Branch on the prowl (Wu Xiaoling/Xinhua/Alamy Live News).
In the third part of our coverage on Sunday fun day of the Pro Bowl, we will discuss the third quarter of flag football and some rousing tug-of-war. Parts one and two can be viewed here and here, respectively. We’ve covered a lot of ground, but we’re just getting started since we just entered the second half of the Pro Bowl flag football festivities. After this article, we will have one final part on the final quarter of the game as well as the award show post-game.
Third Quarter Madness
Things start out quick in the third. AFC got the ball to start with, and it was Maye’s turn. He made a pass to Chase, who was de-flagged by Turpin. Maye gets de-flagged next by Byron Murphy Jr. And then things get too real. Maye makes another pass to Chase, which got broken up by McKinney. Budda Baker makes a pick six after Maye got pressured by Turpin again. At this point he gets a vote for game MVP because Turpin can get a flag from anybody.
Darnold is starting for the NFC, trying to get the team some bonus points. The one-point attempt to Kittle flops because things got out of bounds.
Second Pro Bowl possession
Burrow replaces Maye for the second possession of the quarter. He passes the ball to Russell Wilson’s favorite target, Bowers. After showing the rookie how it’s done, Burrow lets Maye get back out there. Drake gets a pass out to Jonathan Taylor. The first time we realized he was at the events was right then. Brian Thomas Jr. misses a pass next. Turpin blitzes the QB for the 50th time this game, but this time Drake expects it and avoids him long enough to make a 29-yard TD with Chase. The two-point attempt throw was too high. Now the score is sitting at 48-31 in the NFC’s favor.
The NFC is back with Darnold feeling passionate. He throws an incomplete pass to Smith-Njigba, throws a good pass to Turpin, who gets some karma when Queen gets the flag. Another pass to Turpin gets broken up by Humphrey. That’s definitely a man who does better on the defense.
Peyton’s face starts turning red as a lobster on the sidelines. Anxiety or pride? Who knows? What do we know? Parsons is on the sideline with an adorable infant, who is wearing just a diaper. Can we get a onesie for this baby? We are not at home.
Another Round
After those sideline shots, we see a wild play. Maye holds onto the ball so long we thought he would never let it go. He gets the ball to Jonathan Taylor, who pitches the ball to Maye, who successfully gets a two-pointer bonus after then completing a pass to Smith.
Russ is cooking, and we got Baker baking. Well, Budda’s been baking, but we’re talking about at the QB position. Baker’s first pass to Kittle turned out to be a flea flicker that passed through two to three sets of hands. Kittle made that TD, but it was close because he almost lost that flag. Kyle Hamilton tried to blitz Mayfield but slipped and fell. It wasn’t even raining. The one bonus point attempt to Josh Jacobs was good. We’re sitting at 55-39.
Famous Pro Bowl’s Tug-of-War
Let’s use that foam pit for what the Lord intended. We have Bitonio, Nelson, Dawkins, Seumalo, and Stanley for the AFC. On the other side, we have Smith, Hunt, Lindstrom, O’Neill, and Decker. The NFC outweighed the AFC with their big boys weighing in at 1593 and the AFC coming in at 1583.
For this game, we talked a lot about the size of the thighs and backsides of our larger NFL counterparts. This sounds like a lawsuit in the making. For real though, the average thigh is probably bigger than Peyton’s forehead. We got scientific with the sportscasters analyzing the men and determining the butt-to-thigh ratio is more solid on the NFC side. We also found out the signs you’re going to lose: you get too low and too close to the end, get a weird look on your face, and your shoes start leaning.
Needless to say, the AFC lost.
Another One
For this round we have Hendrickson, Heyward, Hunter, Simmons, and Williams for the AFC, and Bosa, Vea, Williams, Lawrence II, and Gary on the NFC side. For some reason, the NFC outweighs their counterparts by nearly 1,000 pounds (1540-1431). What does that say about these conference players?
On the NFC side, Vea is the anchor. Until there’s a crash where Vea and Lawrence fall on each other. Either way, the NFC won. We didn’t even need to have a third round because the AFC had no chance. Points-wise we are at 58-39.
Besides seeing some good old tug-of-war, we also have to see what is brother rivalry once you reach a certain age. Eli shoves Peyton in the foam, and we all cross our fingers that he isn’t going to crack a hip in the pit. Eli tries to help him out, and Peyton’s wrist nearly gives up the ghost, dragging his brother in.
In Conclusion
The Manning brother ‘rivalry’ is a smidgen cringe within the Pro Bowl context #TeamEli. The third quarter of the Pro Bowl’s flag football game had its moments of talent and a need for practice, but thankfully no shame like last quarter. Tug-of-war is always a hit, and it was no different this year. But, seriously, why is the NFC so much heavier than the AFC? Don’t miss part four of this series—it’ll be out soon!
