9 Ravens selected to Pro Bowl, most in NFL

BALTIMORE — Nine Ravens have been selected to this year’s Pro Bowl, more than any team in the NFL.

Quarterback and two-time and reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry were chosen for a fourth and fifth time, respectively, while second-year wide receiver Zay Flowers was selected for the first time. He is the first wide receiver in the team’s 29-year history to make the Pro Bowl.

Other Ravens chosen include safety Kyle Hamilton (second), fullback Patrick Ricard (fifth) and inside linebacker Roquan Smith (third), all of whom were named starters along with Henry. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey (fourth), center Tyler Linderbaum (second) and defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (second) were also selected.

“The individual awards are team awards,” coach John Harbaugh said Thursday. “That’s how we look at it.

“To see guys accomplish that as a coach and fulfill dreams and those kinds of things and to be a part of that, we all take great pride in that.”

The NFC’s Detroit Lions had the second-most players selected with seven, while Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen was chosen as the AFC starter at quarterback over Jackson.

Allen, who has guided the Bills to the second-best record (13-3) in the AFC behind the Kansas City Chiefs, has completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,731 yards and 28 touchdowns with six interceptions to go with 531 rushing yards and 12 scores this season and is the current betting favorite to be named league MVP. Jackson, who has helped lead Baltimore to an 11-5 mark and the cusp of the AFC North title, has completed 67.9% of his passes for 3,955 yards and 39 touchdowns with four interceptions to go with 852 rushing yards and four scores.

The Ravens also have the league’s top offense, averaging 424.2 yards per game.

Flowers, meanwhile, was Baltimore’s first 1,000-yard receiver since Marquise “Hollywood” Brown in 2021. He has 1,047 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 73 catches.

Henry, whom the Ravens signed to a two-year, $16 million deal in the offseason, has been even more prolific.

His 1,783 rushing yards are tops in the AFC and second in the NFL. He is also tied for the league’s second-most rushing touchdowns (14) and leads all qualified backs at 5.8 yards per carry while his franchise-record 16 total touchdowns rank second in the NFL behind the Bills’ James Cook (17).

On defense, Hamilton, Smith and Humphrey have stood out in turning the unit around from its struggles earlier this season.

Hamilton’s 7.7 yards per completion allowed leads all safeties and his career-high 104 tackles are tied for third-most at the position in the conference. He also has one interception, nine passes defensed, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery for a unit that ranks No. 1 in yards (267), passing yards (171.2) and points (16.3) per game allowed since Week 11.

“When I’m done playing football and to see the culmination of everything I’ve done, I think it’ll be a little more satisfactory then, a little cooler to look back on and have my kids say my dad was a multi-time Pro Bowler,” Hamilton said. “But [at the] same time, we got bigger things to accomplish. We’re trying to hopefully not be in the Pro Bowl and be in the Super Bowl.

“But growing up seeing Sean Taylor hit that punter in the Pro Bowl — that was pretty cool. I was like, ‘Yeah I wanna do that someday.’ Obviously can’t do that now.”

Signing Linderbaum and Hamilton to contract extensions this offseason figures to be among general manager Eric DeCosta’s biggest priorities.

First-round draft picks in 2021, both will enter the final year of their rookie deals beginning next season. Each will get a hefty raise.

As for Smith, his 144 tackles are fifth-most in the league with his eight double-digit-tackle games are tied for second most. He also has four tackles for loss, four passes defensed, 1 1/2 sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Humphrey has a career-high and AFC-best six interceptions, including one that he returned for a touchdown to go with 14 passes defensed, 63 tackles, two forced fumbles and a half-sack. He is the first defensive player to have at least five interceptions, five tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in a season since Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard did so in 2019.

Madubuike has tallied 6 1/2 sacks, 39 tackles, including 10 for loss, one forced fumble and one pass defensed for a Baltimore defense that is allowing an NFL-best 81.6 rushing yards per game and a league-low 3.59 yards per carry.

However, none of the Ravens finished in the top five in voting, with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Lions quarterback Jared Goff receiving the most votes. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was previously chosen for six Pro Bowls, wasn’t selected to the AFC roster for the first time since becoming the starting quarterback in 2018.

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews, inside linebacker Chris Board (special teams), guard Daniel Faalele, long snapper Nick Moore, left tackle Ronnie Stanley, kicker Justin Tucker and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy were all voted as alternates.

This year marks the third Pro Bowl Games, which feature weeklong skills competitions and a flag football game. It will take place in Orlando, Fla., and finish with a seven-on-seven flag football game between the AFC and NFC at Camping World Stadium on Feb. 2 with Peyton and Eli Manning coaching the two conferences.

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