Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff tossed three touchdowns and two defenders scored on interception returns Sunday as the NFC won the flag football game 56-50 and the overall competition 76-63 at the 2025 Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, Fla.
Goff completed 10 of 11 passes for 126 yards, while the Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker and Minnesota Vikings’ Byron Murphy each returned interceptions for touchdowns in the second half to end any AFC comeback chances.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield threw three touchdowns of his own, and New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers scored two TDs on five receptions.
The AFC was paced by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Russell Wilson, who tossed four touchdown passes in defeat.
Coming into the day, the NFC had a 14-7 lead on the overall scoreboard, winning Thursday’s skills events competition.
The NFC increased its advantage and grabbed a 13-6 lead at the flag football game through one quarter of play. Goff threw touchdown passes to San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk and Nabers.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow answered with a scoring toss to Bengals teammate Ja’Marr Chase, but Burrow was also picked off by the Lions’ Brian Branch to close the first quarter.
Chase, the league’s leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns, finished with five catches for 101 yards and three touchdowns.
The “punt perfect” event was held at the quarter break, and Jacksonville’s Logan Cooke won in a sudden death overtime, making his kick and watching the Lions’ Jack Fox’s effort bounce out. That gave the AFC a 3-0 win in that portion of the event, cutting the overall deficit to 27-16.
The NFC responded quickly, as Goff found Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a short route, and Smith-Njigba split the defense to score from 46 yards out.
The AFC looked in danger of falling even further behind before Marlon Humphrey of the Baltimore Ravens intercepted Minnesota’s Sam Darnold. That set up Wilson finding the Jaguars’ Brian Thomas for a touchdown, making the flag football score 19-12.
Darnold answered with a scoring pass to Vikings teammate Justin Jefferson.
At halftime, it was revealed the AFC won the “Madden NFL Head-to-Head” challenge, prevailing in a game of Madden 2025. Thomas and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Derwin James defeated Jefferson and the Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons to earn the AFC three more points.
Halftime also featured an obstacle course relay, “The Great Football Race,” in which the NFC teammates prevailed to score three points and build their overall lead to 42-25.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye entered the game in the third quarter and immediately introduced some chaos, surrendering a pick-6 to Baker before tossing two quick touchdowns (to Chase and Thomas) to put the flag football score at 31-26.
Mayfield answered with a touchdown pass to 49ers tight end George Kittle to close out the quarter, and then the NFC added three more points by winning the tug of war competition to build a 58-39 lead going into the fourth.
Maye surrendered another pick-6 to Murphy on the first play of the fourth, and the teams traded touchdowns most of the rest of the way.
