equals wins, just taking care of the ball. The way our defense has been playing opportunistic football, that’s going to help us going forward.”

The defense has 30 takeaways, tied for fourth most in the league. The Patriots have a plus-14 turnover differential for the season, which ranks third.

The Patriots are 92-4 (.958) since 2001 when finishing with a positive turnover differential, including 9-1 this season. The loss came against the Steelers when they finished at plus-1 with no giveaways.

The Patriots are 17-8 (.680) when finishing with an even differential during that span. They’re 24-30 (.444) when finishing with a negative number, including 2-2 this season.

You might recall the Patriots set a league record for fewest turnovers in a season with 10 last year. Even more impressive, it was accomplished in 16 games. The Chiefs had the old record of 12, set during the nine-game, strike-shortened season of 1982.

So the 49ers can tie the Patriots’ mark if they have no giveaways against the Rams on Sunday.

Silvestro replaces Carter

The Patriots didn’t make a big splash when it came to replacing injured defensive end Andre Carter on the roster, opting to promote undrafted rookie Alex Silvestro from the practice squad Friday.

Silvestro made his NFL debut the next day in a 27-24 win over the Dolphins. He was in for about a dozen snaps on defense while also playing a bit on special teams.

“Smart guy, works hard,” director of player personnel Nick Caserio said. “(He) has a little bit of position versatility along the front — he can play on the edge, to a degree can play on the inside, and has some value in the kicking game as well.

“He’s done a good job for us during the season on the look (scout) team and when he’s had his opportunities in practice defensively. That’s why we brought him up for the game. He had a handful of plays that he was on the field for, so we’ll see what happens here moving forward.”

Silvestro attended Rutgers, which is also the alma mater of Nate Jones, Devin McCourty and Tiquan Underwood. That makes it the most represented school on the Patriots roster.

The Patriots have three players from Purdue (Niko Koutouvides, Matt Light, Rob Ninkovich) and from Florida (Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Spikes, Gerard Warren). There would be four Gators, but Jermaine Cunningham is on injured reserve.

Extra Points

The Patriots released safety Ross Ventrone from the 53-man roster and defensive lineman Cedric McKinley, who was signed Dec. 20, from the practice squad. Don’t be surprised if Ventrone, who is a human transaction machine, is signed to the practice squad in the days to come. … Belichick had nothing to offer in the way of an update on Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins, who injured his left knee early in the first quarter Saturday and didn’t return.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots emphasize playing well for 60 minutes every game. On Saturday, 30 was enough — barely.

Rallying from their worst half of the season, the Patriots scored on their next five possessions and clinched a playoff bye with a 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins on Saturday.

“You don’t want to, certainly, make a habit of this,” said Tom Brady, who scored on two 1-yard sneaks and threw for a 1-yard touchdown. “We showed some resiliency.”

New England (12-3) won its seventh straight game. After the Houston Texans lost to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night, the Patriots needed a win or a tie to lock up one of the top two spots in the AFC.

“It’s good to clinch,” said Deion Branch, who caught the touchdown pass from Brady, “but not by the way we played. It’s not the way you want to do it.”

Miami (5-10) lost for the third time in eight games after opening at 0-7 and is 1-1 under Todd Bowles, who took over when Tony Sparano was fired.

“First half we came out and played our tempo and our ballgame,” Bowles said. “The second half they made us play theirs.”

The AFC East champions trailed 17-0 at halftime but made the necessary adjustments and went to their no-huddle offense more, keeping the Dolphins from making defensive substitutions. And Brady was on target after a first half in which heavy defensive pressure against a makeshift offensive line affected his accuracy. He completed just 7 of 19 passes for 87 yards and was sacked three times in the half.

But in the second half, he completed 20 of 27 passes for 217 yards, finishing at 27 for 46 for 304 yards and leading one scoring drive after another — a 45-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, the scoring pass to Branch, his own sneak that tied the game, Gostkowski’s 42-yard go-ahead kick after Devin McCourty’s first interception of the year, and the other sneak with 2:56 to go, making it 27-17.

