Pro Bowl Games recap: NFC beats AFC again

The 2024 Pro Bowl Games wrapped up on Sunday, with the NFC defeating the AFC 64-59 to secure their second straight victory.

The festivities kicked off Thursday with five events before concluding with the flag football game Sunday evening.

Here's a rundown of how each contest unfolded:

(Note: Each skills challenge is worth three points)

Sunday's events

Move the Chains

Five players from each conference attempt to move 3,000 pounds of weights off a wall and pull the 2,000-pound wall across a finish line.

Participants:

• (AFC) Will Anderson, Jermaine Johnson, Myles Garrett, Laremy Tunsil, Kevin Zeitler
• (NFC) DeMarcus Lawrence, Penei Sewell, Montez Sweat, Tyler Smith, Tristan Wirfs

Wirfs helped the NFC take home the competition, being the first player to finish pulling his weights off the wall. The AFC rallied late to get to the sticks just after the NFC, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback.

Kick-Tac-Toe

Each team's kicker kick footballs to try and get a straight line in a giant game of Tic-Tac-Toe.

• (AFC) Justin Tucker
• (NFC) Brandon Aubrey

Tucker defeated Aubrey, giving the AFC the win. He drilled a kick to hit the top middle portion of the Tic-Tac-Toe board to seal the victory.

Gridiron Gauntlet

Twelve players from each conference participate in a full-field relay race.

The relay race consisted of players running through obstacles, pushing sleds, and other challenges. The NFC won both heats. Jason Kelce and DeMarcus Ware rode the sled in both heats, leading to exciting finishes.

Madden NFL Head-to-Head:

Two players from each conference participate in a Madden NFL 24 game using the official Pro Bowl Games rosters.

Participants:

• (AFC) Tyreek Hill, David Njoku
• (NFC) Puka Nacua, Micah Parsons

The NFC won the competition, with Nacua dominating Njoku after getting out to a 15-0 lead. He threw the first touchdown to himself, celebrating with Parsons after the play.

Hill and Njoku shared a funny moment, with the former yelling at the latter due to his struggles in the game.

Best Catch

One player from each conference attempts to create the best-looking reception.

Participants:

• (AFC) David Njoku
• (NFC) Puka Nacua

The contest was televised Thursday, with fans voting for a winner over the next two days. Nacua went on a wakeboard, getting pulled at approximately 17 miles per hour while trying to catch a ball thrown from 30 yards out. He secured the catch on his second attempt.

Njoku attempted to catch a ball midair after doing a backflip into the water from a swing. He was unable to come down with a catch on both attempts.

The fans voted Nacua as the winner.

Tug-of-War

Five players from each conference participate in a tug-of-war contest.

The completion consisted of two rounds. The NFC secured the win in both heats, with Aidan Hutchinson dominating in the second. He was at the front of the line, helping anchor the conference for a quick victory.

Flag Football

Players participate in a seven-on-seven flag football game.

(Note: Points from previous 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 AFC dominated the first half, with rookie C.J. Stroud throwing for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Keenan Allen threw a touchdown pass to Evan Engram in the back of the end zone on a trick play, the best sequence of the first half.

The NFC shut down the AFC on the final drive to secure the victory. The AFC attempted to score a game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left, but Jaylon Johnson smothered Allen in coverage to help force an incompletion in the end zone.

Baker Mayfield and Demario Davis claimed MVP honors.

Thursday's events

Precision Passing

Precision Passing features three signal-callers from each conference attempting to hit both moving and stationary targets. Each target is worth a specific number of points.

Participants:

• (AFC) C.J. Stroud, Tua Tagovailoa, Gardner Minshew
• (NFC) Jalen Hurts, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith

Mayfield secured the victory, defeating Stroud in the final round by a score of 9-8. Stroud finished the timed first round with the highest point total (26), but Mayfield overtook him when it mattered most. The finalists were limited to six throws in the final.

High Stakes

Players repeatedly catch punts from a JUGS machine. They're eliminated if they let go of a single ball while catching the next one.

Participants:

• (AFC) Jermaine Johnson, Miles Killebrew, Marvin Mims, Justin Simmons, Denzel Ward
• (NFC) DaRon Bland, Nick Bellore, Sam LaPorta, Rashid Shaheed, Devon Witherspoon

Killebrew hauled in six of seven punts - including a particularly impressive one at the end - to beat LaPorta in the final round. Shaheed might have had the best moment, though, tucking one ball under his chin while catching another.

Closest to the Pin

The NFL hits the golf course - you can figure out the rest.

Participants:

• (AFC) A.J. Cole, Kyle Hamilton, Alec Ingold, Raheem Mostert, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
• (NFC) Bryan Anger, Jake Ferguson, Jaylon Johnson, Julian Love, Darius Slay

Anger took home the victory with this beauty of a tee shot. LIV Golf might have found its newest star.

Snap Shots

Centers and long-snappers try to hit targets snapping the ball. Unlike the previous challenges in which players compete individually, conferences accumulate points from all their participants.

Participants:

• (AFC) Ryan Kelly, Tyler Linderbaum, Ross Matiscik
• (NFC) Andrew DePaola, Jason Kelce, Erik McCoy

The NFC defeated the AFC 14-11. DePaola, the NFC's final contestant, needed seven points to secure the victory. He got nine. Kelce, meanwhile, was relentless on his turn, refusing to go away from the five-point target.

Dodgeball

Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge.

The AFC and NFC each took home one of the two contests. The Broncos' Justin Simmons shined in the first game, eliminating two of the final three NFC players to lead the AFC to victory. In the second game, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb knocked out Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to give the NFC a win.