AFC defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) tries to block a pass by NFC quarterback Kyle Murray (1) during the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022.
Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023 | 2 a.m.
2023 NFL PRO BOWL GAMES
• When: February 5, noon
• Where: Allegiant Stadium
• Tickets: ticketmaster.com.
• Cost: $30-$270
Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby learned about the rugged physicality and macho mentality often needed for success at the highest levels of football from an early age growing up in Texas.“Once you hit the second grade, you were allowed to start playing football, so you either played tackle or you played flag,” Crosby explained late this season. “If you played flag, we looked at you sideways. If you played tackle, you were about that action.”
The 25-year-old Crosby says he has never been a part of a game of flag football, but that will change February 5 at Allegiant Stadium. Crosby will be participating in his second straight Pro Bowl, which the NFL has now tweaked into the Pro Bowl Games, with three sets of 7-on-7 flag football games serving as the grand finale.
Crosby described it as “unfortunate” that the traditional, fully padded 11-on-11 game has been scrapped, but ironically, he partly has himself to blame for the format change. Out of concern over injuries that could cut into their earning potential, players hadn’t given anywhere near full effort in the Pro Bowl for a decade or more.
Crosby certainly didn’t go all-out in his debut at Allegiant last year, but he played hard enough to put into focus the way most of the other players were merely going through the motions. The Raider won the 2022 Pro Bowl MVP after contributing two sacks and three pass break-ups while leading the AFC to a 41-35 victory against the NFC.
Pro Bowl Raiders
• Davante Adams, wide receiver: The former Packer earned his sixth career Pro Bowl nod by rewriting the Raiders’ single-season receiving record book in his first year with the team and leading the NFL with 14 receiving touchdowns.
• AJ Cole, punter: Cole was controversially left off the Pro Bowl roster initially but made it as a replacement when fellow punter Tommy Townsend reached the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. Cole is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, punter in the league and expanded his arsenal with different types of kicks this season to make the Pro Bowl in back-to-back years.
• Maxx Crosby, edge rusher: One year after breaking out as one of the NFL’s best pass rushers, the Raiders’ new $100 million man became one of the league’s best rush defenders, leading the league with 22 tackles for loss to earn his second straight Pro Bowl appearance.
• Josh Jacobs, running back: The impending free agent reached the Pro Bowl for the second time in three years by virtue of leading the league in both rush yards (1,653) and scrimmage yards (2,053). He stars alongside Peyton Manning in a water balloon-themed Pro Bowl Games commercial promoting the event.
• Derek Carr, quarterback: The veteran quarterback technically makes his final appearance as a Raider in his fourth career Pro Bowl after making the roster as a replacement. Carr had a down year, leading to his benching late in the season, but he still ranked around league-average in most all-encompassing passing statistical categories while throwing for seven yards per attempt and 24 touchdowns.
Crosby was cheered by the hometown fans, but everything else about the game was panned, expediting a shift in one of the NFL’s marquee annual events.
“You’ve seen some evolutionary parts of the concept in previous years as we brought the skills [competition] into the fold the last few years and looked to make game day more a bit accessible,” says Matthew Shapiro, the NFL’s vice president of events strategy. “And then, coming out of last year … we thought more seriously about how to reimagine this event and revamp it.”
Here’s a rundown of four of the big changes taking place, and how it will all work.
The format
Rosters were determined in the usual way, with players, coaches and fans each getting a third of the say in awarding honorees at every position in the AFC and NFC. How the chosen players will be utilized has changed, however. Only 21 players from each 44-man roster will compete in the flag football games.
Exact lineups will be announced closer to the start, but expect to see the biggest-name skill players, such as Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Raiders running back Josh Jacobs included. The rest will be on the sidelines cheering them on—and likely interacting with fans—after having their moment in the spotlight Thursday and Sunday, through a variety of skills competitions.
Three points will be up for grabs for the winning conference in a variety of contests (more on those later), with seven points awarded to the winning team in each of the first two flag-football games.
It’s all to add drama to the final flag game, in which the scoreboard will start with the cumulative score from all the other competitions. One final 20-minute, 50-yard game—the same setup as for the first two contests—will determine whether the AFC can run its Pro Bowl win streak over the NFC to six.
The side competitions
Not everything about the first Pro Bowl week in Las Vegas a year ago was a bust. The most memorable moment might have come on opening night at Las Vegas Ballpark, when then-rookie Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons talked trash before shocking receiver Tyreek Hill (then with the Kansas City Chiefs), Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb and Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs in a 40-yard dash.
The NFL wants to play up those kinds of moments, so nine skills competitions will take place, from a Thursday night kickoff event on ESPN at the Raiders’ Henderson headquarters to sideshows of Sunday’s flag games at Allegiant. A relay race returns Sunday, but it’s among the most straightforward offerings.
Other events include a dodgeball match (Thursday), a water balloon toss (Thursday), a best catch contest (Thursday and Sunday) and a kick-tac-toe competition (Sunday).
The hope is that these type of lighthearted setups can showcase some of the NFL’s brightest and loudest stars, like Parsons, New York Jets rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner and New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
The vibe
Another undeniable success from last year’s Pro Bowl in Las Vegas were the open practices at Las Vegas Ballpark. They gave fans a chance to catch many of their favorite athletes in a playful environment, snagging autographs from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, for example, before he razzed teammate Chris Jones as the latter tested out a putting green.
There’s no need for practices with the new format, but the NFL wanted to try to transition that atmosphere into the actual game.
“The Pro Bowl has had a lot of tremendous positives over the last number of years—the camaraderie amongst the players, the ability to see the players’ personalities for fans and the helmets-off mentality of the practices,” Shapiro said. “It provides a lot of access, but we felt like we could really take that to the next level.”
The coaches
To further foster the good-natured attitude, the NFL did away with the tradition of bringing in coaching staffs from each conference for the Pro Bowl. Two of the most beloved recent quarterback retirees will take their place—brothers Eli and Peyton Manning.
Eli, who played his entire career with the Giants, will coach the NFC. Peyton, who won a Super Bowl with both Indianapolis and Denver, will coach the AFC.
The pair’s interplay and sibling rivalry has become a big hit with the Manningcast, on which they provide commentary and interview guests during an alternate broadcast of Monday Night Football. Shapiro said the Manningcast “encapsulates” what he wants the Pro Bowl to be as “a really fun [aspect] with a competitive streak to it and greats going at it.”
“They’re hilarious,” Crosby said, endorsing the Mannings’ inclusion in the Pro Bowl Games. “I see them involved with everything right now, and it’s awesome.”
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
