2023 Pro Bowl Games Explained

Full Name:2023 Pro Bowl Games
Type:pb
2023
Home Total:35
Visitor Total:33
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
Visitor Coach:Peyton Manning
Home Coach:Eli Manning
Anthem:Jessie James Decker
Halftime:Rae Sremmurd
Attendance:58,331
Announcers:Pat McAfee (play–by–play), Kirk Herbstreit (color), Laura Rutledge, and Robert Griffin III (sideline reporters)
Next:2024

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]

Background

The NFL announced on August 9, 2022, that Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, will 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. On December 5, 2022, it was announced that the coaches for the Pro Bowl would be Peyton and his brother Eli Manning.[8]

Format

The 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. 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.

Rosters

AFC

Offense!Position!Starter(s)!Reserve(s)!Alternate(s)
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Josh Allen, Buffalo
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati
Tyler Huntley, Baltimore
Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville
Derek Carr, Las Vegas
Running back Nick Chubb, Cleveland Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas
Derrick Henry, Tennessee
Fullback Patrick Ricard, Baltimore
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Miami
Stefon Diggs, Buffalo
Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati
Davante Adams, Las Vegas
Tight end Travis Kelce, Kansas City Mark Andrews, Baltimore Dawson Knox, Buffalo
Offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, Houston
Terron Armstead, Miami
Orlando Brown Jr., Kansas City Dion Dawkins, Buffalo
Offensive guard Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis
Joel Bitonio, Cleveland
Joe Thuney, Kansas City Rodger Saffold, Buffalo
Wyatt Teller, Cleveland
Center Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Mitch Morse, Buffalo Ben Jones, Tennessee
Defense!Position!Starter(s)!Reserve(s)!Alternate(s)
Defensive end Myles Garrett, Cleveland
Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas
Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati
Defensive tackle Chris Jones, Kansas City
Quinnen Williams, NY Jets
Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh
Outside linebacker Matthew Judon, New England
Khalil Mack, LA Chargers
T. J. Watt, Pittsburgh Matt Milano, Buffalo
Bradley Chubb, Miami
Inside / middle linebacker Roquan Smith, Baltimore C. J. Mosley, NY Jets
Cornerback Sauce Gardner, NY Jets
Patrick Surtain II, Denver
Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore
Xavien Howard, Miami
Free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh
Strong safety Derwin James, LA Chargers Jordan Poyer, Buffalo
Special teams!Position!Starter!Alternate(s)
Long snapper Morgan Cox, Tennessee
Punter Tommy Townsend, Kansas City A. J. Cole III, Las Vegas
Placekicker Justin Tucker, Baltimore
Return specialist Devin Duvernay, Baltimore Jamal Agnew, Jacksonville
Special teams Justin Hardee, NY Jets

bold player who participated in the game

signifies the player has been selected as a captain

Replacement player selection due to injury or vacancy

Injured player; selected but did not participate

Selected but did not play because his team advanced to Super Bowl LVII (See Pro Bowl "Player selection" section)

