For years, football fans pleaded for the NFL to change the Pro Bowl format. Fans got their wish in 2023, as the Pro Bowl was scrapped, and the Pro Bowl Games were born. The new format completely changed both the game itself, as well as the extracurriculars during the weekend of Pro Bowl festivities. In this article, we will explain exactly what the Pro Bowl Games format will look like in 2024.
When and where are the Pro Bowl Games?
In 2024, fans will get to see just the second iteration of the Pro Bowl Games. The best players from the AFC and NFC will compete in a variety of competitions over multiple days, starting on Thursday, Feb. 1, when the Skills Showdown will start at 7 p.m. ET. The Pro Bowl Games Championship will be on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 3 p.m. ET, and it will feature even more skills competitions and the flag football match. The Pro Bowl Games will be in Orlando, Florida, at the Camping World Stadium.
Pro Bowl format
The Pro Bowl has also been a celebration of the best player in the NFL. The league has always pitted the best players from the AFC against the best players from the NFC. In the 2010s, though, the product was underwhelming. In the Pro Bowl, players were fearful of injury and would, therefore, give minimal effort. It resulted in low-quality games that barely even resembled tackle football. On top of that, many players would opt out of the game, which resulted in a number of players some would consider underserving to be selected as Pro Bowl replacements.
Because of low television ratings, the NFL experimented with a number of ideas to increase fan intrigue. In recent seasons, the league tried a school-yard draft to select teams (starting in 2014) as well as the creation of Skills Showdown (starting in 2017). The draft format didn't stick, but the skills competition was a success and has remained a part of the Pro Bowl since. The Pro Bowl still needed a big change regarding the Pro Bowl game itself, though.
That change came last season. The 2023 Pro Bowl scrapped the 11 vs. 11 tackle football game and instead opted for 7 vs. 7 flag football matches. The new format was a success, and flag football and skills competitions are here to stay.
Pro Bowl Games 2024 format
The 2024 Pro Bowl Games will be using a format similar to last season's Pro Bowl Games, but there are some slight changes. There will be tons of action on both Thursday, Feb. 1, and Sunday, Feb. 4.
Thursday will consist of the Skills Showdown, and there will be seven skills competition events. Those events are as follows: Pro Bowl Dodgeball, Precision Passing, Best Catch, Closest to the Pin, High Stakes, Kick Tac Toe, and Snap Shots.
Dodgeball: The dodgeball tournament is a multi-round event with traditional dodgeball rules. Teams will stay on one half and throw balls at opposing players on the other side until one team is eliminated. The AFC offense will face the NFC defense, and the NFC offense will face the AFC defense.
Precession Passing: The Precession Passing event will be between three quarterbacks from each conference. Quarterbacks will try to hit as many targets over a one-minute period as they can to win for their conference. There will be targets at different, moving targets, and stationary targets.
Best Catch: The Best Catch competition is between only one player from each conference. These players will try to make cool catches with creativity, inventiveness, and talent in mind. Fans will vote for the winner.
Closest to the Pin: Six players from each conference will get to show off their golf skills in the Closest to the Pin event. Players will hit a golf ball as close to the pin as possible in order to win. This is a new take on last year's longest-drive competition.
High Stakes: In High Stakes, players will attempt to catch as many punts from a JUGS machine without dropping the footballs that they previously caught.
Kick Tac Toe: Kick Tac Toe will be a kicker competition where each conference's kicker will try to win a game of tic tac toe in between the goal posts with field goal kicks.
Snap Shots: Snap Shots will focus on long snappers and offensive linemen, where they will attempt to hit targets from a snapping position. This is a completely new skills competition for the Pro Bowl Games.
Sunday – labeled the Sunday Pro Bowl Games Championships – will also have a number of skills competitions. On Sunday, there will be the Madden NFL Head-to-Head, Gridiron Gauntlet, Tug-of-War, and Move the Chains. The latter three of those competitions will take place during quarter breaks for the flag football game.
Madden NFL Head-to-Head: Two players from each conference will match up in a game of Madden 24 using the Pro Bowl rosters for the Madden NFL Head-to-Head matchup.
Gridiron Gauntlet: The Gridiron Gauntlet will be a full-field obstacle course relay race between six players from each conference.
Tug-of-War: The Tug-of-War event will be a best-of-three match with five-player teams.
Move the Chains: The Move the Chains event will be a strength competition between linemen. Each team has five linemen, and they must move 3,000 pounds off of a wall before pulling the 2,000-pound wall across the finish line.
Of course, Sunday will also feature the flag football match. The game will still be 7 vs. 7, but this year, there will only be one game between the AFC and NFC. Peyton and Eli Manning will coach the teams.
The NFL took what was a success in the Pro Bowl Games last year and made it even bigger and better this season. There are more skills competitions and more action in the 2024 version of the Pro Bowl Games, and that is sure to keep fans entertained.
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