Pro Bowl week came to an exciting, damp finish Sunday afternoon at Orlando's Camping World Stadium.
The AFC overcame a big early deficit to take down the NFC squad 24-23 thanks to a late touchdown by Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker and a strip-sack by Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller.
Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, safety Eric Weddle and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley represented the Ravens, and they were all smiles after the game despite playing most of the exhibition contest in a driving rain storm.
"Us as defensive players, we were very competitive," Suggs said. "I honestly wanted to shut them out, but it's the Pro Bowl. We spotted them 20 points, so it was good to come back and get the win."
This was the seventh Pro Bowl selection for Suggs, fifth for Weddle and third for Mosley.
The game meant more than just pride, and the AFC players were certainly excited to leave Orlando with a big check in hand. The AFC players each took home a $64,000 check for the win, compared to $32,000 for the NFC squad.
Suggs reminded his AFC teammates all week that the winner took home a bigger share of the cash, and he was fired up about it after the game.
The Ravens participants didn't have any big-time moments in the game, but Suggs nearly came up with an interception that could have gone for a pick-six. Suggs also had a game-high seven tackles.
As nice as the prize money is, the Pro Bowl is much more about the week of festivities than the exhibition contest on Sunday. The players had several days to relax and bond with their counterparts around the league, and all three Ravens pointed to the off-the-field interactions as the highlight of the trip.
"It's all about the relationships that you build and they last much longer than your playing career," Weddle said. "We're all fans of each other, and when you get around the best players in the league there's a lot of similarities."
