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.

(Reuters) – Green Bay Packers‘ Aaron Rodgers and New England Patriots‘ Tom Brady were named on Tuesday as the starting quarterbacks for the National Football League (NFL) Pro Bowl.

Rodgers and Brady will square off in Hawaii on January 29 in the NFL‘s All-Star showcase but only if they are not in Indianapolis the following weekend playing in the Super Bowl.

The NFC quarterbacking line-up includes three Super Bowl most valuable players, led by Rodgers, who has guided the reigning Super Bowl champions to a 14-1 record this season.

Rodgers will be backed up by Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, who claimed the NFL’s single-season passing record on Monday and will be making his sixth All-Star appearance.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning earns his second Pro Bowl selection to match father Archie but will have some work to do to match brother Peyton who has been named to 11 All-Star teams.

Brady will start for the AFC (American Football Conference) for the second consecutive season and will be backed up San Diego Chargers’ Philip Rivers and Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger.

The Patriots led the AFC with eight Pro Bowl selections while the San Francisco 49ers were tops in the NFC (National Football Conference), also with eight and one better than the Super Bowl champion Packers with seven.

FAVORITE TARGETS

Brady will be joined in Hawaii by two of his favorite targets, Wes Welker, who leads the league in receptions and yards, and Rob Gronkowski, who has already set an NFL record for most touchdowns in a season by a tight-end with 15.

The AFC roster has 13 first-time All-Stars, including Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green, who becomes the first rookie wide receiver to be selected to the Pro Bowl since Anquan Boldin in 2003.

The other starting receivers will be Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace and Miami Dolphins’ Brandon Marshall.

The AFC backfield will feature first-time starter Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens, backed up by Arian Foster of the Houston Texans and Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

LeSean McCoy, who leads the NFL with 20 touchdowns, will be the NFC’s starting running back and will be joined by San Francisco’s Frank Gore and the Chicago Bears’ injured Matt Forte.

Starting wide receivers will include Arizona Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald, Detroit Lions’ Calvin Johnson, Green Bay’s Greg Jennings and Carolina’s Steve Smith.

Saints’ Jimmy Graham, who leads NFL tight ends with 91 receptions, earned his first Pro Bowl appearance ahead of Atlanta Falcons’ Tony Gonzalez, who celebrates his 12th All-Star selection, the most all-time for a tight-end.

The NFL combines voting by fans, coaches and players to determine its All-Star selections with the consensus vote of each group counting one-third towards the total.

(Writing by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

After a weekend in which every relevant result broke the
New England Patriots
‘ way, their path to the No. 1 seed in the AFC couldn’t be clearer.

It remains murky, however, whether their struggling defense can improve enough to make a playoff run – especially without
their biggest pass-rushing presence.

The Patriots must move on without standout defensive end
Andre Carter
as they try to move closer to securing home-field advantage throughout the postseason Saturday by defeating the
Miami Dolphins
.

Home victories the next two weeks over 5-9 foes Miami and Buffalo would ensure New England (11-3) won’t play anywhere but
Foxborough until either the Super Bowl or next season.

Of course, the Patriots also had the conference’s top seed last postseason, only to be upset by the rival
New York Jets
in the divisional round – the second straight year they’ve dropped their playoff opener at home.

Despite its stellar record, Bill Belichick’s team hardly seems like a safe bet to return to the Super Bowl for the first time
since its bid for a perfect season was spoiled there four years ago.

The
Tom Brady
-led offense is typically potent, having averaged 35.8 points during the club’s six-game winning streak. New England’s defense,
though, has allowed more yards than any other team’s, and the season-ending quadriceps injury Carter suffered last week in
Denver certainly won’t help.

“That’s tough. Andre puts so much in with his leadership alone,” defensive tackle
Vince Wilfork
said. “He hasn’t really won a lot in his career, but now he’s winning, he’s happy here, he’s having fun, he’s playing well.
To see him go down, it’s a blow.”

Playing primarily at end in a newly installed 4-3 scheme, Carter provided the Patriots with a team-high 10 sacks. Without
him, it’s possible the club could return to more of the 3-4 arrangement it has used in past years.

