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2023 Pro Bowl Games Preview

Pro Bowl
NFL Flag | Image by rarrarorro/Shutterstock

The NFL’s new Pro Bowl format, known as the “Pro Bowl Games,” debuts Thursday night in Las Vegas.

In years past, the Pro Bowl has just been an All-Star exhibition game between the AFC and NFC. However, this year’s event will feature several competitions between individual players, some hardly related to football, and a flag football game.

Here is the schedule of events and who will be participating.

THURSDAY

Best Catch – Round One

In this competition, players will travel to different sites around Las Vegas and make incredible catches. One player from each conference will advance to the finals from a fan vote.

Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II and Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs represent the AFC, while Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson represent the NFC.

Precision Passing

Six quarterbacks (three from each conference) will show off their throwing accuracy by throwing at a series of moving and stationary targets. The players will go head-to-head.

The AFC will be represented by Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, Las Vegas’ Derek Carr, and Baltimore’s Tyler Huntley. The NFC representatives are Detroit’s Jared Goff, Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins, and Seattle’s Geno Smith.

Longest Drive

Various players will compete in a golf competition to see who can hit the ball the farthest.

AFC participants include Baltimore’s Justin Ticker and Marlon Humphrey, Buffalo’s Jordan Poyer, New England’s Matt Judon, and CJ Mosley of the New York Jets.

The NFC team will have Washington’s Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, and Tress Way, and Minnesota’s TJ Hockenson and Za’Darius Smith.

Lightning Round

The Lightning Round is a three-part event with many players from each conference. The challenge includes a water balloon toss, catching footballs from a JUGS machine, and a competition where players try to get a hanging bucket to dump on a coach. Players will be eliminated after each round.

Dallas Cowboys Zack Martin, Tyler Biadasz, KaVontae Turpin, and Demarcus Lawrence are participating in this event.

Dodgeball

The dodgeball tournament will consist of four teams of five players each. The AFC offense will play the AFC defense, the NFC offense will play the NFC defense, and the winners will meet in the championship.

Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb will play for the NFC offense, and Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs will play for the NFC defense.

SUNDAY

Best Catch Finals

The two winners by fan vote from Thursday face off to determine a winner.

Kick Tac Toe

This is a Tic-Tac-Toe-style event for kickers, punters, and long snappers. A tic-tac-toe board will be set up on the field, and players will have to connect three spaces in a row or a combined five spaces to win.

Justin Tucker (Ravens), AJ Cole (Raiders), Morgan Cox (Titans), Tress Way (Commanders), Jason Myers (Seahawks), and Andrew DePaola (Vikings) will compete.

Gridiron Gauntlet

This will be a relay race that requires players to navigate obstacles.

The AFC will have Cleveland’s Joel Bitonio, Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, Pittsburgh’s Cam Heyward, and Buffalo’s Dion Dawkins. The NFC will have Detroit’s Penei Sewell, Carolina’s Brian Burns, New Orleans’ Cam Jordan, Tampa’s Tristan Wirfs, and New York’s Saquon Barkley.

Move the Chains

This will involve four teams (two from each conference) attempting to pull a weighted wall 10 yards in a best-of-three competition.

Demarcus Lawrence is on NFC team one, and Zack Martin and Tyler Biadasz are on NFC team two.

Flag Football

The final event of the weekend will be flag football. Teams of AFC and NFC skill players will play three seven-on-seven games. Centers will also participate as snappers but cannot get the ball.

Lamb, Parsons, Diggs, Turpin, and Biadasz will be part of this event,

You can watch the 2023 Pro Bowl Games on ESPN at 6 pm CT on Thursday and 2 pm CT on Sunday.

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