Photo courtesy of the Cincinnati Bengals.
In this edition of Sunday Fun Day for Pro Bowl 2025, we will discuss the second quarter of flag football and two rousing skills competition. With the level of exquisite detail that we discuss the magic that is the Pro Bowl, you will know exactly what happened every second of the event. The roster of participants is extremely talented this year, so don’t miss my articles on Thursday’s skills competition here and here, and the first part on Sunday here. Let’s get into it!
Second Quarter Magic
After a rousing first quarter and a skills competition that finally went in the AFC’s favor, the score is sitting at 27-16 with the NFC in the clear lead.
First Possessions for NFC
Goff was still on the 1s and 2s for the NFC. Njigba ran in for a 46-yard TD, which is apparently allowed despite being against the rules. The one-point attempt was a flop as Goff misses Evans. This is the shortest and least complex trip down the field during this game.
There was a little fanfare as Njigba threw his signed TD ball into the crowd. There was a suggestion from one of the three musketeers that they were going to “sic” Kelce onto the crowd if the ball didn’t end up in a child’s hands. Thank god it did eventually, or we might have had a less-than-brotherly soupy shove on our hands.
And the AFC
Russ is repping for the AFC as Burrow’s reign ends, much to Peyton’s chagrin. Things are never simple when Russ enters the picture, and our simple trips down the field are over. I’m the biggest Wilson stan on this planet, but even I was annoyed at his bossiness. He’s old enough to be some of these players’ dads, but that doesn’t mean he can boss them around like he did. Some of it is intensity, and some of it is being surrounded by his brood at home whenever he isn’t on the gridiron, probably. Little Future is on the sideline looking adorable repping his ‘step’ dad’s “3” jersey.
In what feels like a full circle moment, Russ cooks when he passes the ball to James Cook twice. The next place was nullified for a reason that was less than clear. Cook gets another ball. Brian Thomas Jr. gets a chance and also gets a chance at a possession. In one of the longest runs down the field, Russ is thwarted by flag-happy Turpin. Someone has a career in flag football when he retires from the NFL.
Smith (probably Jonnu Smith, my bad) runs the ball to the 7-yard line before nearly being deflagged. How we haven’t made it across the field with this many people holding the ball is unclear. Turpin is all over Russ, and anticipating the pressure coming Russ’s way, he overthrows the ball to Bowers, and they net 0 points. We’re sitting at 33-16 now.
Second Possessions
We have more conference possessions than they have in The Exorcist. Darnold replaces Goff, and we all feel a sense of dread. He makes a strong pass to Kittle with a deflection from Humphrey. Hodge receives another pass, but Humphrey brutally deflags the special teamer. Another pass is thrown by Sam, and the ball is intercepted by Humphrey. You can tell it’s serious when beanies and glasses fall off on a play. We find ourselves celebrating Pro Bowl style once again in the foam pit. Kittle removes Humphrey’s flag before he can make the pick six, and we are back to the AFC.
Russ is still cooking with another attempted pass to Bowers. The NFC gets a defensive holding penalty after Branch was hanging on to Bowers clothes. This game is not always chill. While being harassed by Branch, someone else steals the TE’s flag to put salt in the wound. Someone (I missed the name this time) ran the ball to the five-yard line. Thomas Jr. secures the TD. The two-point attempt is a flop due to Turpin’s pressure and Bowers missing the catch. Deja vu. We are now required to make another dramatic trip to the foam pit.
Third Pro Bowl Possession In Second Quarter
We find ourselves back on the field with Sam Darnold. He gives the ball to Bijon, who rushes it. A solid approach from the NFC QB. A missed catch with AFC’s Derwin James wrecking people leaves Sam seeing a ghost or two. Darnold makes a pass to Jefferson, who is consequently deflagged by Fitzpatrick. Njigba gets the ball down the field, and Jefferson seals the deal with the TD. Darnold’s one-point attempt fails with passionate Fitzpatrick intercepting the ball.
In the longest quarter of flag football ever, the AFC is back. Russ is in the kitchen with 48 seconds left on the clock. We all fall out when Russ throws a fantastic moon ball to his former teammate Mims Jr. that almost bounces in and then back out of the return specialist’s hands, and McKinney has no chill and bats the ball away.
