ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 鈥� With Olympic flag football three years away, this much is becoming clear: the U.S. team should want a former LSU receiver on its roster.
The four ex-Tigers competing in the Pro Bowl Games scored a combined eight touchdowns in a flag football contest that capped the NFC鈥檚 third consecutive victory over the AFC, 76-63 on Sunday.
Rookie Malik Nabers of the New York Giants found the end zone twice for the NFC, and Minnesota鈥檚 Justin Jefferson also scored. Jefferson caught six passes for 46 yards. Nabers finished with five receptions for 62 yards.
鈥淲e鈥檙e on top for sure,鈥� Jefferson said. 鈥淚t is definitely great to see the guys having fun out here, scoring touchdowns, just making big plays. That鈥檚 what we normally do, so it鈥檚 good to see us coming out here and doing the same thing.鈥�
The NFC essentially sealed the win by returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the second half, giving coach Eli Manning a third consecutive win over big brother and AFC coach Peyton. Arizona鈥檚 Budda Baker and Minnesota鈥檚 Byron Murphy delivered the big defensive plays in a made-for-TV event designed to showcase offense.
Jared Goff, who got the NFC off to a strong start with his near-perfect performance in a skills competition Thursday, completed 10 of 11 passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns. Goff and Murphy earned MVP honors.
Tampa Bay鈥檚 Baker Mayfield added three TDs on eight completions for the NFC, his second one going to Nabers.
Former LSU guys in the end zone ended up being the biggest trend in a game that lacked drama.
Cincinnati鈥檚 Ja鈥橫arr Chase scored three times, including a 45-yarder from Russell Wilson late, and Jacksonville鈥檚 Brian Thomas Jr. added two more for the AFC. Chase celebrated his third with a backflip and then performed 鈥渢he Griddy鈥� that his former college teammate, Jefferson, helped popularize.
The NFC started the day with a 14-7 lead after six skills competitions worth up to three points each Thursday night. The conference added to its lead by winning the 鈥淕reat Football Race鈥� and dominated an old-fashioned tug-of-war competition Sunday.
With Dexter Lawrence of the New York Jets, Tampa Bay鈥檚 Vita Vea and Seattle鈥檚 Leonard Williams anchoring the strength test, the AFC got yanked into a foam pit twice in a best-of-three event.
Turpin shines 鈥� on defense
Speed thrills, and Dallas Cowboys return man KaVontae Turpin put on a show. Eli Manning used Turpin as a pass rusher, and his quickness was evident throughout the game. He pressured quarterbacks regularly, forcing them into mistakes, and seemingly pulled flags with ease. He finished with five tackles, including a sack.
Sideline shuffle, anyone?
Pittsburgh defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and Tennessee defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons spent time between the first and second quarters playing cards on the AFC bench. They eventually put the deck down and watched a skill game called 鈥淧unt Perfect.鈥�
But it was fairly common to see players finding ways to pass the time in the game’s laid-back atmosphere. Mayfield, Buccaneers teammate Tristan Wirfs and Dallas’ Micah Parsons posed for pictures holding their babies on the NFC sideline. Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy spent much of the game signing autographs on the AFC sideline.
Scintillating finish for punters
Jacksonville鈥檚 Logan Cooke edged Detroit鈥檚 Jack Fox wowed teammates and fans in double overtime of 鈥淧unt Perfect.鈥� It may have been the most dramatic finish of the Pro Bowl Games.
鈥淎t the end of the day, everyone came here for a punt-off,鈥� Cooke quipped.
Cooke and Fox went head-to-head in the first two rounds 鈥� with some help from Baltimore cornerback Marlon Humphrey and San Francisco fullback Kyle Juszczyk 鈥� and were tied after two rounds. It went to sudden death, where Cooke hit and then watched Fox鈥檚 attempt rattle off the rim of one of the six canisters from 35 yards away.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
