Jared Goff, Justin Jefferson and the NFC built a big lead over the AFC in the 2025 NFL Pro Bowl Games on Thursday, the first night of competition for this year’s NFL all-stars in Orlando.
Over six total events — five live and one prerecorded — the NFC side secured a 14-7 lead ahead of the Sunday finale, which will feature three additional contests and a flag football game to determine the winner.
The Skills Showdown began Thursday with the Passing the Test competition, which put the Pro Bowl quarterbacks’ accuracy and trivia knowledge to the test.
Goff of the Detroit Lions secured three points for the NFC with 44 total points scored. He was followed by the Minnesota Vikings’ Sam Darnold (39 points).
Each quarterback started with 40 seconds on the clock and received an additional 10 seconds for every trivia question they answered correctly. Targets in the passing portion of the game were worth one to five points.
Up next was the Satisfying Catches competition. It featured a wide receiver, tight end and defensive back from each conference squaring off in an obstacle course requiring them to catch machine-thrown passes at three different locations.
The Vikings’ Jefferson, the Arizona Cardinals’ Trey McBride and the Chicago Bears’ Jaylon Johnson secured the win in 1 minute, 57 seconds while the AFC side of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, the Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers and the Houston Texans’ Derek Stingley Jr. fell just short at 2:06.
In The Big Spike event, three linemen from each side used the “Spike-O-Meter” to determine who could spike the ball the hardest. Each player got three attempts to secure the top spike — measured by a combination of power and impact.
The New York Jets’ Quinnen Williams scored a 982 to get the AFC on the board in the Pro Bowl Games. The New York Giants’ Dexter Lawrence (979 points) was a close second with his first spike of the night.
The NFC edged the AFC 8-6 in the Helmet Harmony event, a gameshow competition testing players’ knowledge of their teammates. Six participants from each side were involved in this new event, hosted by actor Terry Crews, with one point handed out for each correct answer.
The NFC was also declared the winner in the Relay Race. Three groups of four players from each conference participated in three heats of 40-yard dashes, with each competitor handing a football off to the next teammate. The NFC took two of three heats for a 2-1 advantage in overall points for this contest.
In one of the most highly anticipated events, the AFC and NFC both took home three points. Two rounds of Dodgeball were played with five players on each side. The AFC won the first game, and the NFC secured three points for the second game.
There was some confusion before and during the Skills Showdown, as the rules were released just one day before the action kicked off.
The Pro Bowl Games are held annually during the week between the conference championships and Super Bowl. They will wrap up on Sunday afternoon.