Chase gets in touch with his running back energy when he makes it down the field, nearly to the goal. Turpin, of course, was craving another flag. Ja’Marr disappoints us all by being clearly offside, giving the underdogs a 5-yard penalty. Thomas Jr. gets another success pass followed by a quick deflagging. We now have our first timeout at 12 seconds on the clock.
A throw to Bowers is interfered with by McKinney. There are seven seconds on the clock. Bowers gets the pass again and does a dramatic flea-flicker. The ball is passed to the entire AFC practically until the center, who looks like he forgot he was on the field, misses the ball that is basically in his lap. What a despicable way to finish the quarter. On to the first skills competition of this article we go.
Madden NFL Head-To-Head
In the annual Madden competition, we have the event hosted by Charissa Thompson and Kurt Benkert. Charissa elevates every event she attends. You can see the full 50-minute event here – highlights were only featured during the Bowl. Justin Jefferson and Micah Parsons repped the NFC, and Derwin James and Brian Thomas Jr. were holding it down for the AFC. Peyton must have been lurking in the corner because the AFC came through, giving their conference three more points. We’re now sitting at 39-25 in favor of the NFC.
The Great Football Race
The six-part Pro Bowl race is a bit convoluted. You can see the entire race here if my summary doesn’t make sense. To start, the gentlemen participate in ‘the wall of faces.’. Each participant is given the name of a pro bowler, and he must find that person on a wall of legends. Next, the gents run through tires and walls and then push a tackling dummy for the next section. After that, they are now in the second part of the race. Flipping tires is first on the docket. They must flip the rubber 20 yards down the field, followed by more tackling dummy fun.
In the third stretch, long snappers use balls to knock down giant bowling pins. The snappers for the first time in their lives also push a tackling dummy for the fourth section. Next, they have to knock down targets 20 yards away in the fifth stretch. Last, but not least, the players push a sled 15 yards with their head coach catching a ride. And that’s all. Easy peasy.
The Lineup
For the ‘wall of faces,’ we have Patrick Queen for the AFC and Micah Parsons on the NFC. Our tire flippers for the NFC are Frank Ragnow and Tristan Wirfs, who are going against Tyler Linderbaum and Rashawn Slater. The long snappers are Ross Matiscik (AFC) and Andrew DePaola (NFC). Target practice will be executed by Steelers’ Chris Boswell and Cowboys Brandon Aubrey. In our final section, the sled push, we have Connor McGovern for the AFC and Erik McCoy for the NFC.
Ready, Set, Pro Bowl!
Micah Parsons starts the NFC out strong, picking his Pro Bowler’s face out of all the gents on the eerie wall. He doesn’t struggle to make it through the tires with Justin Jefferson’s face like he did during Madden. Parsons barrels through the ‘walls,’ leaving Queen in the dust.
The NFC gets flipping, starting with a small head start against the AFC. However, the AFC is flipping faster and stronger. For no clear reason whatsoever, Slater leaves Linderbaum with the tire before they can cross the finish line and turns around, wondering why his teammate isn’t beside him. Slater looks incompetent here; granted, it seems he may have thought the red line was the final line, but Linderbaum deserves that after his laughable flag football performance.
DePaola clearly doesn’t throw a football between his legs often enough because the NFC lost their lead due to his inability to knock pins the size of small people down in an efficient manner. They tangle with a tackling dummy for a second. We nearly miss both kickers nailing their targets on their first try since they were so skilled.
Next, our sledders are neck and neck with their head coaches on the sleds. Peyton does an awkward squat as an attempt to distribute his weight. His efforts were useless, though, and the NFC won this one by a hair. 42 to 25 is the total heading into the third quarter of the flag football game.
In Conclusion
In part two we discussed the second quarter of the Pro Bowl flag football game. Russ was cooking and Linderbaum irritated us all with his flea flicker stunt. We then discuss our double-header skills competitions starting with Madden and finished out with The Great Football Race. We’re over half way through the Pro Bowl’s Sunday fun day!
