The 2023 Pro Bowl Games (branded as the 2023 Pro Bowl Games presented by Verizon for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2022 NFL season. For the first time, the event consisted of skills competitions and non-contact flag football games, rather than an actual tackle football game. It was held at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in Henderson, Nevada, and Bear's Best Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 2 and 5, 2023. Voting began on November 15, 2022,[2] and the rosters were announced on December 21, 2022.[3][4]
| |||||||
| Date | February 2 and 5, 2023 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, Henderson, Nevada, Bear's Best Golf Course, Summerlin South, Nevada, Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada | ||||||
| Attendance | 58,331 | ||||||
| Ceremonies | |||||||
| National anthem | Jessie James Decker | ||||||
| Halftime show | Rae Sremmurd | ||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||
| Network | ESPN ABC ESPN+ Disney XD | ||||||
| Announcers | Pat McAfee (play–by–play), Kirk Herbstreit (color), Laura Rutledge, and Robert Griffin III (sideline reporters) | ||||||
Background
editThe NFL announced on August 9, 2022, that Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, would host the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season.[5]
On September 26, 2022, the league announced they would be replacing the traditional Pro Bowl game with skills competitions throughout the week, culminating with a non-contact flag football game at the end of the week. The NFL has partnered with Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions to revamp the events.[6][7] A. Smith & Co. produced the skills competition.[1] On December 5, 2022, it was announced that the coaches for the Pro Bowl would be Peyton and his brother Eli Manning.[8]
Format
editThe event consisted of various skill competition events and three 7-on-7 flag football games, with the first block of events being held on February 2, 2023, at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center, which is the Las Vegas Raiders' practice facility and Bear's Best Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada. On February 5, the remainder of the event program took place at Allegiant Stadium with the exception of Kick Tac Toe which was held at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center.[1] The first portion took place behind closed doors, while the last contests took place around the flag football games.
Points were scored across the events, with up to 24 points available in the skills competitions. The first two flag football games awarded six points each to the winning conference's total score (with the conferences splitting three points each in the event of a tie, with no overtime being played). Both teams' total scores were carried into the final game, which decided the overall winner.[1]
Rosters
editAFC
edit| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) | Alternate(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | 15 Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City[c] | 17 Josh Allen, Buffalo[b] 9 Joe Burrow, Cincinnati[d] |
2 Tyler Huntley, Baltimore[a] 16 Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville[a] 4 Derek Carr, Las Vegas[a] |
| Running back | 24 Nick Chubb, Cleveland | 28 Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas 22 Derrick Henry, Tennessee |
|
| Fullback | 42 Patrick Ricard, Baltimore | ||
| Wide receiver | 10 Tyreek Hill, Miami 14 Stefon Diggs, Buffalo |
1 Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati 17 Davante Adams, Las Vegas |
|
| Tight end | 87 Travis Kelce, Kansas City[c] | 89 Mark Andrews, Baltimore | 88 Dawson Knox, Buffalo[a] |
| Offensive tackle | 78 Laremy Tunsil, Houston 72 Terron Armstead, Miami |
57 Orlando Brown Jr., Kansas City[c] | 73 Dion Dawkins, Buffalo[a] |
| Offensive guard | 56 Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis[b] 75 Joel Bitonio, Cleveland |
62 Joe Thuney, Kansas City[c] | 76 Rodger Saffold, Buffalo[a] 77 Wyatt Teller, Cleveland[a] |
| Center | 52 Creed Humphrey, Kansas City[c] | 60 Mitch Morse, Buffalo | 60 Ben Jones, Tennessee[a] |
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) | Alternate(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | 95 Myles Garrett, Cleveland 98 Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas |
91 Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati | |
| Defensive tackle | 95 Chris Jones, Kansas City[c] 95 Quinnen Williams, NY Jets |
98 Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee | 97 Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh[a] |
| Outside linebacker | 9 Matthew Judon, New England 52 Khalil Mack, LA Chargers[b] |
90 T. J. Watt, Pittsburgh[b] | 58 Matt Milano, Buffalo[a] 2 Bradley Chubb, Miami[a] |
| Inside / middle linebacker | 18 Roquan Smith, Baltimore | 57 C. J. Mosley, NY Jets | |
| Cornerback | 1 Sauce Gardner, NY Jets 2 Patrick Surtain II, Denver |
44 Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore 25 Xavien Howard, Miami |
|
| Free safety | 39 Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh | ||
| Strong safety | 3 Derwin James, LA Chargers | 21 Jordan Poyer, Buffalo |