The Dolphins made it closer on Matt Moore’s 15-yard scoring pass to Davone Bess with 1:48 to play. They had three timeouts left, but their hopes faded when Brady hit Wes Welker for a 6-yard gain and a first down.

“We had (Brady’s) number in the first half, but in the second half he came out and made a lot of plays,” Miami linebacker Karlos Dansby said. “He is a coach on the field.”

The Dolphins seemed headed for a victory and got a break even before the game started when Patriots left tackle Matt Light hurt his ankle in warmups and didn’t play. Left guard Logan Mankins took his spot, but he left with a knee injury suffered on New England’s second series.

“There’s always things that are going to go wrong in a football game and things aren’t going to work out the way you want them to all the time,” said Welker, who finished with 12 catches for 138 yards after managing just two for 20 in the first half. “The main thing is just playing a full 60 minutes and never giving in and understanding that one drive and one score (can) get things going.”

The Patriots punted on their first six series of the first half then missed a field goal on the other. The Dolphins struggled in the second half when Moore fumbled the snap at his 38-yard line and Vince Wilfork recovered, starting the drive capped by Branch’s touchdown.

“They committed penalties in the first half,” Dolphins guard Richie Incognito said. “We turned the ball over and committed penalties in the second half. That is never a good recipe.”

Reggie Bush had another outstanding game for Miami with his fourth straight rushing day of at least 100 yards. He finished with 113 on 22 carries one week after gaining a career-high 203 yards.

His latest performance gave him 1,086 yards rushing for the season, the first time in his six years, the first five with the New Orleans Saints, that he passed 1,000.

“It really doesn’t mean anything right now,” he said. “This one’s pretty tough.”

The Dolphins had taken a 3-0 lead on Dan Carpenter’s 47-yard field goal 4:01 into the game and made it 10-0 with 1:15 gone in the second quarter on Moore’s 19-yard pass to Brandon Marshall.

They stretched that to 17-0, the Patriots biggest deficit of the season, on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Charles Clay. The 89-yard drive was helped by two defensive pass interference penalties on third down.

But the Patriots remained calm in the locker room at intermission.

“There wasn’t a bunch of yelling,” Wilfork said. “We just came in and said we’ve got to play better, we’ve got to make more plays.”

They did. The Dolphins didn’t.

“Our guys fought,” Bowles said, “but we didn’t finish.”

Notes: Welker set a franchise record for one season with 1,518 yards receiving. He broke the mark of 1,493 set by Randy Moss in 2007. … Bush was checked my medical personnel on the sideline late in the game “Something in my leg just didn’t feel right,” he said. “I’m walking. If it was serious, I wouldn’t be walking.” … Moore completed 17 of 33 passes for 294 yards, his highest total as a Dolphin. He threw for more than that with the Carolina Panthers once in 2009 and once in 2010. … The victory was the largest comeback by the Patriots from a second-half deficit since Nov. 10, 2002 when they beat the Chicago Bears 33-30 after trailing 27-6 in the third quarter.

The New England Patriots emphasize playing well for 60 minutes every game. Yesterday, 30 was enough — barely.

Rallying from their worst half of the season, the Patriots scored on their next five possessions and clinched a playoff bye with a 27-24 win over the Miami Dolphins.

“You don’t want to, certainly, make a habit of this,” said Tom Brady, who scored on two 1-yard sneaks and threw for a 1-yard touchdown. “We showed some resiliency.”

New England (12-3) won its seventh straight game. After the Houston Texans lost to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night, the Patriots needed a win or a tie to lock up one of the top two spots in the AFC.

“It’s good to clinch,” said Deion Branch, who caught the touchdown pass from Brady, “but not by the way we played. It’s not the way you want to do it.”

