The Pro Bowl Games Were An Absolute Embarrassment For the NFL: REACTIONS

The NFL Pro Bowl (1951-2026)

From once pitting the NFL's best against each other to forcing a new format, the Pro Bowl, rebranded as the Pro Bowl Games and rudely dumped on a Tuesday night in February 2026, signifies a collapse that will leave an ugly stain on the NFL's history.

Proving that the NBA isn't the only league to send its once-a-year showcase event down the crapper, the NFL experimented with a flag football format that ultimately drew close to no interest. 

And those who did catch it were shaking their heads over the product that signaled a clear fall from grace.

Plus, Shedeur Sanders played, which tells you everything about the event's decline.

ONLINE REACTIONS

• The @NFL should just abandon the farce that the "Pro Bowl" has become. Watched The Housemaid. Better option.
• Roger [Goodell], if you’re reading this please just stop with the Pro Bowl madness
• What the Pro Bowl has become is an abomination.
• Pro Bowl is so ridiculous just scrap it all
• What do you mean the Pro Bowl is on a Tuesday???
• Imagine time traveling from the Pro Bowl where Sean Taylor was taking heads off to this?

The Pro Bowl was once lauded as the conference vs. conference talent showcase taking place the Sunday before the Super Bowl — filling the void of football in that limbo period between the conference championships and BIG GAME.

Well, given the players' waning interest, the NFL introduced a more PG version that was less intriguing than the Puppy Bowl and just barely more watchable than a bill marked OVERDUE that arrived in your mail.

NFC Pro Bowl Coach Jerry Rice watches as Los Angeles Rams Puka Nacua takes a selfie during practice at Moscone Center South in San Francisco, California Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 ahead of their game Tuesday, kicking off Super Bowl LX week in San Francisco. (Photo by Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Dallas Cowboys KaVonte Turpin jumps to throw the ball during NFC Pro Bowl team practice at Moscone Center South in San Francisco, California Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 ahead of their game Tuesday, kicking off Super Bowl LX week in San Francisco. (Photo by Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Bumping these Pro Bowl Games to a Tuesday night showed fans just how invested the league was in dragging its best players out for a non-competitive and oddly scored face-off between the AFC and NFC. 

The players’ malaise and disregard for the event were impossible to miss: quarterbacks were running routes and catching passes, Joe Flacco threw a literal "arm punt" to capitalize on exactly how unserious this game has turned, and Micah Parsons was seen rolling around the sidelines on a scooter like an injured Paul Blart. 

Joe Flacco catches a ball during AFC Pro Bowl practice at Moscone Center South in San Francisco, California Monday, Feb. 2, 2026 ahead of their game Tuesday, kicking off Super Bowl LX week in San Francisco. (Photo by Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Held in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, the Pro Bowl Games shifted to a Tuesday night for the first time to lead into Super Bowl LX festivities. 

Coached by legends Jerry Rice (NFC) and Steve Young (AFC), the event focused on "agility and skill."

There was a greater sense of urgency found at the playpen at your nearest McDonald's. Your eyes don't deceive you … "engaging" couldn't describe this event if a UFO saucer landed on the field at halftime.

Sure, the league is using this as a 'test run' for the 2028 Olympics, but if the stars couldn't be bothered to break a sweat now, don't expect a miracle in two years. 

At this rate, the U.S. Olympic roster will just be JJ McCarthy and a bunch of guys who lost a bet.

Fans were similarly rolling in their graves, wondering what happened to their precious Pro Bowl.

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