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, led by starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Baltimore, led by veteran linebacker Ray Lewis, have seven apiece for the Jan. 29 game in Honolulu. Brady is one of seven starters from New England. 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, defensive end Justin Smith, cornerback Carlos Rogers and tackle Joe Staley will start for the NFC from the 49ers, who had only Smith and Willis make the Pro Bowl last year.

Drew Brees set the NFL record for yards passing in a season, breaking a mark that Dan Marino had held for 27 years, and the Saints clinched the NFC South title with a 45-16 victory over the Falcons on Monday night. Brees threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns, the last a 9-yard strike to Darren Sproles that set the record with 2:51 to go. It was Brees' final pass of the game and it gave him 5,087 yards passing, with one game still to play. Marino finished with 5,084 yards for the Dolphins in 1984.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the 2011 Male Athlete of the Year, chosen by members of The Associated Press. Rodgers took home the honor after he turned in an MVP performance in the Green Bay's Super Bowl victory over the Steelers in February and then went on to lead his team on a long unbeaten run this season. He received 112 votes out of the 212 ballots submitted from U.S. news organizations that make up the AP's membership. Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander finished second with 50 votes, followed by tennis standout Novak Djokovic (21), Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton (6) and NASCAR champion Tony Stewart (5).

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers led all players in fan balloting for the Pro Bowl, receiving 1,581,982 votes, the NFL announced Wednesday. The Pro Bowl teams will be announced Dec. 27 after players and coaches vote this week. In all, five players received over 1 million votes. Saints quarterback Drew Brees finished third with 1,188,893 votes, Lions receiver Calvin Johnson was fourth (1,180,777) and Patriots receiver Wes Welker fifth (1,133,787).

Robert Griffin III became the first Heisman winner from Baylor on Saturday night. The multi-threat quarterback beat preseason Heisman favorite Andrew Luck by a comfortable cushion. Griffin started the season on the fringe of the Heisman conversation, while Luck was already being touted as a potential No. 1 NFL draft pick whenever he decided to leave college. Griffin received 405 first-place votes and 1,687 points. "Everybody associated with Baylor has a reason to celebrate tonight," he said. Luck received 247 first-place votes and 1,407 points to become the fourth player to be Heisman runner-up in consecutive seasons and first since Arkansas running back Darren McFadden in 2006 and 2007.