National Team defeats American Team 20-10 in Senior Bowl on Saturday

The 2022 Senior Bowl took place in Mobile, AL, on Saturday and the National Team prevailed over the American Team with a 20-10 victory. As always, the game featured several prospects for the upcoming NFL Draft getting an opportunity to impress in front of scouts of all 32 teams in the league. The coaching staff for the Detroit Lions oversaw the American Team while the New York Jets staff handled the National Team.

The main spotlight of the game rested on the quarterbacks, where Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett made the start for the National Team and Liberty’s Malik Willis started for the American Team. Projected as the first quarterback taken off the board, Pickett looked poised in his two drives of action. He went six-for-six through the air for 89 yards and a touchdown to put his team on the board.

On the other end, Willis displayed some of the elusiveness that have some projecting him as the No. 2 QB selected in April’s draft. He went just two-of-four through the air for 11 passing yards but he created his highlights using his legs. He ended up leading the entire American Team in rushing with 54 yards.

Other QBs like North Carolina’s Sam Howell, Nevada’s Carson Strong, and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder got plenty of run in the showcase. Ridder in particular led the National Team on two different touchdown drives in the contest.

The star of the entire afternoon on defense was Oklahoma defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey, who may have creeped into first-round status with the week that he’s had. He had five tackles, three TFLs, and two sacks on the day.

Other defensive standouts included Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma, who had a game-high eight tackles and Tennessee cornerback Alontae Taylor, who pulled down an interception.

With the Senior Bowl now in the rearview mirror, many of these prospects will now set their sights on Indianapolis for next month’s NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.