2023 NFL Pro Bowl rules explained; What are the new Pro Bowl rules?
The Pro Bowl was in need of a change for several years, and in 2023, it’s finally gotten some. Find out how the new Pro Bowl is going to work.
Indeed, the NFL Pro Bowl is no more. In 2023, it has been re-branded to the Pro Bowl Games. This year, instead of the typical Pro Bowl football game between the AFC and NFC, there will instead be a series of skill competitions followed by three flag football games. This is a good thing, as the players will be at much less risk of injuring themselves during a game that means nothing.
The competitions and games will take place at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Thursday and Sunday. It begins with five skills challenges, then three more skills competitions, and finally the three flag football games.
How to watch and who’s playing in the 2023 Pro Bowl Games: Full Roster
Pro Bowl 2023: Skills Competition Rules
The skills competition begins on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. The players from the AFC and NFC will compete in five different events: Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball, Lightning Round, Longest Drive, Precision Passing, and the first round of Best Catch.
The Lightning Round consists of three elimination-style rounds of mini-games. The first will have the players tossing water balloons, the second will have them catching punts, and the third will be a dunking booth where the players aim for a target above the coach’s head. Winners of the competitions will earn three points for their conference.
There will be four more skills competitions on Sunday along with the three flag football games. The day will begin with the second round of Best Catch, then Gridiron Gauntlet, Move the Chains, and Kick Tac Toe. Gridiron Gauntlet is an obstacle course relay race, Move the Chains will have each team pulling a wall of weights, and Kick Tac Toe will have the special teams players trying to win a tic tac toe game by kicking footballs. There are 24 possible points to earn from the eight skills events.
Pro Bowl 2023: Flag Football Rules
The three flag football games will all take place on Sunday with an additional 12 points available to gain in the first two games (six from each). Those points plus the points from the skills competition will be the starting score for the third and final flag football game. In the final game, the standard flag football scoring will apply and the team with the most points at the end will win the Pro Bowl Games.
Here are the rule changes for the flag football games:
- Seven-on-seven featuring skill players
- Each team may have one center
- 50-yard field with 10-yard end zones
- No Run Zone beginning at the opponent’s 5-yard line
- 20-minute games (two 10-minute halves)
- 25-second play clock
- Running clock besides the final two minutes of each half
- Clock stops on an incomplete pass, score, timeout, penalty or change of possession in the final two minutes of each half
- Touchdowns worth six points; teams can then do a one-point conversion from the 3-yard line or a two-point conversion from the 10-yard line