NFL Pro Bowl skills competition rules revealed: This is how players score points for their teams

The NFL is now in its third year of the revised Pro Bowl format, which saw the league move away from a standard football game and towards a series of skills competitions taking place over two days and culminating in a flag football game.

There have been a few tweaks from last year’s games, but the structure remains mostly the same. The first part of the Pro Bowl Games begins tonight, Thursday January 30, in Orlando with the Skills Show, with the majority of the skills competitions taking place, and the remaining skills competitions will take place on Sunday, February 2, at the end of each quarter of the 7x7 flag football game.

Breakdown of the schedule and announcers

The competitions feature the best players from the NFC and AFC competing against each other, coached by Eli Manning and Peyton Manning, respectively. The NFC has won in back-to-back years after the introduction of this new format. This year, the AFC is looking for a comeback.

Here is a breakdown of all the competitions and the rules for each one.

2025 Pro Bowl skills competitions and rules

Thursday, January 30

Passing The Test (3 points)

A revised version of last year’s “Precision Passing” competition, quarterbacks will have 40 seconds to try to hit targets at various distances, all worth different values. Six of those targets will be moving, while three are stationary. They can only hit a target once, until all targets have been hit. At that point, the quarterback can hit all targets again.

The QB will have an opportunity to gain more time than the 40 seconds by answering five trivia questions ahead of the contest. The QB will select a Pro Bowl Games teammate to answer questions about current Pro Bowl players. For every correct answer, the QB gets an additional 10 seconds, for a possibility of up to 90 seconds.

The team whose QB scores the most points wins the competition and gives three points to their respective conference.

Participants:

AFC: Joe Burrow (Nico Collins trivia), Drake Maye (Jonnu Smith trivia), Russell Wilson (Myles Garrett trivia)

NFC: Sam Darnold (Fred Warner trivia), Jared Goff (Josh Jacobs trivia), Baker Mayfield (Mike Evans trivia)

Satisfying Catches (3 points)

This is a revised edition of last year’s “Best Catch” competition. One wide receiver, one tight end, and one defensive back from each conference will compete in an obstacle course designed to “test every aspect of catching a football” by catching passes from a JUGS machine at three different distances. It’s set up in four different stages.

Stage 1: A receiver must make one-handed catches on three passes from eight to ten yards. They can only use their hands and must make all three catches before moving on.

Stage 2: A receiver must make a catch from the JUGS machine from 21 feet away while wearing a mascot’s hands. The catch must be done as a “sideline catch”, away from the body in front of an out-of-bounds pad.

Stage 3: A receiver stands eight feet from a gym mat. When a whistle blows, the JUGS machine will launch 33 feet from the mat, and the player must run and jump to make the catch.

Stage 4: If the player catches the ball properly in Stage 3, they will then make a spring to the finish line. If they drop the ball, they will have to spring through an agility obstacle course first.

The first player to finish will press a button to signal that the next teammate can begin, and they will complete the same stages until all three teammates have finished. The conference with the lowest-combined time will win the challenge and be awarded three points.

Participants:

AFC: WR Ja’Marr Chase, TE Brock Bowers, DB Derek Stingley Jr.

NFC: WR Justin Jefferson, TE Trey McBride, DB Jaylon Johnson

The Big Spike (3 points)

Three offensive lineman from each conference will take three swings at the “Spike-o-Meter”, measuring the power and impact of a football spike. The conference with the player who scored the highest number will be awarded three points.

Participants:

AFC: OL Rashawn Slater, DL Quinnen Williams, OL Joel Bitonio

NFC: OL Chris Lindstrom, DL Dexter Lawrence, OL Frank Ragnow

Too bad Mahomes can’t participate in this one...

Relay Race (1-3 points)

Four players (of different positions) from each conference will compete in a 40-yard dash before handing the football to the next athlete on their team. This will go on until the fourth teammate has crossed the finish line. The fastest team will win the round, and the winning team from each round can earn one point for their conference.

Participants:

AFC:

• RB Jonathan Taylor, CB Patrick Surtain II, DE Danielle Hunter, FB Patrick Ricard
• FS Minkah Fitzpatrick, ST Marvin Mims Jr., LB Joey Bosa, CB Denzel Ward
• WR Jerry Jeudy, LB Kyle Van Noy, LB Nik Bonitto, SS Derwin James

NFC:

• RB Jahmyr Gibbs, CB Jaycee Horn, DE Micah Parsons, SS Brian Branch
• CB Devon Witherspoon, ST KhaDarel Hodge, DE Nick Bosa, RS KaVontae Turpin
• WR Malik Nabers, LB Bobby Wagner, LB Jared Verse, SS Budda Baker

Helmet Harmony (1-3 points)

This one is a game show which tests players' knowledge of their teammates, rather than their physical skills. Six players from each conference will compete in pairs of two.

In each pair, one is the “guesser” and one is the “anchor”. The guesser is asked questions about their teammate with five question per round, and three rounds. When the question is asked, both players write their answer and if the guesser is correct, they will be awarded a point. The points accumulate through the three rounds. The conference with the most points after three rounds will be awarded three points.

Participants:

AFC:

• Steelers' Cameron Heyward and Miles Killebrew
• Bills' Dion Dawkins and Connor McGovern
• Ravens' Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton

NFC:

• Buccaneers' Vita Vea and Tristan Wirfs
• Vikings' Jonathan Greenard and Brian O’Neill
• Packers' Rashan Gary and Xavier McKinney

Dodgeball (3-6 points)

This classic dodgeball tournament will feature four teams (two AFC and two NFC) of seven players each. Each team will be a mix of offensive, defensive, and special teams players. The tournament will be played in two rounds each worth three points. The team who knocks out every player on the other team first wins the game.