“We used them both at different times for different reasons,” Belichick said. “In the end, it comes back to the players -
beating blocks, making tackles, hitting the quarterback, covering the receivers.”

New England didn’t do much of any of that while allowing 167 yards on the ground in the first quarter Sunday, falling behind
16-7 early in the second. But the offense responded with 27 straight points and the defense tightened to cool down
Tim Tebow
and the Broncos in a 41-23 drubbing.

Not only did the win clinch the club’s ninth AFC East title in 11 years, but the three other teams that had been tied at 10-3
atop the conference – Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Houston – lost.

“I don’t think we’ve got enough time to smile,” cornerback
Devin McCourty
said. “We see that happen, but I think it really (emphasizes) how important it is for us to keep playing well and to be ready
to go on Saturday.”

Saturday’s game seems straightforward enough for the Patriots, who’ve outscored the Dolphins 117-45 in winning all three meetings
over the last two seasons.

Miami has looked like a vastly improved team lately, however, winning five of seven since an 0-7 start. The revival wasn’t
good enough to save Tony Sparano’s job, but the Dolphins won their first game under interim coach Todd Bowles, overcoming
wintry weather for a 30-23 victory at Buffalo last week.

While
Matt Moore
has thrown 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions in the last seven games,
Reggie Bush
‘s renaissance has powered Miami lately, with the former USC star finally fulfilling the lofty expectations placed on him
when he was drafted No. 2 overall by New Orleans in 2006.

With one 100-yard rushing game in five seasons with the Saints, Bush has four for the Dolphins this season – including each
of the last three contests. He posted career highs of 203 yards and 25 carries against the Bills, ripping off a 76-yard touchdown
run in the fourth quarter to all but seal the game.

“I understand the questions,” Bush said. “I was hurt a few years and I wasn’t getting a lot of touches and yards. Rightfully
so, people should be questioning whether I can do it or not. But I know given the opportunity, I can show that I can be a
good back.”

The Patriots limited Bush to 38 yards on 11 carries in the season opener while Brady stole the show, passing for a team-record
517 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-24 victory Sept. 12.

“Embarrassing,” Miami safety
Yeremiah Bell
said. “That can’t happen.”

Wes Welker
had eight catches for 160 yards in that game, including a 99-yard touchdown. The NFL leader with 104 receptions for a career-high
1,380 yards, Welker has averaged 105.4 receiving yards in eight meetings with the Dolphins, who traded him to New England
in 2007.

The Patriots’ passing attack proved last week that opponents must pick their poison. With Welker and star tight end
Rob Gronkowski
combining for just eight catches and 94 yards, tight end
Aaron Hernandez
stepped up with nine catches for 129 yards and a touchdown.

“You never know who is going to be heavily involved,” Gronkowski said.

FOXBORO — The wins keep coming for the New England Patriots. Yet each one seems to spark doubts about whether they’re as good as their 11-3 record suggests.

There is concern, from former Patriots Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison to some of their current players to nervous fans who have watched opponents shred their defense.

How can a team that’s on track to allow the second-most yards in NFL history have a six-game winning streak and the best record in the AFC? Is it superior coaching, a star quarterback, or just a remarkable run of good fortune?

“Maybe one or two games we can say, ‘Man, that was a pretty good game,’ ” wide receiver Deion Branch said. “The rest of them you can just pinpoint a lot of mistakes. But we were lucky enough to come out with a victory.”

Last Sunday, the Patriots beat the Denver Broncos 41-23 but allowed 252 yards rushing, 167 in the first quarter alone. One week earlier, they beat the Washington Redskins, 34-27, a victory secured only by Jerod Mayo’s interception at the Patriots 5-yard line with 20 seconds left.

And the week before, they watched a 31-3 lead shrink in the last 11 minutes before they held on to beat the then-winless Indianapolis Colts 31-24.

The Patriots figure to win their remaining regular-season games against the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, both currently 5-9. If they do, they’ll have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

But then what? The Patriots lost their opening

playoff game in each of the last two years, games in which their best antidote to poor defense, Tom Brady, struggled.

