LAS VEGAS — This was something entirely new.
The Pro Bowl has moved in recent years from Hawaii to Orlando to Nevada, but the biggest shift came Sunday, as the NFL tried a new flag football format as part of its rebranded “Pro Bowl Games” festivities at Allegiant Stadium.
The nonchalant nature of what counted as tackle football in recent years and a desire to lessen the risk of injury resulted in flag football, but the result was well-received by players involved. This was a little bit of a circus, but then again, so is Vegas, right?
“You’ve got the best of the best out here, and it’s fun to see guys get competitive,” said Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, who thrived in the new format, going 14-for-16 for 239 yards and five touchdowns in the first and best of three 20-minute games — a 33-27 win for the NFC on a touchdown from Smith to Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb with 12 seconds left.
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The game had celebrity coaches in brothers Eli and Peyton Manning, a random touch of Vegas with the Blue Man Group wandering around between games, and Hollywood guests on the sidelines in Snoop Dogg and former “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson, who said the last NFL game he attended was one of the Patriots‘ Super Bowl wins.
“So Snoop Dogg called me a week and a half ago and he said ‘Hey, nephew, would you like to coach the NFL Pro Bowl with me?'” said Davidson, sporting a New York Giants T-shirt. “I thought that was code for, like, let’s go smoke or something, and here I am. This was amazing. I had the time of my life.”
There was another Snoop in attendance — Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, an unlikely Pro Bowl choice to say the least as he totaled two touchdown passes all year but was called in with Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa all injured, Patrick Mahomes busy preparing for a Super Bowl and Joe Burrow also not participating.
Huntley played well, going 15-for-19 for 192 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions — in the other two games, three AFC quarterbacks combined for 187 yards and four scores with three picks. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw three touchdowns in the final game to secure an NFC (and coach Eli) victory over the AFC.
“My favorite part was that we didn’t have to put on shoulder pads and helmets and tackle people,” said Packers corner Jaire Alexander, who intercepted a Trevor Lawrence pass and returned it for a touchdown. “That was my first-ever pick-six. It’s going to go down as my first. Some of us have been out of our seasons two, three weeks and more, so we don’t want to come out here and tackle again. And then some people go hard, some people don’t go hard. I don’t mind tackling, but everybody’s not on board.”
The teams only had one full practice, while a Thursday skills competition earned mixed reviews from players. Raiders running back Josh Jacobs‘ “this s— is stupid” remark went viral Saturday, but he had a better appreciation for the event Sunday.
“I didn’t like all the other stuff, with a lot of sitting around at events the fans don’t get to see, but today was cool,” Jacobs said. “I think it’s more competitive this way with flag — at least you get guys to try a little harder. I think it should stick.”
The NFL had a complicated scoring system awarding points for wins in the flag football games, but also in other competitions, ranging from a “Kick, Tac, Toe” contest with kicks and long-snaps at a giant gameboard, and “gridiron gauntlet” competitions with linemen pushing sleds on obstacle courses.
And while this was flag football, there was still a little bit of physicality — on one touchdown play, Raiders receiver Davante Adams flipped the ball at the goal line to Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, who got in for the score but not before getting upended by Rams corner Jalen Ramsey, who inadvertently gave him a shoulder as he tried to pull Adams’ flag. Hill also got a cameo on defense and batted down a Cousins pass.
In a light preview of what next week will bring with brothers Travis and Jason Kelce facing off with the Chiefs and Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, Sunday’s game saw Cowboys corner Trevon Diggs intercept a trick-play pass thrown by his brother, Bills receiver Stefon Diggs.
Sunday was a quiet day for the offensive and defensive linemen, but even they had events between the games, and the lack of full physical contact was a welcome change for players in many cases weeks removed from their last meaningful snaps.
“I thought it was really cool,” said Buccaneers tackle Tristan Wirfs, thrilled to swap jerseys with 49ers tackle Trent Williams after the game. “I couldn’t imagine blocking Dexter Lawrence today. I thought they did their best to make it fun for us, too, and give us something to do.”
And while the hope is that the flag-football aspect will limit the risk for injury, Browns pass-rusher Myles Garrett managed to dislocate his toe during the game, though it wasn’t immediately clear how the injury occurred.
How’d the new format register with fans? A Twitter poll had only 23% saying they enjoyed the new format, with 40% not enjoying it and another 37% choosing “indifferent.” The game was a hit with fans in Las Vegas, drawing an announced crowd of 58,331, up slightly from 56,206 last year for traditional tackle football in the Pro Bowl’s first year in Las Vegas.
The competitive juices were flowing among the players, as those on the winning team got $84,000 while the losing participants took home $42,000 apiece.
“This has been a blast, seeing all these fans and being able to play with some of the greatest in the league,” said Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson, who matched the longest play of the day with a 45-yard touchdown. “It’s been incredible. We got after it a little bit, especially at the end when you’ve got some money on the line.”
Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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