Pittsburgh Steelers star makes plea to NFL: ‘Bring back the real Pro Bowl game’

‘Bring back the real Pro Bowl game!! Pash rushers need to eat,“ Heyward said.

The concept was changed after players noticeably did want to tackle each other for fear of injuries occurring. Now, there are a set of Pro Bowl games and skill competitions, along with a flag football game that takes place in Orlando.

It all was officially changed in 2023 when the skill competitions were integrated along with the flag football game, scrapping the previous tackle iterations of the Pro Bowl.

The old format had the teams played 11-on-11 in helmets and pads, while the new format is 7-on-7 with just flags. That leaves the linemen, and other players that would usually be involved in 11-on-11 situation to wait it out for their skill competitions.