Five members of the Detroit Lions were named to Pro Bowl roster.

To the victors go the spoils, like a Pro Bowl invitation.

Five Detroit Lions were named to the Pro Bowl Games roster Wednesday night: TE Sam LaPorta, OL Penei Sewell, OL Frank Ragnow, DL Aidan Hutchinson and special teams maven Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

The 11-5 Lions are entering a Week 18 showdown with the Minnesota Vikings and have already won the NFC North title. Michigan sportsbooks like Caesars and BetMGM will have markets on every Week 18 game and the playoffs leading up to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas Feb. 11.

While being selected to the Pro Bowl is nice, the Super Bowl is still the spot everyone wants to go.

Meet the Lions Pro Bowlers

When people wonder how the Lions have gotten this far, the answer is a dominating offensive line that has cleared the way for running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Lions center Frank Ragnow missed two games this season with an injury, but was selected for his third Pro Bowl. He will be joined by star tackle Penei Sewell, who has started every game.

LaPorta has been the breakout star on the Lions offense with 81 catches for 860 yards and nine touchdowns. It’s a big deal that he makes it as a rookie.

Second-year defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is going for the first time. He leads the Lions with 9.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

Reeves-Maybin is the only listed starter. The NFL started to pick one player from each conference for his special teams contributions.

More Lions Will Come

What the NFL doesn’t announce when it reveals the Pro Bowl invitations is just how many players selected don’t choose to go. Last year, so few AFC quarterbacks wanted to play that Ravens back-up Tyler Huntley ended up being a Pro Bowler. He had started four games.

Remember the Super Bowl is the following week, so automatically, you’re going to lose players who were selected because their team is in the Super Bowl.

Orlando doesn’t have the same lure that a trip to Hawaii did for so long (that’s where the Pro Bowl was), even though the new format of skill games and fun is exciting.

The Lions have seven players on the alternate list, don’t be surprised if some of these players end up in Orlando: Gibbs, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, QB Jared Goff, OL Jonah Jackson, RB David Montgomery, WR/PR Kalif Raymond and LB Alex Anzalone.

Pro Bowl Games Breakdown

There’s no more full tackle football game as the NFL has embraced the concept of player safety. Instead, it’s now the ‘Pro Bowl Games’ a weeklong series of skill challenges, like dodgeball, precision passing for the quarterbacks, closest to the pin (yes, six players will play golf), high stakes where players catch as many punts as possible and best catch.

The Pro Bowl Games conclude with a 7-on-7 flag football game at Camping World Stadium between AFC and NFC teams.

By:Darren Cooper

Born and raised in Louisiana, Darren Cooper has a fond appreciation for bayous, Mardi Gras beads and the sports betting industry. Darren has worked for multiple print and online publications since 1998, primarily as a sports columnist in the Northeast. He’s covered a Super Bowl (it was a blowout), the World Series (same) and the NBA Draft (man, those guys are tall). For the last few years he’s dug deep into the sports gambling industry as it exploded across America, learning how the legal sausage is made and how while all the sportsbooks look the same, they all have different identities and styles. He’s learned to always bet within his means -- and take the under. When not in front of his computer creating, Darren spends time with his three boys. He runs, reads and is always looking for the next big thing to write about.