“This Patriot team is a proven regular-season team, but they have a lot to prove in the playoffs, where they have failed miserably the last two years,” Bruschi, a linebacker on the Patriots’ three Super Bowl championship teams, said Monday during an online chat on ESPNBoston.com. “All teams that make the playoffs should be feared by the Patriots, because what I fear the most for the Patriots is them playing the way they’ve played the last two years in the postseason. So it’s not about who they play, it’s about them showing up.”

Right now, it’s about ignoring the critics and just working to get better.

“I don’t really care what everyone else says,” linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. “I’m just trying to focus on each week and playing good football. We have a good record, yes, but we have to continue to play hard until the season (ends) and when the playoffs start we need to continue to improve. So I really don’t listen to anything out there, just shut it all out.”

To be fair, the starting defense has been battered by injuries. Safety Patrick Chung and linebacker Brandon Spikes missed the last six games. Cornerback Devin McCourty sat out two. Safety James Ihedigbo has missed parts of several games. And now Andre Carter, New England’s best pass rusher with a team-high 10 sacks, is out for the season after hurting his left quadriceps against the Broncos.

While they’ve allowed the most yards in the NFL, only 13 teams have given up fewer points. They’ve let teams score from inside the 20-yard line just 80 percent of the time, seventh in the league. They lead the AFC with a plus-12 turnover differential. And of their three losses, one came on a last-play field goal, another on a touchdown with 15 seconds left and a third by eight points.

“Our team has played well enough to win 11 games, so that’s good,” coach Bill Belichick said. “We still feel like our best football is in front of us and we keep working hard to try to perform at that level.”

But so far the Patriots have allowed 76 plays of at least 20 yards, more than five per game and 20 more than the single-season franchise high. Overall, they’ve given up an average of 414.4 yards. At that rate, they’d finish with 6,630 total yards, second in NFL history to the Baltimore Colts, who gave up 6,793 yards in 1981 when they went 2-14.

Because of injury or inconsistency, the Patriots have used 16 players in the secondary, including wide receivers Matthew Slater and Julian Edelman. On Wednesday they added a new one, signing seven-year veteran safety Vincent Fuller, who already had been cut this season by Tennessee and Detroit.

“They’ve had a lot of injuries, but (Belichick’s) moved guys around and they’re filling in and getting the job done,” said Redskins receiver Jabar Gaffney, a member of the Patriots team that went 18-0 in the 2007 season before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. “It may not look as pretty, but they still find a way to win.”

It looked downright ugly to Harrison, a hard-hitting safety on the Patriots’ last two championship teams in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

“They should be concerned because that secondary is probably the worst secondary I’ve seen in the last decade,” Harrison, an analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America,” said after the Redskins completed passes of 51 and 49 yards against it two weeks ago. “It’s been proven the last two years in the playoffs. If Brady’s off just a little bit, they’re vulnerable to lose.”

But the Patriots try to block out the doubters. No one has to tell them what their weaknesses are.

“You listen to other people if you want to, but (we) know what’s going on inside,” said running back Kevin Faulk, a Patriot since 1999. “There’s always room for improvement and if you are to reach what you want to reach, you always want to improve your team, no matter what it is, in every aspect of it.”

——

AP Sports Writer Joseph White in Washington, D.C., and freelancer Matthew Carroll in Foxborough contributed to this story.

FOXBORO, Mass. – The wins keep coming for the New England Patriots. Yet each one seems to spark doubts about whether they’re as good as their 11-3 record suggests.

There is concern, from former Patriots Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison to some of their current players to nervous fans who have watched opponents shred their defense.

How can a team that’s on track to allow the second-most yards in NFL history have a six-game winning streak and the best record in the AFC? Is it superior coaching, a star quarterback, or just a remarkable run of good fortune?

“Maybe one or two games we can say, ‘Man, that was a pretty good game,’” wide receiver Deion Branch said. “The rest of them you can just pinpoint a lot of mistakes. But we were lucky enough to come out with a victory.”