| Position | Starter | Alternate(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Long snapper | 46 Morgan Cox, Tennessee | |
| Punter | 5 Tommy Townsend, Kansas City[c] | 6 A. J. Cole III, Las Vegas[a] |
| Placekicker | 9 Justin Tucker, Baltimore | |
| Return specialist | 13 Devin Duvernay, Baltimore[b] | 39 Jamal Agnew, Jacksonville[a] |
| Special teams | 34 Justin Hardee, NY Jets |
- bold player who participated in the game
- (C) signifies the player has been selected as a captain
- a Replacement player selection due to injury or vacancy
- b Injured player; selected but did not participate
- c Selected but did not play because his team advanced to Super Bowl LVII (See Pro Bowl "Player selection" section)
- d Selected but chose not to participate
NFC
edit| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) | Alternate(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | 1 Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia[c] | 7 Geno Smith, Seattle 8 Kirk Cousins, Minnesota |
16 Jared Goff, Detroit[a] |
| Running back | 26 Saquon Barkley, NY Giants | 20 Tony Pollard, Dallas[b] 26 Miles Sanders, Philadelphia[c] |
4 Dalvin Cook, Minnesota[a] 23 Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco[a] |
| Fullback | 44 Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco | ||
| Wide receiver | 18 Justin Jefferson, Minnesota 11 A. J. Brown, Philadelphia[c] |
88 CeeDee Lamb, Dallas 17 Terry McLaurin, Washington |
14 Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit[a] |
| Tight end | 85 George Kittle, San Francisco | 87 T. J. Hockenson, Minnesota | |
| Offensive tackle | 71 Trent Williams, San Francisco 65 Lane Johnson, Philadelphia[c] |
78 Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay | 58 Penei Sewell, Detroit[a] |
| Offensive guard | 70 Zack Martin, Dallas 69 Landon Dickerson, Philadelphia[c] |
63 Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta | 74 Elgton Jenkins, Green Bay[a] |
| Center | 62 Jason Kelce, Philadelphia[c] | 77 Frank Ragnow, Detroit | 63 Tyler Biadasz, Dallas[a] |
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) | Alternate(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | 97 Nick Bosa, San Francisco[b] 53 Brian Burns, Carolina |
90 DeMarcus Lawrence, Dallas | 94 Cameron Jordan, New Orleans [a] |
| Defensive tackle | 99 Aaron Donald, LA Rams[b] 93 Jonathan Allen, Washington |
97 Dexter Lawrence, NY Giants | 94 Daron Payne, Washington[a] |
| Outside linebacker | 11 Micah Parsons, Dallas 55 Za'Darius Smith, Minnesota |
7 Haason Reddick, Philadelphia[c] | 99 Danielle Hunter, Minnesota[a] |
| Inside / middle linebacker | 54 Fred Warner, San Francisco | 56 Demario Davis, New Orleans | |
| Cornerback | 2 Darius Slay, Philadelphia[c] 7 Trevon Diggs, Dallas |
27 Tariq Woolen, Seattle 23 Jaire Alexander, Green Bay |
5 Jalen Ramsey, LA Rams[a] |
| Free safety | 6 Quandre Diggs, Seattle | ||
| Strong safety | 3 Budda Baker, Arizona | 29 Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco |
| Position | Starter | Alternate(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Long snapper | 42 Andrew DePaola, Minnesota | |
| Punter | 5 Tress Way, Washington | |
| Placekicker | 5 Jason Myers, Seattle | |
| Return specialist | 9 KaVontae Turpin, Dallas | |
| Special teams | 39 Jeremy Reaves, Washington |
- Bold, player who participated in the game
- (C) signifies the player has been selected as a captain
- a Replacement player selection due to injury or vacancy
- b Injured player; selected but did not participate
- c Selected but did not play because his team advanced to Super Bowl LVII (See Pro Bowl "Player selection" section)
- d Selected but chose not to participate
Number of selections per team
edit
|
|
Results
editThursday
editPrecision Passing
editDerek Carr won the event for the AFC with a score of 31.[9]
| Pos | Player | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derek Carr | LVS | 31 |
| 2 | Tyler Huntley | BAL | 21 |
| 3 | Geno Smith | SEA | 20 |
| 4 | Trevor Lawrence | JAX | 19 |
| 5 | Jared Goff | DET | 15 |
| 6 | Kirk Cousins | MIN | 14 |
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 3 |
| NFC | 0 |
Lightning Round
editThe AFC won the event after dunking NFC head coach Eli Manning in confetti in the final round.[9]
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 6 |
| NFC | 0 |
A long drive competition among players was held at Bear's Best Golf Course in Summerlin South, Nevada, during the week, and broadcast on tape-delay during the Pro Bowl Games.
Jordan Poyer won the event for the AFC by having the longest drive with a drive of 320 yards (292.608 meters).[9]
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 9 |
| NFC | 0 |
Dodgeball
editThe NFC won the event after the NFC offense team defeated the AFC defense team in the final round.[9]
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 9 |
| NFC | 3 |
Sunday
editFlag Football Game 1
editThe NFC won the first flag football game by a score of 33 – 27.
| Team | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 20 | 7 | 27 |
| NFC | 20 | 13 | 33 |
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 9 |
| NFC | 9 |
Kick Tac Toe
editThe event was shown as pre-recorded segment and was held at Intermountain Healthcare center from Thursday's events.
