NFL Pro Bowl skills competition results: Updated standings, winners, highlights from 2023 AFC vs. NFC games

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David Suggs
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Maxx Crosby
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This year's Pro Bowl was something of a crapshoot.

That's not just because the festivities took place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, mind you. The league has given the annual competition a facelift, hoping to breathe life into an event that has tended to pass by on the calendar like a gentle breeze.

This year's plans likely were the league's most ambitious: eight different skills contests and three 7-on-7 flag football games, spread over two days of competition — and not concurrently, either.

MORE: Watch NFL games live with fuboTV (free trial in U.S.)

It was billed as a true, quantifiable way to mark who is truly the cream of the crop in the NFL. And although there were some kinks that need to be worked out, it resulted in what the NFL wanted most: a close competition that not only came down for the very last event but also saw a comeback victory.

Ultimately, it was Eli Manning's NFC that beat Peyton Manning's AFC 35-33 to win the revamped Pro Bowl Games. The Sporting News tracked each of those competitions, including the three flag football games, for fans curious about the new format:

MORE: Results, highlights from Pro Bowl flag football games

NFL Pro Bowl standings 2023

Event (Day) AFC NFC
Dodgeball (Thursday) 0 3
Lightning round (Thursday) 3 0
Longest drive (Thursday) 3 0
Precision passing (Thursday) 3 0
Best catch (Thursday/Sunday) 0 3
Gridiron gauntlet (Sunday) 0 3
Kick tac toe (Sunday) 3 0
Move the chains (Sunday) 3 0
Flag football Game 1 0 6
Flag football Game 2 6 0
TOTAL 21 15

NFL Pro Bowl skills competition scoring

The winning conference in each skill competition earned three points, with a total of 24 available. The winner of each of the first two flag football games Sunday earned six points.

Total points from the skills competition and the first two flag football games were the starting score for the final flag football game. The AFC won five of the eight skills competitions and the conferences split the first two flag football games, meaning the score at the start of the final game was 21-15, AFC.

MORE: Full lineups for AFC & NFC teams in all eight Pro Bowl skills competitions

Pro Bowl flag football Game 3 results

The AFC heads into the final competition with a 21-15 lead over the NFC as a result of the previous skills competitions and flag football games. The winner of this final competition will be crowned the 2023 Pro Bowl Games champion.

Update: The NFC overcomes the six-point deficit to down the AFC in Allegiant Stadium and win 35-33 in the revamped 2023 Pro Bowl Games. Below is the line score to the game, but you can review the full game highlights here.

  Opening score H1 H2 F
AFC 21 6 6 33
NFC 15 13 7 35

Best catch results

Amon-Ra St. Brown will represent the NFC as its finalist, while the AFC will have Stefon Diggs. Both conferences are in good hands, pardon the pun. Former Falcons and Eagles quarterback Michael Vick — a lefty — will throw to St. Brown, while Trevon Diggs will throw to his brother.

Round 1

St. Brown: The Lions receiver misses his first attempt, but lands the second with a side somersault catch. He gets scores of 83, 83 and 89 from Snoop Dogg, Pete Davidson and LaDainian Tomlinson for an aggregate score of 87.

Diggs: The Diggs brothers are not in sync, as the Dallas corner just couldn't connect with the Bills receiver. That's good for scores of 74, 73 and 77 from Snoop Dogg, Davidson and Tomlinson, respectively — good for an aggregate score of 74.7. Is there some trickery afoot from Trevon Diggs to keep his team in it?

Round 2

Looks like Amon-Ra St. Brown is getting his brother Equanimeous involved for the second round.

St. Brown: Like the Diggs brothers, the St. Browns can't connect . . . until they do! Bro catches the ball in mid-air, then passes it to St. Brown for scores of 93-91-92. His final score of 177 is the number to beat.

Diggs: The Bills receiver has moved on from Trevon Diggs, opting instead for a real QB to get him and the AFC back in it. He's posted up behind a group of cheerleaders with a mask on, then splits the cheerleaders in an attempt to catch TWO BALLS from Vick and Trevor Lawrence. Each of his attempts fail, almost certainly spelling victory for the NFC; Indeed, Snoop Dogg scores it 70, Davidson scores it 69 and Tomlinson scores it 73, giving him a total score of 145.

That's a win for Amon-Ra St. Brown and the NFC, which faces a 21-15 deficit heading into the final flag football game.

Move the chains results

Round 1: The AFC whoops the NFC in the opener of this tug-of-war event. Luckily for the latter, it's a best-of-three competition. The NFC's going to need a strong showing in the second and third rounds to avoid falling into a six-point deficit.

