Pro Bowl Games recap: Eli, NFC remain unbeaten vs. Peyton, AFC

The NFC took the 2025 Pro Bowl Games on Sunday by defeating the AFC 76-63 in Orlando.

The festivities kicked off with six events Thursday and concluded Sunday with the flag football game and other activities that crowned the Eli Manning-coached NFC this year's winning side once again. Since the Pro Bowl Games debuted in 2023, Eli is 3-0 coaching against his brother, Peyton, at the All-Star event.

Here's a rundown of how each contest unfolded:

(Note: Each skills challenge is worth three points)

Sunday events

Flag football game

Players participate in a seven-on-seven flag football game. Points from the other Pro Bowl competitions are totaled with the score of the game in the flag football contest. A touchdown in flag football awarded the scoring team six points.

The NFC already had a 14-7 cushion entering the flag football contest thanks to Thursday's skills events, and then strong performances by quarterbacks Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield helped the NFC blow out the AFC and pad the lead even more.

Goff passed for 126 yards and three touchdowns en route to being named the game's offensive MVP. Mayfield had arguably the day's best throw, finding George Kittle in the end zone late in the third quarter.

New York Giants rookie Malik Nabers put on a show in his first Pro Bowl appearance. He made several jaw-dropping plays, including a contested catch over Minkah Fitzpatrick.

The defense also came clutch for the NFC - Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. scored a pick-6 early in the fourth quarter and was later named the flag football game's defensive MVP.

Tug-of-War

Players from each conference participate in a tug-of-war contest in a five-versus-five, best-of-three series. The winning side earned three total points.

The NFC added to its dominant showing at the 2025 Pro Bowl Games by sweeping the tug-of-war contest.

Punt Perfect

Two players (one punter, one non-punter) from each conference punt from the 35-yard line, attempting to place as many punts as possible into a set of six buckets in the end zone.

Participants:

• AFC: Logan Cooke, Marlon Humphrey
• NFC: Jack Fox, Kyle Juszczyk

In one of the day's most exciting events, Cooke helped the AFC claim a close victory in double overtime.

The Great Football Race

Six players from each conference faced off in a relay race consisting of five different challenges.

The NFC led from start to finish thanks to Micah Parsons, who kicked off the race by showing off his speed, athletic ability, and footwork.

Madden NFL Head-to-Head

Two players from each conference participated in a Madden NFL 25 game using the official Pro Bowl Games rosters.

Participants:

• AFC: Brian Thomas Jr., Derwin James
• NFC: Micah Parsons, Justin Jefferson

After a historic rookie season, Thomas helped the AFC win Sunday's Madden NFL challenge and captured the event's MVP honors.

Thursday events

Passing the Test

Passing the test features three quarterbacks from each conference attempting to hit both moving and stationary targets. Each target is worth a specific number of points.

Participants:

• AFC: Joe Burrow, Drake Maye, Russell Wilson
• NFC: Jared Goff, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield

With the help of running back Josh Jacobs' NFL trivia knowledge, Goff led the NFC to victory by posting 44 points, five more than Darnold's 39 for the competition's highest score.

Before the challenge, each quarterback picked a teammate to answer five trivia questions about current Pro Bowlers. Each quarterback received 10 extra seconds in the Passing the Test event for every correct trivia answer.

Satisfying Catches

Satisfying catches is a receiving gauntlet in which a wide receiver, tight end, and defensive back from each conference attempt catches with obstacles in their way.

Participants:

• AFC: Ja'Marr Chase, Brock Bowers, Derek Stingley Jr.
• NFC: Justin Jefferson, Trey McBride, Jaylon Johnson

Jefferson's 1:57 run represented the best time in the gauntlet, while players attempting to catch passes with big gloves on stole the show.

Chase and his Pro Bowl teammates didn't win, but the Bengals star - who captured a rare receiving triple crown during the 2024 NFL season - made one-handed catches look easy.

Big Spike

Three players from each conference attempt to spike the ball the hardest they can into a spike machine.

Participants:

• AFC: Rashawn Slater, Quinnen Williams, Joel Bitonio
• NFC: Chris Lindstrom, Frank Ragnow, Dexter Lawrence

The AFC collected its first three points in this year's Pro Bowl competition after Williams hit 982 on the spike machine, the highest mark of the game. Lawrence came close with 979 but missed the machine on his second attempt.

Relay Race

Pro Bowlers participate in a relay race by running a ball across the field and passing it to a teammate. A total of three points (one per round) was up for grabs here.

The NFC won two of the three heats in the relay race competition. The highlight of the event was the Bosa brothers, Nick and Joey, deciding to speed walk while going against one another.

Dodgeball

Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge. This competition featured two rounds and was worth a maximum of six points (three per round). Each team was a mix of offensive, defensive, and special teams players from its respective conferences.

The two conferences split the dodgeball event to collect three points each.

Tyler Smith caught Quenton Nelson's final throw to secure a clutch NFC victory in the second round. Here are the best moments from the event, including the NFC's round-clinching moment:

Helmet Harmony

Helmet Harmony is a trivia game to test Pro Bowl teammates on how well they know each other.

Participants:

• AFC: Cam Heyward, Miles Killebrew, Dion Dawkins, Connor McGovern, Marlon Humphrey, Kyle Hamilton
• NFC: Brian O'Neill, Jonathan Greenard, Xavier McKinney, Rashan Gary, Vita Vea, Tristan Wirfs

McKinney and Gary carried the NFC to victory, getting all three questions right in Round 2.