NFL replaces football at the Pro Bowl with eight skills competitions

The NFL Pro Bowl’s move away from football resulted in the creation of eight new skills competitions, many of which are unrelated to the sport itself.

AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers will meet in Las Vegas on February 2-5 competing in dodgeball, a longer-run competition and a variety of football skills events.

There will also be three seven-on-seven flag football matches.

The league announced in September that it would eliminate the annual full-contact game that began in 1951. The NFL has traditionally struggled to create a competitive atmosphere around the Pro Bowl, as players avoid going full speed to avoid costly injuries outside. seasonal.

A flag football game could increase competition while avoiding potential injuries resulting from tackling, blocking, and hitting.

But flag football doesn’t completely eliminate injury risks.

In a beach flag football game before the 1999 Pro Bowl, rookie New England Patriots running back Robert Edwards suffered a horrifying knee injury and nearly had to have his leg amputated. The injury cut short a promising career and raised questions about the risks players take by competing outside of competitive NFL games.

Many of the events in the 2023 Pro Bowl Games Skills Competitions will take place at the Los Vegas Raiders headquarters and practice facility, as well as Allegiant Stadium.

During the February 2 competition at the practice facility, players will play dodgeball in four teams of five players, compete for the longest drive off a tee and have a ‘best catch’ competition, while quarterbacks They will go head to head in a game of precision. -passing exercise.

Then on February 5th, kickers and punters will square off in the self-explanatory ‘Kick Tac Toe’, while other players will battle it out in ‘Move the Chains’, a tug-of-war style game aimed at lifting a weighted wall using chains. first chance. There will also be an event called ‘Gridiron Gauntlet’, which is a relay race that involves several different stages.

There will be cumulative scoring for the AFC and NFC teams, who will receive three points for each event won.

The competition can be seen on ESPN.

“We have received invaluable feedback from players, teams and fans on the reinvention of the Pro Bowl, and as a result, we are thrilled to use The Pro Bowl Games as a platform to highlight flag football as an integral part of the future of the sport while also presenting fun. , new forms of competition and entertainment that will bring our players, their families and fans closer together than ever before,” Peter O’Reilly, executive vice president of NFL, Club Business and League Events, said in September when the change was announced. first announced.

“Building on the success of the 2022 Pro Bowl and the 2022 Draft, as well as our strong partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and the Las Vegas Raiders, we look forward to bringing the 2023 Pro Bowl Games to the capital of world-class sports and entertainment.’