Miami (5-10) lost for the third time in eight games after opening at 0-7 and is 1-1 under Todd Bowles, who took over when Tony Sparano was fired.

“First half we came out and played our tempo and our ballgame,” Bowles said. “The second half they made us play theirs.”

The AFC East champions trailed 17-0 at halftime but made the necessary adjustments and went to their no-huddle offense more, keeping the Dolphins from making defensive substitutions. And Brady was on target after a first half in which heavy defensive pressure against a makeshift offensive line affected his accuracy. He completed just 7 of 19 passes for 87 yards and was sacked three times in the half.

But in the second half, he completed 20 of 27 passes for 217 yards, finishing at 27 for 46 for 304 yards and leading one scoring drive after another — a 45-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski, the scoring pass to Branch, his own sneak that tied the game, Gostkowski’s 42-yard go-ahead kick after Devin McCourty’s first interception of the year, and the other sneak with 2:56 to go, making it 27-17.

The Dolphins made it closer on Matt Moore’s 15-yard scoring pass to Davone Bess with 1:48 to play. They had three timeouts left, but their hopes faded when Brady hit Wes Welker for a 6-yard gain and a first down.

“We had (Brady’s) number in the first half, but in the second half he came out and made a lot of plays,” Miami linebacker Karlos Dansby said. “He is a coach on the field.”

The Dolphins seemed headed for a victory and got a break even before the game started when Patriots left tackle Matt Light hurt his ankle in warmups and didn’t play.

Left guard Logan Mankins took his spot, but he left with a knee injury suffered on New England’s second series.

“There’s always things that are going to go wrong in a football game and things aren’t going to work out the way you want them to all the time,” said Welker, who finished with 12 catches for 138 yards after managing just two for 20 in the first half. “The main thing is just playing a full 60 minutes and never giving in and understanding that one drive and one score (can) get things going.”

The Patriots punted on their first six series of the first half then missed a field goal on the other.

The Dolphins struggled in the second half when Moore fumbled the snap at his 38-yard line and Vince Wilfork recovered, starting the drive capped by Branch’s touchdown.

“They committed penalties in the first half,” Dolphins guard Richie Incognito said. “We turned the ball over and committed penalties in the second half. That is never a good recipe.”

Reggie Bush had another outstanding game for Miami with his fourth straight rushing day of at least 100 yards. He finished with 113 on 22 carries one week after gaining a career-high 203 yards.

His latest performance gave him 1,086 yards rushing for the season, the first time in his six years, the first five with the New Orleans Saints, that he passed 1,000.

“It really doesn’t mean anything right now,” he said. “This one’s pretty tough.”

The Dolphins had taken a 3-0 lead on Dan Carpenter’s 47-yard field goal 4:01 into the game and made it 10-0 with 1:15 gone in the second quarter on Moore’s 19-yard pass to Brandon Marshall.

They stretched that to 17-0, the Patriots biggest deficit of the season, on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Moore to Charles Clay. The 89-yard drive was helped by two defensive pass interference penalties on third down.

But the Patriots remained calm in the locker room at intermission.

“There wasn’t a bunch of yelling,” Wilfork said. “We just came in and said we’ve got to play better, we’ve got to make more plays.”

They did. The Dolphins didn’t.

“Our guys fought,” Bowles said, “but we didn’t finish.”

*   *   *

Welker set a franchise record for one season with 1,518 yards receiving. He broke the mark of 1,493 set by Randy Moss in 2007. … Bush was checked my medical personnel on the sideline late in the game “Something in my leg just didn’t feel right,” he said. “I’m walking. If it was serious, I wouldn’t be walking.” … Moore completed 17 of 33 passes for 294 yards, his highest total as a Dolphin. He threw for more than that with the Carolina Panthers once in 2009 and once in 2010. … The victory was the largest comeback by the Patriots from a second-half deficit since Nov. 10, 2002, when they beat the Chicago Bears 33-30 after trailing 27-6 in the third quarter.