The NFL is taking the tackle out of football for its 2023 Pro Bowl Games, with this year’s event featuring skills competitions and seven-on-seven flag football games rather than its traditional format.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s event leading up to the Super Bowl:
When is the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl?
The Pro Bowl Games will be a multiday event, with activities taking place on Thursday, Feb. 2, and Sunday, Feb. 5. The final game takes place on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium, which hosted the 2022 game.
What’s the new format?
The NFL announced in September that the Pro Bowl would no longer be a tackle football game and instead focus on skills competitions and other events culminating in a flag football game between the AFC and NFC.
The competitions include three flag football games, dodgeball, longest drive and best catch. The skills competitions and first two flag football games will be cumulatively scored leading up to the final flag football game.
The points accrued by each conference will be used as the starting score for the third flag football game. The winner of that game will be crowned Pro Bowl Games champion.
List of skills competitions
Thursday, Feb. 2
- Epic Pro Bowl dodgeball: Four teams of five players will compete in a multi-round tournament of dodgeball that culminates in an AFC versus NFC showdown. The winner of this challenge earns three points for its conference.
- Lightning round: Each conference will select 16 players to compete in a three-part elimination challenge testing skills including fielding punts and catching water balloons.
- Longest drive: Four players from each conference will compete to drive a golf ball the farthest.
- Precision passing: Each of the conference’s quarterbacks will compete in a one-minute accuracy competition, as they attempt to accumulate points by hitting targets.
Sunday, Feb. 5
- Best catch: The top vote-getters from each conference in the first round will compete to make the most impressive catch in front of a panel of celebrity judges.
- Gridiron gauntlet: Six players from each conference will compete in a side-by-side relay race through an obstacle course.
- Move the chains: Four teams (two teams of five players each from both conferences) will pull a weighted wall 10 yards as quickly as possible using first-down chains.
- Kick tac toe: Each team’s kicker, punter and long snapper compete in a giant tic-tac-toe competition that showcases their skills.
The AFC team will be led by Peyton Manning, Ray Lewis and Diana Flores, while the NFC team will be coached by Eli Manning, DeMarcus Ware and Vanita Krouch.
Players selected to the 2023 Pro Bowl
Notable Pro Bowl first-timers include Bengals QB Joe Burrow, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, Commanders WR Terry McLaurin and Seahawks QB Geno Smith. Smith is the first player to make his Pro Bowl debut after at least 10 seasons in the league since Rich Gannon in 1999.
Neither Burrow nor Hurts will participate in the Pro Bowl. They were replaced by the Raiders’ Derek Carr and Lions’ Jared Goff.
Other notable selections include:
- Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence made his first Pro Bowl as a replacement for Patrick Mahomes after the Chiefs passer made the Super Bowl.
- 49ers OT Trent Williams leads all players chosen for the initial roster with his 10th Pro Bowl selection.
- Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner and Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen were the only two rookies selected.
Travis and Jason Kelce each made the Pro Bowl in the same season for the brothers’ fifth time as a pair, but both will miss the game as they prepare to face each other in the Super Bowl.
Including replacement players, the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills accounted for the most players selected with eight. The Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings each had seven selections. The Chicago Bears are the only team without a Pro Bowl selection.
The original full AFC and NFC Pro Bowl rosters can be found here.
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How are Pro Bowl rosters selected?
Rosters are selected based on three groups of voting: fans, players and coaches. Each category’s vote represents one-third to determine the 88 pro bowlers. The NFL uses fans, players and coaches voting to determine who makes the Pro Bowl.
How to watch
The Pro Bowl skills show will air live on ESPN on Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. ET. The Pro Bowl Games will take place from 3 p.m. on ESPN and ABC.
Required reading
- NFL and flag football: Why the league has taken interest, invested heavily in it
(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