Participants:

AFC:

• Jeffery Simmons, Logan Cooke, Ronnie Stanley, Chris Boswell, Joe Mixon, Isaac Seumalo, Tyler Linderbaum
• Patrick Queen, Quenton Nelson, Zaire Franklin, Brian Thomas Jr., James Cook, Ross Matiscik, Trey Hendrickson

NFC:

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Erik McCoy, Leonard Williams, Bijan Robinson, Robert Hunt, Taylor Decker, Jack Fox
• Kyle Juszczyk, Tyler Smith, Andrew Van Ginkel, George Kittle, Andrew DePaola, Brandon Aubrey, Byron Murphy

Sunday, February 2:

Punt Perfect (3 points)

Each conference sends a punter and a non-punter to punt from the 35-yard line. They will attempt to place as many punts as possible into a set of six buckets. Each bucket is worth one point, with every fourth punt (the “money ball”) being worth three. Each player will play for one minute (or 12 balls) and the team with the highest combined score will be awarded three points to their conference.

Participants:

AFC: P Logan Cooke, CB Marlon Humphrey

NFC: P Jack Fox, FBKyle Juszczyk

Madden NFL 2025 (3 points)

Two players from each conference will face off in a 2v2 video game of Madden 25, which will be streamed live on Madden’s Twitch channel (replay available on NFL’s YouTube channel post game). The winning team will be awarded three points to their conference.

Participants:

AFC: Derwin James, Brian Thomas Jr.

NFC: Justin Jefferson, Micah Parsons

The Great Football Race (3 points)

Six players from each conference will compete simultaneously in a relay race with five different challenges.

Stage 1: A cheerleader will reveal a Pro Bowler’s name on a giant card and the first player must search for their face from a selection of giant head cutouts on a wall. When they’ve found the correct face, they have to run through a tire obstacle course and hang the head on a body cutout. They then burst through a series of breakthrough walls and push a tackle dummy to activate the second challenge.

Stage 2: Two players will flip two tires for 20 yards until they reach the finish line. There, they will push the tackle dummy to activate the third stage.

Stage 3: A long snapper will knock over six 3-foot-tall bowling pins by snapping the football. They then must push the tackle dummy to activate the fourth stage.

Stage 4: A kicker will try to kick a target suspended in the air from 20 yards away. Hitting it will activate the fifth and final stage.

Stage 5: The final player will have to push a sled 15 yards with another player from his conference inside it.

The first player to cross the finish line with the sled will be awarded three points to their conference.

Participants:

AFC: DE Myles Garrett, C Tyler Linderbaum, T Rashawn Slater, K Chris Boswell, LS Ross Matiscik, C Connor McGovern

NFC: DE Micah Parsons, C Frank Ragnow, K Tristan Wirfs, K Brandon Aubrey, LS Andrew DePaola, C Erik McCoy

Tug-Of-War (3 points)

In this best-of-three competition, two teams of five offensive lineman will be positioned over a foam pit with each team holding a long rope and attempting to pull the opposing team in their direction. The team who pulls the opposing team into the foam pit twice wins and their conference will be awarded three points.

Participants:

AFC:

• Quenton Nelson, Isaac Seumalo, Joel Bitonio, Ronnie Stanley, Dion Dawkins
• Trey Hendrickson, Danielle Hunter, Jeffery Simmons, Cameron Heyward, Quinnen Williams

NFC:

• Chris Lindstrom, Tyler Smith, Robert Hunt, Brian O’Neill, Taylor Decker
• Rashan Gary, Nick Bosa, Dexter Lawrence, Vita Vea, Leonard Williams

Flag Football Finale

Finally, we’ve reached the main event - a classic flag football match. The AFC and NFC teams will play three games of 7-on-7 with four 12-minute quarters. At the end of the games, the total points for each conference from the skills competition will be added and the winner will be announced.

Participants:

AFC:

• QB Joe Burrow, QB Drake Maye, QB Russell Wilson
• RB Joe Mixon, RB Jonathan Taylor, RB James Cook, RB Patrick Ricard
• WR Ja’Marr Chase, WR Jerry Jeudy, WR Nico Collins, WR Brian Thomas Jr.
• TE Brock Bowers, TE Jonnu Smith, C Tyler Linderbaum
• C Connor McGovern, OLB Kyle Van Noy, OLB Nik Bonitto, OLB Joey Bosa, ILB Patrick Queen, ILB Zaire Franklin
• CB Marlon Humphrey, CB Denzel Ward, CB Patrick Surtain II, CB Derek Stingley Jr.
• FS Minkah Fitzpatrick, SS Kyle Hamilton, SS Derwin James, RS Marvin Mims Jr., ST Miles Killebrew

NFC:

• QB Jared Goff, QB Sam Darnold, QB Baker Mayfield
• RB Jahmyr Gibbs, RB Josh Jacobs, RB Bijan Robinson, FB Kyle Juszczyk,
• WR Justin Jefferson, WR Malik Nabers, WR Mike Evans, WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
• TE Trey McBride, TE George Kittle,
• C Frank Ragnow, C Erik McCoy, OLB Jared Verse, OLB Jonathan Greenard, OLB Andrew Van Ginkel, ILB Fred Warner, ILB Bobby Wagner
• CB Jaycee Horn, CB Jaylon Johnson, CB Byron Murphy, CB Devon Witherspoon
• FS Xavier McKinney, SS Budda Baker, SS Brian Branch, RS KaVontae Turpin, ST KhaDarel Hodge

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