The AFC won the event after being the first team to get three in a row.
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 12 |
| NFC | 9 |
Gridiron Gauntlet
editThe NFC won the event after Eli Manning crossed the finish line first.
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 12 |
| NFC | 12 |
Flag Football Game 2
editThe AFC won the second flag football game by a score of 18–13.
| Team | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 12 | 6 | 18 |
| NFC | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 18 |
| NFC | 12 |
Move The Chains
editThe AFC won the event after taking the first and third rounds.
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 21 |
| NFC | 12 |
Best Catch
editAmon-Ra St. Brown outscored Stefon Diggs by a score of 177.0–145.4 (St. Brown outscored Diggs 85.0–74.7 in round 1 and 92.0–70.7 in round 2), winning the event for the NFC.
Diggs and St. Brown were selected as finalists in a fan vote over Justin Jefferson and Patrick Surtain II retrospectively. Each were shown doing special catches in pre-recorded segments during Thursday's events before the fan vote began.[10]
| Conference | Score |
|---|---|
| AFC | 21 |
| NFC | 15 |
Flag Football Game 3
editThe NFC was down 21–15 entering the game based on the opening scores, but Kirk Cousins led the NFC to a comeback win. The final score was 35–33.
| Conference | Opening Score | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 21 | 6 | 6 | 33 |
| NFC | 15 | 13 | 7 | 35 |
Aftermath
editThe players who participated on the winning NFC each won $84,000 while the players who participated on the losing AFC team won $42,000 each.[11]
This was the first time Eli Manning beat his brother in the NFL (though as a coach and not a player), as Peyton went 3–0 against him during their NFL careers.
Following the event it was revealed that Myles Garrett suffered a dislocated toe during the Gridiron Gauntlet event.[12][13] He later stated in April that he would decline participating in future Pro Bowl Games events, saying the Gridiron Gauntlet "doesn't make sense to me", and proposed replacing it and other events with those that would allow fans to take part alongside players.[14] Garrett would later recover from his injury and would play in the opening games of the 2023 NFL season. He would later change his mind and participate in the “Move the Chains” event during the 2024 Pro Bowl Games.[15]
Broadcasting
editESPN and ABC served as the broadcaster for all Pro Bowl events while the Thursday block of the skills competition were held on the Saturday afternoon after the event on ABC. As in previous years, the events held on Sunday were simulcast live by ESPN+, ABC, and Disney XD.[16][1] Kirk Herbstreit and Pat McAfee called the games. Robert Griffin III, Marcus Spears, and Laura Rutledge called the skills competition, joined additionally on the first night by Ryan Clark and Dan Orlovsky.[16][1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "2023 Pro Bowl Games skills competitions announced". NFL.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Pro Bowl Games Vote Presented BY Castrol Now Open". nfl.com. November 15, 2022. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
- ^ "2023 Pro Bowl Games: Complete AFC roster revealed". nfl.com. December 21, 2022. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "2023 Pro Bowl Games: Complete NFC roster revealed". nfl.com. December 21, 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "NFL Pro Bowl To Return To Las Vegas In 2023". 3NewsLV.com. August 10, 2022. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
- ^ Shook, Nick (September 26, 2022). "'The Pro Bowl Games' reimagine NFL's all-star game by virtue of flag football". NFL.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ "NFL announces 'The Pro Bowl Games' to replace tackle game with flag football, skills competitions". NFL.com. September 26, 2022. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
- ^ "Eli Manning to coach NFC vs. brother Peyton's AFC in first-ever Pro Bowl Games". NFL.com. December 5, 2022. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Sam, Doric (February 3, 2023). "NFL Twitter Delighted by 2023 Pro Bowl Skills Challenge as Derek Carr, AFC Hold Lead". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
- ^ JaredMueller (February 2, 2023). "Watch all the 'Best Catch' nominees, vote in the 2023 Pro Bowl Games". SBNation.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Pro Bowl Games score, takeaways: Kirk Cousins rallies NFC to thrilling comeback win over AFC". CBSSports.com. February 5, 2023. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- ^ DeArdo, Bryan (February 5, 2023). "Browns' Myles Garrett suffers toe injury during NFL Pro Bowl Games, per report". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- ^ Smith, Michael David (February 5, 2023). "Myles Garrett suffers dislocated toe at Pro Bowl Games". ProFootballTalk. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
- ^ "DE Garrett 'retired' from Pro Bowl after toe injury". ESPN.com. April 18, 2023. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ^ @camijustice (February 1, 2024). "#Browns DE Myles Garrett will participate in the Move the Chains competition at the Pro Bowl Games" (Tweet) – via Twitter. [better source needed]
- ^ a b Lucia, Joe (January 25, 2023). "ESPN announces broadcast details of NFL Pro Bowl Games". Awful Announcing. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.