Round 2: That's a much stronger showing from the NFC, even with the Cowboys' Tyler Biadasz tripping. That knots the event up at one apiece, making the winner of Round 3 the winner of the event.

Round 3: It wasn't as bad as Round 1, but the AFC still whooped the NFC in the third round to take the event and three points.

That gives the AFC a 21-12 lead heading into the penultimate competition and guarantees the conference will have no worse than a nine-point lead in the final flag football game.

Flag Football Game 2 results

The AFC gets on the flag football board with an 18-13 defensive-struggle win in Game 2. That's worth another six points, and the AFC takes a commanding six-point lead with just three competitions left, 18-12. The NFC needs to win both the remaining events to head into the final game with a tie.

Gridiron gauntlet results

The NFC gets another win in the Pro Bowl Games, this time in the Gridiron gauntlet. The AFC took an early lead with Joel Bitonio outperforming Penei Sewell in the opening leg before Brian Burns outraced Myles Garrett in the second. Saquon Barkley nearly cost the NFC the lead vs. Nick Chubb, but the latter was forced into a do-over in the tire portion.

Tirston Wirfs and Cam Jordan brought the event home with an easy sled push to tie the games 12-12 with four competitions left.

Kick-tac-toe results

The AFC trio of Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, Raiders punter AJ Cole and Titans long snapper Morgan Cox beats the NFC in kick-tac-toe to give the AFC three points. The AFC now leads 12-9 with five competitions remaining.

Flag Football Game 1 results

There is no more important competition at the Pro Bowl Games than flag football, which is worth six points for the winning team. The NFC got a win in the first game of the day, giving it the points and tying the Pro Bowl Games 9-9 with six competitions left.

Pro Bowl dodgeball results

Dodgeball consists of four teams of six players launching foam-coated projectiles at one another. Grade school all over again!

Matchup Winner
AFC offense vs. AFC defense AFC defense
NFC offense vs. NFC defense NFC offense
AFC winner vs. NFC winner NFC defense

8:42 p.m.: Killshot after Davis, Barkley and George Kittle gang up on Fitzpatrick. That will do it for Day No. 1 of the Pro Bowl skills competition. The NFC gets on the board.

8:40 p.m.: Minkah Fitzpatrick vs. the world. This will be challenging. Eli Manning also calling plays in dodgeball somehow. That's something else.

8:31 p.m.: Saquon Barkley and DeMario Davis with a classic showing. After an official review on the final throw, though, it seems that Davis got out after hitting Barkley with a headshot. So sad. NFC offense takes the dub. They'll face the AFC defense to close out the dodgeball event.

8:22 p.m.: Tyreek Hill dropped a pass? Didn't expect to type those words. Anyways, AFC defense wins.

8:21 p.m.: Josh Jacobs last man standing for AFC's offense. He not looking good at the moment.

Pro Bowl lightning round results

Lightning round is another camp classic, featuring 40 players (20 from each conference) taking part in a three-part elimination challenge.

Final Matchup Winner
Joel Bitonio/Trey Hendrickson (AFC) vs. Tyler Biadasz/Cameron Jordan (NFC) AFC

8:02 p.m.: These offensive and defensive lineman cannot throw the football. That was hard to watch. Nevertheless, Hendrickson hits the target to dump a bunch of confetti onto Eli Manning. Never thought I'd type those words.

7:53 p.m.: Good thing the censors are working. Could be some colorful language here.

Anyways, Cameron Jordan and Tyler Biadasz are moving on in the lightning round.

7:51 p.m.: Fred Warner the first NFC player to get out on the JUG machine section of this competition. Heartbreaking stuff.

7:47 p.m.: Trey Hendrickson catches his fifth ball from the JUGS machine. Sensational play by the Bengals defensive end. He and Bitonio will advance to the next part of the lightning round.

7:46 p.m.: Bitonio is killing it! He just made a catch with his hand while having two other ones under his arms. Dark horse contender here.

7:45 p.m: Bitonio with another impressive grab, this one with one mitt. That's how you do it, big fella!

7:44 p.m.: Scratch that...Wyatt Teller lets the ball slip through his grasp. That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

7:43 p.m.: Joel Bitonio (somehow) makes the snag with his chest, showing that offensive lineman indeed have hands.

7:42 p.m.: Milano the first one to field from the JUGS machine. Solid stuff from the Bills linebacker.

