NFL Pro Bowl

NFL Pro Bowl 2017: How to watch, game time, TV info and Skills Challenge results

Here’s all the information you need to enjoy the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl.

By Kyle Phelps@KylePhelps92 Jan 27, 2017, 6:00am EST

NFL: Pro Bowl-Camping World Stadium Views

The NFL Pro Bowl is back this Sunday to give the league a chance to showcase some of its best players from every team. Bengals fans might be particularly interested in watching to see Geno Atkins, Andrew Whitworth, Carlos Dunlap and Andy Dalton play for the AFC team. This will be the fifth career Pro Bowl for Atkins, the third for Whitworth and Dalton, and the second for Dunlap.

Originally, only Atkins and A.J. Green were selected to appear in this year’s Pro Bowl. However, Green declined to participate in the game to avoid aggravating his hamstring injury, which sidelined him in the last seven games of the 2016 season. Players declining to play in the Pro Bowl due to injury concerns has actually become a fairly common practice, one that many of us wish Tyler Eifert would have abided by last year before suffering an ankle injury during the 2016 Pro Bowl that kept him out for the first six games of the 2016 season.

Whitworth, Dalton and Dunlap all made the Pro Bowl as alternates after other players declined to or could not participate due to going to the Super Bowl. Jadeveon Clowney of the Houston Texans was unable to participate due to injury, making way for Dunlap’s selection. Similarly, Oakland’s Donald Penn was unable to participate due to injury, opening up a spot for Whitworth. Dalton got the nod by replacing Tom Brady, who will be playing in the Super Bowl next weekend.

On Thursday night, the Pro Bowl held a Skills Challenge with many family-oriented side events. One of the events was a dodgeball game, and Dalton was the first player eliminated. Atkins was also among the first players out. The NFC team won the game.

Add dodgeball to the list of sports Alex Smith sucks at. pic.twitter.com/kft4Ism7Oy
— Clay Wendler (@ClayWendler) January 27, 2017

There was also a drone drop where drones dropped footballs from the sky and wide receivers had to catch the balls from continually increasing heights. Odell Beckham Jr. won the contest.

From 125 feet high...@OBJ_3 extends for the grab...and WINS the drone drop! #ProBowlSkills https://t.co/GLIGCHBmKP
— NFL (@NFL) January 27, 2017

For years, both the MLB and NBA have featured all-star events that, in some cases, compete with the all-star game itself in terms of popularity. The NFL didn’t implement their own version of the idea, despite widespread popularity across other leagues and continued lack of interest in the Pro Bowl, until this season. So, we will just have to see whether or not it will catch on.

2017 also marks the return of the AFC vs NFC format that lasted from 1970 to 2013, at which point the NFL decided to test out an unconferenced draft format. The idea was to mix things up and keep things interesting, but the format wasn’t received particularly well and the original format is back as a result.

If you are planning to watch the 2017 NFL Pro Bowl game, you can find all of the information you need here: