2025 Pro Bowl Games: What We Learned from Sunday’s flag football games, skill competitions

PRO BOWL GAMES RESULTS

1. Goff shines again to lead NFC’s win. Days after shining bright in the Pro Bowl Games’ “passing the test” competition, Lions quarterback Jared Goff once more flexed the prowess of his right arm. Goff, who collected the Pro Bowl Games Offensive MVP, was near perfect — a nod to one of his best showings in the regular season. As the NFC “starter,” Goff came out slinging, throwing touchdowns to Kyle Juszczyk” data-link=”/players/kyle-juszczyk/” data-slug=”kyle-juszczyk”>Kyle Juszczyk, Malik Nabers” data-link=”/players/malik-nabers/” data-slug=”malik-nabers”>Malik Nabers and Jaxon Smith-Njigba” data-link=”/players/jaxon-smith-njigba/” data-slug=”jaxon-smith-njigba”>Jaxon Smith-Njigba (a 46-yarder!) in as many NFC possessions, while AFC counterparts Joe Burrow” data-link=”/players/joe-burrow/” data-slug=”joe-burrow”>Joe Burrow and Russell Wilson” data-link=”/players/russell-wilson/” data-slug=”russell-wilson”>Russell Wilson combined for just one TD in that span. Goff finished 10 of 11 for 126 yards, the three TDs and a 158.3 rating. He was joined on the postgame podium by Defensive MVP Byron Murphy” data-link=”/players/byron-murphy/” data-slug=”byron-murphy”>Byron Murphy of the Vikings, as Murphy had one of THREE NFC pick-sixes (another Lion, Brian Branch” data-link=”/players/brian-branch/” data-slug=”brian-branch”>Brian Branch, and Murphy’s former Cardinals teammate Budda Baker” data-link=”/players/budda-baker/” data-slug=”budda-baker”>Budda Baker had the others). This is an offensive showcase in Orlando, Florida, though, and Goff was the star of the festivities Thursday and Sunday. “It was fun,” he said. “It was a really good week.”
2. Chase, Thomas deliver reminders of sensational seasons ahead. Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase” data-link=”/players/ja-marr-chase/” data-slug=”ja-marr-chase”>Ja’Marr Chase might have had one of the most underrated outstanding seasons of all time, collecting the receiving triple crown. Meanwhile, the same could be said for Jaguars rookie wideout Brian Thomas Jr., who played on a four-win Jacksonville squad but was simply sensational. Both put on a show Sunday. Chase turned in three touchdowns and 101 receiving yards on five receptions, while Thomas had six catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns, along with a beautiful high-point grab. Chase hauled in TDs from each of the AFC’s QBs, beginning with a 4-yarder from best bud Joe Burrow, then a 29-yarder from Patriots rookie Drake Maye” data-link=”/players/drake-maye/” data-slug=”drake-maye”>Drake Maye and finally a 45-yarder from the Steelers’ Russell Wilson. 
3. Could league’s best kick returner be a pass rusher? If new Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Ebeflus was watching, maybe we might see Dallas kick returner extraordinaire KaVontae Turpin” data-link=”/players/kavontae-turpin/” data-slug=”kavontae-turpin”>KaVontae Turpin getting some snaps on defense. Turpin, a two-time Pro Bowl returner, got a chance to finally fulfill some of his offensive potential last season, but the Cowboys have largely struggled to get the most out of the speedster. He showed Sunday he could potentially be an asset in all three phrases. Turpin tied for the games-high with six tackles (aka flags pulled) and had the only sack, but he also had a sack on a conversion attempt and forced an incompletion with another pressure on a conversion. No, tackle football was not played on Sunday, but Turpin blitzing off the edge provided some excitement. C’mon, Flus, give it a shot. 
4. Punt imperfect. Much like the relay race three days prior, the Pro Bowl Games’ “punt perfect” event was entertaining in head-shaking fashion. Each of the three relay races — in addition to the Bosa brothers’ speed-walking to the finish line — featured dropped balls on exchanges. Each of the three rounds of Sunday’s punting showdown had far more misses than makes. In the debut of “punt perfect” — in which punters and a position player from each conference did their best to drop punts into a six barrels (think beer pong without the suds and with footballs instead of ping-pong balls) — it went to double overtime as the NFC’s Kyle Juszczyk and Jack Fox” data-link=”/players/jack-fox/” data-slug=”jack-fox”>Jack Fox matched the AFC’s Marlon Humphrey” data-link=”/players/marlon-humphrey/” data-slug=”marlon-humphrey”>Marlon Humphrey and Logan Cooke” data-link=”/players/logan-cooke/” data-slug=”logan-cooke”>Logan Cooke struggle for struggle. Following a tied first round, it was Cooke and Fox left with 30 seconds apiece to make the most kicks and decide a winner in overtime. Both notched three points and sent it to double OT. Then, the two combined for four consecutive misses before Cooke made good. Fox, with a chance to reply, was off the mark. Humphrey and Juszczyk are unlikely to become their squads’ emergency punters anytime soon, while Fox and Cooke hardly showcased the skills that got them to Orlando, but there was no shortage of drama. 
5. Does NFC three-peat signal a Super Bowl three-peat? After the NFC jumped out to a 14-7 lead following Thursday night’s skills competitions, Eli Manning joked that this was the three-peat everyone was waiting to see. Of course, it was a tongue-in-cheek, but nonetheless, Eli and the NFC dominated Peyton Manning and the AFC. Perhaps most emblematic was a sweep in the two-of-three tug of war, the NFC flexing its might in a boat-race triumph. However, an NFC win might bode well for the AFC champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, in New Orleans a week from now. This is the third year of the Pro Bowl Games and the NFC has won each one, with both of their victories preceding a Chiefs Super Bowl victory. From Orlando to New Orleans, we go!