Last Sunday, the Patriots beat the Denver Broncos 41-23 but allowed 252 yards rushing, 167 in the first quarter alone. One week earlier, they beat the Washington Redskins, 34-27, a victory secured only by Jerod Mayo’s interception at the Patriots 5-yard line with 20 seconds left.

And the week before that, they watched a 31-3 lead shrink in the last 11 minutes before they held on to beat the then-winless Indianapolis Colts 31-24.

The Patriots figure to win their remaining regular-season games against the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, both currently 5-9. If they do, they’ll have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

But then what? The Patriots lost their opening playoff game in each of the last two years, games in which their best antidote to poor defense, Tom Brady, struggled.

“This Patriot team is a proven regular-season team, but they have a lot to prove in the playoffs, where they have failed miserably the last two years,” Bruschi, a linebacker on the Patriots’ three Super Bowl championship teams, said Monday during an online chat on ESPNBoston.com. “All teams that make the playoffs should be feared by the Patriots, because what I fear the most for the Patriots is them playing the way they’ve played the last two years in the post-season. So it’s not about who they play, it’s about them showing up.”

Right now, it’s about ignoring the critics and just working to get better.

“I don’t really care what everyone else says,” linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. “I’m just trying to focus on each week and playing good football. We have a good record, yes, but we have to continue to play hard until the season (ends) and when the playoffs start we need to continue to improve. So I really don’t listen to anything out there, just shut it all out.”

To be fair, the starting defense has been battered by injuries. Safety Patrick Chung and linebacker Brandon Spikes missed the last six games. Cornerback Devin McCourty sat out two. Safety James Ihedigbo has missed parts of several games. And now Andre Carter, New England’s best pass rusher with a team-high 10 sacks, is out for the season after hurting his left quadriceps against the Broncos.

While they’ve allowed the most yards in the NFL, only 13 teams have given up fewer points. They’ve let teams score from inside the 20-yard line just 80 per cent of the time, seventh in the league. They lead the AFC with a plus-12 turnover differential. And of their three losses, one came on a last-play field goal, another on a touchdown with 15 seconds left and a third by eight points.

“Our team has played well enough to win 11 games, so that’s good,” coach Bill Belichick said. “We still feel like our best football is in front of us and we keep working hard to try to perform at that level.”

But so far the Patriots have allowed 76 plays of at least 20 yards, more than five per game and 20 more than the single-season franchise high. Overall, they’ve given up an average of 414.4 yards. At that rate, they’d finish with 6,630 total yards, second in NFL history to the Baltimore Colts, who gave up 6,793 yards in 1981 when they went 2-14.

Because of injury or inconsistency, the Patriots have used 16 players in the secondary, including wide receivers Matthew Slater and Julian Edelman. On Wednesday they added a new one, signing seven-year veteran safety Vincent Fuller, who already had been cut this season by Tennessee and Detroit.

“They’ve had a lot of injuries, but (Belichick’s) moved guys around and they’re filling in and getting the job done,” said Redskins receiver Jabar Gaffney, a member of the Patriots team that went 18-0 in the 2007 season before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. “It may not look as pretty, but they still find a way to win.”

It looked downright ugly to Harrison, a hard-hitting safety on the Patriots’ last two championship teams in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

“They should be concerned because that secondary is probably the worst secondary I’ve seen in the last decade,” Harrison, an analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America,” said after the Redskins completed passes of 51 and 49 yards against it two weeks ago. “It’s been proven the last two years in the playoffs. If Brady’s off just a little bit, they’re vulnerable to lose.”

But the Patriots try to block out the doubters. No one has to tell them what their weaknesses are.

“You listen to other people if you want to, but (we) know what’s going on inside,” said running back Kevin Faulk, a Patriot since 1999. “There’s always room for improvement and if you are to reach what you want to reach, you always want to improve your team, no matter what it is, in every aspect of it.”

___

AP Sports Writer Joseph White in Washington, D.C., and freelancer Matthew Carroll in Foxborough contributed to this story.