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Yes, the Pro Bowl Games is still a thing. So someone had to win the event.
On Sunday, the NFC gained a measure of bragging rights over their AFC counterparts, winning the all-star games 76-63 as Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff won offensive MVP honors and Pro Bowl teammate Byron Murphy was awarded defensive MVP honors.
Goff went 10-of-11 for 126 yards and three touchdown passes and Murphy had a pick 6.
AFC head coach Peyton Manning had jokes for the light-hearted affair, which he has lost three straight years against his younger brother Eli.
Plenty is made of how this version of the Pro Bowl isn’t as fun as it used to be, particularly since it isn’t a tackle football game with pads. The numerous reminders of Shaun Taylor’s jaw-dropping, infamous hit of punter Brian Moorman in 2006 made the annual social media rounds. And some of the former stars tossed in their two cents, including Colts legend Reggie Wayne, who offered this bit of humor:
The 3 biggest things the NFL players are missing during the Probowl.
1. Playing an actual football game.
2. Being in Hawaii
3. Being hungover from Mai Tais and chicken wings… My God that was the best…. #ProBowlGames #NFL
— Reggie Wayne (@ReggieWayne_17) February 2, 2025
Despite the belly-aching there were some fun highlights. From the Associated Press’ recap of the events:
Rookie Malik Nabers of the New York Giants found the end zone twice for the NFC, and Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson also scored. Jefferson caught six passes for 46 yards. Nabers finished with five receptions for 62 yards.
Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase scored three times, including a 45-yarder from Russell Wilson late, and Jacksonville’s Brian Thomas Jr. added two more for the AFC. Chase celebrated his third with a backflip and then performed “the Griddy” that his former college teammate, Jefferson, helped popularize.
The NFC started the day with a 14-7 lead after six skills competitions worth up to three points each Thursday night. The conference added to its lead by winning the “Great Football Race” and dominated an old-fashioned tug-of-war competition Sunday.
With Dexter Lawrence of the New York Jets, Tampa Bay’s Vita Vea and Seattle’s Leonard Williams anchoring the strength test, the AFC got yanked into a foam pit twice in a best-of-three event.