Selected but chose not to participate

NFC

Offense!Position!Starter(s)!Reserve(s)!Alternate(s)
Quarterback Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Geno Smith, Seattle
Kirk Cousins, Minnesota
Jared Goff, Detroit
Running back Saquon Barkley, NY Giants Tony Pollard, Dallas
Miles Sanders, Philadelphia
Dalvin Cook, Minnesota
Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson, Minnesota
A. J. Brown, Philadelphia
CeeDee Lamb, Dallas
Terry McLaurin, Washington
Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit
Tight end George Kittle, San Francisco T. J. Hockenson, Minnesota
Offensive tackle Trent Williams, San Francisco
Lane Johnson, Philadelphia
Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Penei Sewell, Detroit
Offensive guard Zack Martin, Dallas
Landon Dickerson, Philadelphia
Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Elgton Jenkins, Green Bay
Center Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Frank Ragnow, Detroit Tyler Biadasz, Dallas
Defense!Position!Starter(s)!Reserve(s)!Alternate(s)
Defensive end Nick Bosa, San Francisco
Brian Burns, Carolina
DeMarcus Lawrence, Dallas
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, LA Rams
Jonathan Allen, Washington
Dexter Lawrence, NY Giants Daron Payne, Washington
Outside linebacker Micah Parsons, Dallas
Za'Darius Smith, Minnesota
Haason Reddick, Philadelphia Danielle Hunter, Minnesota
Inside / middle linebacker Fred Warner, San Francisco Demario Davis, New Orleans
Cornerback Darius Slay, Philadelphia
Trevon Diggs, Dallas
Tariq Woolen, Seattle
Jaire Alexander, Green Bay
Jalen Ramsey, LA Rams
Free safety Quandre Diggs, Seattle
Strong safety Budda Baker, Arizona Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco
Special teams!Position!Starter!Alternate(s)
Long snapper Andrew DePaola, Minnesota
Punter Tress Way, Washington
Placekicker Jason Myers, Seattle
Return specialist KaVontae Turpin, Dallas
Special teams Jeremy Reaves, Washington

Bold, player who participated in the game

signifies the player has been selected as a captain

Replacement player selection due to injury or vacancy

Injured player; selected but did not participate

Selected but did not play because his team advanced to Super Bowl LVII (See Pro Bowl "Player selection" section)

Selected but chose not to participate

Number of selections per team

American Football Conference
Team Selections
7
8
3
4
1
1
1
2
7
5
2
4
1
4
3
4
National Football Conference
Team Selections
1
1
1
0
8
4
2
2
7
2
2
8
7
4
1
5

Results

Thursday

Precision Passing

Derek Carr won the event for the AFC with a score of 31.[9]

PosPlayerTeamScore
1Derek CarrLVS31
2Tyler HuntleyBAL21
3Geno SmithSEA20
4Trevor LawrenceJAX19
5Jared GoffDET15
6Kirk CousinsMIN14
ConferenceScore
AFC3
NFC0

Lightning Round

The AFC won the event after dunking NFC head coach Eli Manning in confetti in the final round.

ConferenceScore
AFC6
NFC0

Longest Drive

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).

ConferenceScore
AFC9
NFC0

Dodgeball

The NFC won the event after the NFC offense team defeated the AFC defense team in the final round.

ConferenceScore
AFC9
NFC3

Sunday

Flag Football Game 1

The NFC won the first flag football game by a score of 33 – 27.

Team1st Half2nd HalfFinal
AFC20727
NFC201333
ConferenceScore
AFC9
NFC9

Kick Tac Toe

The 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.

ConferenceScore
AFC12
NFC9

Gridiron Gauntlet

The NFC won the event after Eli Manning crossed the finish line first.

ConferenceScore
AFC12
NFC12

Flag Football Game 2

The AFC won the second flag football game by a score of 18–13.

Team1st Half2nd HalfFinal
AFC12618
NFC6713
ConferenceScore
AFC18
NFC12

Move The Chains

The AFC won the event after taking the first and third rounds.

ConferenceScore
AFC21
NFC12

Best Catch

Amon-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]

ConferenceScore
AFC21
NFC15

Flag Football Game 3

The 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.