7:35 p.m.: Matt Milano doing a real nice time early. Jeffery Simmons? Not so much. Busted the balloon all across his face. Now his shirt is soaked. Oh well.

7:30 p.m.: Some really nice grabs from a few NFCers, including Commanders wideout Terry McLaurin, who stooped to the turf to snag the water balloon. AFC up now.

Pro Bowl longest drive results

Longest drive is an event built for a PGA champion. Five players from each conference will compete to see who can drive a golf ball the furthest. Is this The Match Vol. 8?

Player Distance
Jordan Poyer (AFC) 320 yards

8:18 p.m.: Bills safety Jordan Poyer puts the team on his back, launching the golf ball 320 yards to capture yet another dub for the AFC. It's getting unchy for the NFC now.

8:16 p.m.: Golf is hard. Just ask Za'Darius Smith.

Pro Bowl precision passing results

Precision passing is reminiscent of the classic Madden mini games of old. In this version, each of the AFC and NFC's quarterbacks will attempt to hit targets around the field. Whoever finishes with the most points is the winner.

Player Points
Trevor Lawrence (AFC) 19
Kirk Cousins (NFC) 14
Tyler Huntley (AFC) 21
Geno Smith (NFC) 20
Jared Goff (NFC) 15
Derek Carr (AFC) 31

7:19 p.m.: Derek Carr's future looks to be elsewhere. But that doesn't mean he couldn't tear things up in his home city one last time. He notched 31 points to lead the AFC to the dub.

7:17 p.m.: These check downs are making things difficult for QBs early. Jared Goff wasn't quite hitting the stride on the short and intermediate throws, but he did his thing on the lengthy pass.

7:15 p.m.: Geno Smith still hasn't written back yet. The SN Comeback Player of the Year made some solid throws, finding the five-point target on his very last throw. Still waiting for someone to hit that 10-point long toss, though.

7:11 p.m.: Snoop with a really solid showcase. First QB to hit the drone, which gets the AFC five points. Huntley also nearly sank the 10 point long toss target. What a baller.

7:08 p.m.: Pressure might've gotten to Kirk Cousins, who threw some impressive bombs in the back corner of the end zone — some of which overshot the target entirely. 14 points in total for the Viking QB.

7:07 p.m.: Solid opening showing by Trevor Lawrence, who nabbed 19 points to start the competition. Struggled to hit the check downs, surprisingly. Travis Etienne will not like that.

Pro Bowl best catch results

Best catch seems to be the Pro Bowl's answer to the NBA Slam Dunk contest or MLB's Home Run Derby. The top vote-getters from each conference will stand in front of a panel of celebrity judges and attempt to make the flashiest catches imaginable. Where's Jerome Simpson when you need him?

8:35 p.m.: Amon-Ra St. Brown doing his best Gunna impression after making some grabs in the pool. Drip or drown?

8:30 p.m.: J-Jettas loves himself a one-handed grab, huh?

7:58 p.m.: Pat Surtain II showing that cornerbacks can make catches, too. The burgeoning star reels in a pass from Matt Leonard on the fly...literally. The was zip-lining down the Fremont Street Experience. That could prove tough to beat.

7:55 p.m.: Stefon Diggs or Frank Ocean? Seems the Bills wideout has a penchant for poolside convos — and catches.

Pro Bowl gridiron gauntlet

Speed kills in the NFL, as does agility. Both will be put to the test during the gridiron gauntlet, which will see five players from each side competing in a relay race that spans through a harrowing obstacle course.

Pro Bowl kick-tac-toe

In kick-tac-toe, each side's kicker, punter and long snapper take part in a giant tic-tac-toe competition.

Pro Bowl move the chains

Players get a chance to show off their superhuman strength with this challenge, which asks four teams of five players each to pull a weighted wall 10 yards down the field using nothing but first down chains.

NFL Pro Bowl skills competition times, channel, live stream

  • Dates: Thursday, Feb. 2, and Sunday, Feb. 5
  • Times: 7 p.m. ET Thursday) | 3 p.m. ET Sunday
  • TV channel (U.S.): ESPN (Thursday) | ESPN, ABC, Disney XD (Sunday)
  • TV channel (Canada): TSN1 (Sunday)
  • Live stream: ESPN+, fuboTV

Fans can find all the Pro Bowl skills action on ESPN on Thursday, with Sunday's events to be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and Disney XD. All competitions can be streamed via ESPN+ and fuboTV, which has a free trial.

Viewers in Canada can watch Sunday's competition on TSN1.

Zac Al-Khateeb contributed to this report.

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David Suggs

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News.