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Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry shines in NFL Pro Bowl debut

The NFL Pro Bowl is now in the books, with Team Irvin defeating Team Rice, 49-27 . The Miami Dolphins had four players participate in the game - Reshad Jones, Brent Grimes, Branden Albert and Jarvis Landry. All of them put in solid performances but one stood out from the rest and that was wide receiver Jarvis Landry.

By Matthew Cannata
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Pro Bowl played out exactly as you would have expected it to, with minimal defense and lots of offense. The game saw four players from the Miami Dolphins participating - Brent Grimes and Jarvis Landry on Team Rice while Reshad Jones and Branden Albert were playing for Team Irvin.

While Grimes, Jones and Albert did nothing special, Landry stood out amongst the rest of the competition as he finished the day with 3 receptions for 81 yards and 1 touchdown. He averaged 27 yards per reception and had 5 targets on the day. Of all wide receivers on Team Rice, he had the most receiving yards, with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham coming behind him with 34 yards. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had 91 receiving yards while New York Jets running back Chris Ivory had 55 receiving yards.

It started early in the game as Oakland Raiders quarterback David Carr looked for him often. Towards the end of the first quarter, as Carr under pressure, he rolled out to his right before launching a 40-yard pass to Landry. The pass would've been a touchdown but Carr underthrew the ball, which was understandable considering he had defenders breathing down his throat while he was on the run.

In the middle of the second quarter, he attempted another deep pass to Landry but the ball was intercepted by New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. However, Landry didn't quit and chased him down from behind to force a fumble, which Team Rice recovered. On the next play, Carr looked to throw deep to Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton in the end zone, but it fell incomplete. A big reason for that is because Landry ran over and knocked the ball down. Otherwise, it would have been an interception.

Besides a 10-yard reception in the third quarter, Landry looked like he would finish the game quietly. However, after Grimes was beat by Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on a 7-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, Team Rice came firing back with Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor under center.

Scrambling to his left, Taylor found Landry in the back of the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown pass. Landry straddled the sideline in the back corner, caught the ball and cradled it as he fell out of bounds. The touchdown stood and it brought Team Rice closer to Team Irvin, 27-49.

After getting the ball back again, Taylor launched a deep pass to Kelce but was intercepted in the end zone. Team Irvin used the remaining five minutes to run out the clock, thus putting an end to the game and Landry's debut. With all the talk though about the other wide receivers in the game, it was Landry who stood out the most on his team and yes, even outperforming and outshining his best friend and former teammate, Odell Beckham. In fact, Landry had the second most receiving yards amongst all wide receivers who played in the game. Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson finished first with 105 yards on 2 receptions.

Jones, Grimes, and Albert played well (to be fair, not many cornerbacks would've stopped Hopkins on the pass where Grimes gave up the touchdown as it was a rocket from Winston) but it was Landry who stood out the most and the one player from Miami who continued to propel himself into the national spotlight.

This column was written by Matthew Cannata. Follow him on Twitter!

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