ConferenceOpening Score1st Half2nd HalfFinal
AFC216633
NFC1513735

Aftermath

The 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

ESPN 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] 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.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023 Pro Bowl Games skills competitions announced . January 25, 2023 . NFL.com . en-US . February 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202182345/https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-pro-bowl-games-skills-competitions-announced . live .
  2. Web site: 2023 Pro Bowl Games Vote Presented BY Castrol Now Open. nfl.com. November 15, 2022. November 15, 2022. November 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221115160842/https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-pro-bowl-games-vote-presented-by-castrol-now-open. live.
  3. Web site: 2023 Pro Bowl Games: Complete AFC roster revealed. nfl.com. December 21, 2022. December 21, 2022. December 22, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221222010508/https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-pro-bowl-games-complete-afc-roster-revealed. live.
  4. Web site: 2023 Pro Bowl Games: Complete NFC roster revealed. nfl.com. December 21, 2022. December 21, 2022. May 18, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230518040621/https://www.nfl.com/news/2023-pro-bowl-games-complete-nfc-roster-revealed. live.
  5. Web site: NFL Pro Bowl To Return To Las Vegas In 2023. August 10, 2022. August 10, 2022. 3NewsLV.com. September 29, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220929033905/http://news3lv.com/news/local/nfl-pro-bowl-to-return-to-las-vegas-in-2023. live.
  6. Web site: 'The Pro Bowl Games' reimagine NFL's all-star game by virtue of flag football . NFL.com . September 26, 2022 . Shook, Nick . September 26, 2022 . September 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220926131621/https://www.nfl.com/news/the-pro-bowl-games-reimagine-nfl-s-all-star-game-by-virtue-of-flag-football . live .
  7. Web site: NFL announces 'The Pro Bowl Games' to replace tackle game with flag football, skills competitions. NFL.com. September 26, 2022. September 26, 2022. September 24, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230924150755/https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-announces-the-pro-bowl-games-to-replace-tackle-game-with-flag-football-skill. live.
  8. Web site: Eli Manning to coach NFC vs. brother Peyton's AFC in first-ever Pro Bowl Games. December 5, 2022. December 6, 2022. NFL.com. December 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221206065657/https://www.nfl.com/news/eli-manning-to-coach-nfc-vs-brother-peyton-s-afc-in-first-ever-pro-bowl-games. live.
  9. Web site: Sam . Doric . NFL Twitter Delighted by 2023 Pro Bowl Skills Challenge as Derek Carr, AFC Hold Lead . February 3, 2023 . Bleacher Report . en . February 3, 2023 . February 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230203153234/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10063984-nfl-twitter-delighted-by-2023-pro-bowl-skills-challenge-as-derek-carr-afc-hold-lead . live .
  10. Web site: JaredMueller . February 2, 2023 . Watch all the 'Best Catch' nominees, vote in the 2023 Pro Bowl Games . February 6, 2023 . SBNation.com . en . February 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206054252/https://www.sbnation.com/2023/2/2/23583858/pro-bowl-best-catch-competition-justin-jefferson-stefon-diggs-amon-ra-st-brown-patrick-surtain . live .
  11. Web site: 2023 NFL Pro Bowl Games score, takeaways: Kirk Cousins rallies NFC to thrilling comeback win over AFC . February 6, 2023 . CBSSports.com . February 5, 2023 . en . February 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206061316/https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2023-nfl-pro-bowl-score-takeaways-kirk-cousins-rallies-nfc-to-thrilling-comeback-win-over-afc/live/ . live .
  12. Web site: Browns' Myles Garrett suffers toe injury during NFL Pro Bowl Games, per report . February 6, 2023 . CBSSports.com . en . DeArdo, Bryan . February 5, 2023 . February 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206055837/https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/browns-myles-garrett-suffers-toe-injury-during-nfl-pro-bowl-games-per-report/ . live .
  13. Web site: Smith . Michael David . February 5, 2023 . Myles Garrett suffers dislocated toe at Pro Bowl Games . February 6, 2023 . ProFootballTalk . en-US . February 6, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230206055836/https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/02/05/myles-garrett-suffers-dislocated-toe-at-pro-bowl-games/ . live .
  14. Web site: April 18, 2023 . DE Garrett 'retired' from Pro Bowl after toe injury . May 16, 2023 . ESPN.com . en . May 16, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230516035047/https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/36226186/browns-myles-garrett-retired-pro-bowl-toe-injury . live .
  15. camijustice. 1753111689124356431.
    1. Browns DE Myles Garrett will participate in the Move the Chains competition at the Pro Bowl Games
    .
  16. Web site: Lucia . Joe . January 25, 2023 . ESPN announces broadcast details of NFL Pro Bowl Games . January 25, 2023 . Awful Announcing . en-US . January 25, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230125211502/https://awfulannouncing.com/espn/espn-announces-broadcast-details-of-nfl-pro-bowl-games.html . live .