The NFL's annual Pro Bowl extravaganza got underway on Wednesday, with the Skills Showdown.
First introduced in 2017, the Skills Showdown is the NFL's answer to the NBA's All-Star Weekend.
While it may not have the pizzaz and tradition of the Slam Dunk contest and Three-Point Contest, it pits together 20 of the best players in the league facing a series of challenges designed at highlighting their different skills.
Four of the top quarterbacks in the league—Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins—will be in action, along with Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb and his Minnesota Vikings counterpart Dalvin Cook.
Here's all you need to know ahead of Thursday.
When is the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown?
The Pro Bowl Skills Showdown took place on Wednesday, January 22 but will only be aired on Thursday, January 23.
The show begins at 9 p.m. ET.
TV coverage and live stream
The Pro Bowl Skills Showdown will be broadcast by ESPN and a live stream will be available via watchESPN.
How does the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown work?
Ten players each from both the AFC and the NFC teams compete over five different events in this year's Skills Showdown.
The events include the Gridiron Gauntlet, which features five players from each team taking part in a relay race, and the Best Hands challenge.
The latter consists of a quarterback and a receiver paired together and having to complete a series of passes at a sequence or downfield targets.
The race is timed and some targets require the receiver to complete a particular kind of catch—one-handed or diving, for example.
The teams' two quarterbacks and another player will then take part in the one-minute Precision Passing challenge, which rewards passing accuracy.
The Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball, meanwhile, features all the 10 players on each team competing in a best-of-three series dodgeball game.
For the first time, the NFL has added another challenge to the quartet of events as the Thread the Needle challenge makes its debut this year.
The event features quarterbacks trying to complete passes through pre-determined targets while the opposing team's defensive backs attempt to stop them.
AFC roster
- QB—Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- QB—Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans
- RB—Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
- WR—Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns
- TE—Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
- DE—Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
- LB—Von Miller, Denver Broncos
- CB—Stephon Gilmore, New England Patriots
- S—Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC roster
- QB—Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
- QB—Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
- RB—Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings
- WR—Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
- WR—Cordarrelle Patterson, Chicago Bears
- DE—Cameron Jordan, New Orleans Saints
- LB—Shaquil Barrett, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- LB—Jaylon Smith, Dallas Cowboys
- S—Eddie Jackson, Chicago Bears
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
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