The Pro Bowl used to be the final game of the NFL season, a culmination of the league's star players gathering together in Hawaii for the annual all-star event. Since 2010, the Pro Bowl has been held the week before the Super Bowl and has experienced trying times over the years with player participation, a Pro Bowl "draft" by ditching conference format, and rotating sites.
This year's Pro Bowl (last year's was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) will be played in Las Vegas, who will host the game for the first time. The past four Pro Bowls were held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando before Las Vegas was awarded the game for the 2020 season (which was moved to 2021 since last year's game was cancelled).
Here's how to watch the 2022 Pro Bowl and get in on the fun of watching an all-star game:
How to watch
Date: Sunday, Feb. 6 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)
TV: ESPN, ABC, ESPN Deportes | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Since the Pro Bowl is an exhibition game, the league will experiment in potential rule changes for the game going forward. In this year's iteration of the game, the league will abolish the kickoff and use an alternative method for the winner of the coin toss.
Here's what the NFL has in store to replace the kickoff. The head coach or captain of the visiting team will call "heads" or "tails," and the winner of the "toss" will choose one of two options:
- Spot: Place the ball on the field for the first play of the first quarter, including the designation of direction OR
- Choose: Decide whether to start on offense or defense from the other team's designated spot or direction.
Privilege "A" will be exercised before privilege "B," so the selection to play offense or defense will be made after the starting field of play is chosen. To start the second half, the loser of the start of the game "coin toss" has the option to choose one of the two privileges -- while the other team gets the other one.
The Pro Bowl will also keep the onside kick alternative for the third straight year. The scoring team may elect to give the ball to its opposition at their own 25-yard line, or it may elect to take the ball at its own 25 for a fourth-and-15 play. If it is successful, it will maintain possession as normal, and if not, the result is a turnover.
The Pro Bowl will also feature a 35/25 second play clock instead of the normal 40/25 second clock. After an incomplete pass, the game clock will start on the official's signal, except inside the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half. In a normal NFL game, the game clock does not start after an incomplete pass.
The NFL has yet to choose a host for next year's game, so this year may be the only chance Vegas can host a Pro Bowl. Expect the city to put on a good show.
