Photo courtesy of the New England Patriots.
If you missed the 2025 Pro Bowl or want a summary, this is the article for you. This is the one time a year the author pays attention to anything with undivided attention. 4.5 hours of intense concentration so I can get you the whole scoop, and nothing but the scoop, so help us all. If you don’t have a sense of humor and appreciation for fun, the Pro Bowl and this summary might not be your cup of tea. Let’s get into the first half of the Thursday Night Skill Show portion of the event.
Thursday Night
Before we launch into the skills show, let’s discuss a few details. The event occurred on January 30th from 7 PM to 8:30 PM EST. Terry Crews was on the mic all night, interviewing players and coaches and keeping everyone at the event and home upbeat all night. His enthusiasm and willingness to try out the games brought even more positivity to the scene. The full roster of Pro Bowlers can be viewed here.
Our event sportscasters were Laura Rutledge, Ryan Clark, and Dan Orlovsky. It was an odd pairing as Dan Orlovsky was suited up, RC was rocking a sweatshirt, and Rutledge was wearing knee-high leather boots, a high ponytail, and a dress that was missing most of the skirt and was serving an adult-themed diner dash. We’re all about straightening fellow women’s crowns around here, but sometimes you have to point out a 50s diner theme if you see it.
Let’s get to the actual competitions!
Passing the Test
Passing the Test is a skills test that is both intellectual and physical. A quarterback is paired with another player from their same conference, and they see if they can “pass” the test. The non-quarterback is asked five trivia questions. Each question they answer successfully adds 10 seconds to the baseline 40 seconds each QB starts with. After trivia is over for the duo, the quarterback begins throwing balls at the various targets as seen above.
First Round
Joe Burrow starts out for the AFC. He is working with Nico Collins of the Houston Texans. Collins is not a trivia buff and only answers two right, giving Burrow one minute. In those 60 seconds, the QB was able to hit every target, which equals 27 points.
Jared Goff is the first NFC player to go to bat. He is paired with Packers Josh Jacobs. He got all five “right” with the help of Goff. It feels dishonest, but there are no rules barring the help. The Lions QB stars with the maximum time of 1.5 minutes. Goff hit each target, earning 27 points. However, there was time left on the clock, and the targets reset, and the NFC wonder gets 44 points.
Second Round
Each QB is getting their turn, and we’re back to the AFC. Drake Maye is paired with Miami Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith. The tight end was on his A-game and got four questions right, leaving Maye with 1:20 on the clock. It appears that some trivia questions seem easier than others—but that’s just the author’s opinion. For example, some questions were current, and some were more historical. The distribution didn’t seem quite even either.
Either way, Maye goes to bat. Peyton takes a moment to blame his leadership on the lack of emphasis on trivia in the team’s practice. The rookie underperforms with 22 points total blocked by the scaffolding more than once. The commentators let us know at this point that this is harder than it looks. It’s 50-60 yards to the closest target. The AFC is lagging behind.
The NFC has questionable ethics again when the man who sees ghosts on and off the field, Sam Darnold, helped his teammate with at least one answer. Fred Warner got 5/5, and once again the NFC QB has the full 1:30 on the clock.
One of the questions asked was the Persian meaning of Bijon Robinson’s name. We discover that Robinson has Iranian heritage at this point. Fun things you learn in the Pro Bowl. Somehow, they guess his name. Granted, there’s only a handful of options for what could be a Farsi first name, but the guess was still solid.
Eli is interviewed, and he says they worked on trivia extensively—particularly what people’s first names mean in other languages. He was incredibly encouraging, presenting a positivity his older brother can’t muster. Darnold nets 39 points, hitting six targets in a row, basically winning the competition.
Third Round
Russell Wilson, the internal optimist, wants to know what the top score is because he has aspirations for more. He is paired with “I’ll beat you with your own helmet” Myles Garrett. This ended up being the best duo because Garrett is a trivia genius who didn’t need any quarterback support. Allegedly, while doing high knees on the sideline, Russ gave him a trivia pep talk. This man works miracles.
Russ clearly came in cooking because he threw the ball before his turn started. The commentators say he is drilled in, and he’s not a cheater; he’s just enthused. Danger Russ lived up to his name by hitting a ref with an errantly thrown ball. Wilson may not have beat the NFC, but he did get the highest score out of the AFC, so that’s something to high-knee about.
Besties Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans teamed up. If you need someone to bring to trivia night, don’t ask Evans because he struggled to get three. Eli was incredibly supportive of Mayfield in an interview, pointing out he was the MVP for flag football last year. The younger Manning brother also drops some hot news. Rumor has it some of the AFC guys called him asking to play with his team. Mayfield scores 29 points, which isn’t bad overall, but is for the NFC. There is a clear relationship with seconds on the clock and score. Both teams need to practice more trivia ahead of time next year.
NFC is handed the win with a 3-0 score to kick off the Pro Bowl.
The Pro Bowl’s Satisfying Catches
The gentlemen moved on to a team competition. Satisfying catches was a three-part challenge. First, each man must catch three footballs with one hand. Next, they don the “mascot hands” and catch another ball. Lastly, they take a flying leap on a padded surface and attempt to catch a ball mid-air. If they miss the ball (all but one do), they have to run an agility course. Whichever team finishes as a group first gets the points. There are no second chances for any missed balls.
For the AFC, we have Ja’Marr Chase, Derek Stingley Jr., and Brock Bowers. On the NFC side, we have Justin Jefferson, Jaylon Johnson, and Trey McBride.
Not one NFC player got the diving catch. Jefferson takes longer than we might expect. Johnson made us all proud by going quick and nearly nailing the diving catch. McBride is there. The team finishes in 1:57 minutes.
For the AFC, Ja’Marr Chase doesn’t get the diving catch; Stingley almost catches the diving catch and has a super confusing and undisclosed clothing or stomach problem that leaves him holding something in that region as he slowly goes through the agility course. Bowers got hit in the face with one of the balls when he attempted to catch it with one hand. However, he got the last laugh when he was the only man to make the diving catch. However, Peyton is annoyed once again because the AFC finishes in 2:06 minutes. The NFC wins again. 6-0 is the score.
The Big Spike
Each player spikes the ball as hard as they can inside a tiny square. This competition would have made Homer Jones proud, maybe. Somehow the “Spike-O-Meter” registers the force in an undisclosed unit of measurement. This is a game typically reserved for the bigger teammates, but Terry Crews and George Kittle gave it a shot, with the tight end taking the mic hostage as we went to commercials.
But let’s back up a little. For the AFC, we have Rashawn Slater (tackle), Chris Lindstrom (guard), and Quinnen Williams (lineman). They scored 706, 852, and 982, respectively. On the NFC side, we have Frank Ragnow (center), Joel Bitonio (guard), and Dexter Lawrence II (lineman). They scored 856, 901, and 979, respectively. Whoever spikes the hardest wins it for their entire team. The AFC took it with William’s 982. The score is 6 NFC, 3 AFC.
Summary
In conclusion, we discussed the quarterbacks battling it out in Passing the Test, our ball-catching pros in Satisfying Catches, and our big gents in The Big Spike. There are new competitions, changed ones, and woefully lacking ones like Satisfying Catches. Last year we had diving boards and jet skiing. They spoiled me.
Overall, the Pro Bowl was fantastic from start to finish, and the competition was still high at this point in the Thursday skill session. Fun was had by all, and I can’t wait to get into more of the Pro Bowl. Catch all of my Pro Bowl content here!
