Mac Jones Taking Part In Pro Bowl Skills Showdown, Including 'Epic Dodgeball'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Mac Jones is in Las Vegas, getting ready for his first Pro Bowl this weekend. But first, the Patriots QB will be showing off his skills on Thursday night.
Jones will be partaking in the Pro Bowl Skills Showdown, which will air Thursday night on ESPN. The New England quarterback will find himself in some interesting situations during the event.
He will indeed be throwing a football, because that is what quarterbacks do. But wouldn't you rather see Jones and a bunch of NFL stars partake in an epic game of dodgeball? If you didn't before, it's kind of hard not to now.
That is the grand finale of this year's Skills Showdown, as Jones and his AFC counterparts (Mark Andrews of the Ravens, Nick Chubb and Denzel Ward of the Browns, Stefon Diggs of the Bills, Tyreek Hill of the Chiefs, Derwin James of the Chargers and Hunter Renfrow of the Raiders) will go up against NFC Pro Bowlers (Kirk Cousins of the Vikings, Trevon Diggs and Micah Parson of the Cowboys, Alvin Kamara of the Saints, Darius Slay of the Eagles and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks) in a game of "Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball."
We know that Mac can throw a football pretty well, but how about a dodgeball? And he was pretty good at dodging pass rushers, but can he dodge a ball? We'll find out if Mac can dodge, duck, dip, dive and ... dodge when the AFC and NFC take aim at each other in a best-of-three series.
If pigskin-themed games are more of your thing, Jones will be partaking in the Precision Passing and Thread The Needle events. In the first, he'll go head-to-head with Wilson (along with a non-QB participant from each team) in a one-minute battle of accuracy as they look to hit targets attached to robotic dummies.
Considering Jones completed 67.6 percent of his passes as a rookie, he should fare pretty well in that one. It will be a little tougher in the Thread the Needle event, when Jones will go against NFC defensive backs as he looks to hit as many targets as he can over a minute.
Luckily, Jones gets to sit out the Fastest Man event, as it's only for receivers, running backs and defensive backs. We'll have to see if he makes an appearance in the Best Catch event, since props and guest appearances are allowed as two receivers from each team try to make the most creative receptions possible.
After he has his fun in the Skills Competition, Jones will then get ready for Sunday's Pro Bowl along with fellow Patriots teammates J.C. Jackson, Matt Judon and Matthew Slater.
