Miami Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry stars in NFL skills competition

New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has used acrobatic, one-handed catches to complete many of his signature plays early on in his NFL career.

Even he couldn't keep up with the show Miami Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry put on.

Competing in the best-hands showdown that started the Pro Bowl skills competition, which was taped Wednesday and aired on ESPN in primetime Thursday night, Landry bested his former college teammate and close friend with an incredible display of sure hands and steady body control.

"(Competitiveness is) just something that we've always had in us," Landry said after earning his AFC team a point by beating Beckham's time by .2 seconds. "It's something that we promised to each other coming out of high school, that we would push ourselves to be the greatest the world has ever seen. It doesn't stop here."

Landry's effort got the AFC off to a strong start, but the NFC recovered for a 5-2 win in the skills showdown, which the NFL brought back for the first time in a decade to combat lagging Pro Bowl ratings.

The competition was held at Disney's sports complex near where Sunday's Pro Bowl will be played in Orlando, Fla., and pitted the league's best in a series of backyard challenges. They included dodge ball, a power relay, precision passing and catching passes from a drone, in addition to seeing which receiver had the surest hands.

The AFC was represented by Landry, Andy Dalton, Philip Rivers, Alex Smith, Jay Ajayi, T.Y. Hilton, Chris Harris Jr., Joe Thomas, Geno Atkins and Von Miller.

The winning NFC squad featured Beckham, Drew Brees, Kirk Cousins, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Mike Evans, Patrick Peterson, Jason Kelce, Gerald McCoy and Thomas Davis.

Even among the game's best current players, Beckham and Landry, who share the NFL record for receptions through three seasons with 288 each, were the biggest stars.

After watching Landry beat his time in the sure-hands challenge, Beckham, who has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons, won the drone-drop challenge by snagging passes that fell from more than 100 feet in the air.

"I've seen him put on some kind of show in pre-game warm-ups," said Jon Gruden, who was part of the ESPN crew broadcasting the competition. "I think he could make every one of these catches one-handed if he wanted to. What a player he is."

While the catching on display was incredible, the passing was also pretty impressive.

Rivers, who at age 35 was the second-oldest competitor behind the 38-year-old Brees, looked spry while nailing target after target. Rivers led the NFL with 21 interceptions but showcased his usual competitive fire and accuracy while winning in front of an excited crowd.

"I just kept throwing," said Rivers, who seems to live by that mantra.

Even Elliott, who led the NFL in rushing with 1,631 yards as a rookie, got an opportunity to show off his arm. It was his throw in the final challenge -- dodge ball -- that nailed Hilton and earned the NFC a competition-clinching three points.

After hitting Hilton, Elliott took off his shirt and ran around on the field to celebrate.

"We're all competitive," Elliott said. "The effort means nothing if you don't win."

The event was a smart move by the league as it tries to drum up interest in its all-star game, but it did have a few glitches.

The NFC squad had to repeat its attempt in the power relay (and eventually won) after the equipment malfunctioned. Also, the rules for catching passes from the drones and throwing passes at moving targets seemed to confuse players at times.

Those small issues aside, the enthusiasm by players and fans alike seem to indicate the competition will continue to be held -- and be successful -- in the future.

"When you put this kind of effort in, you want to win," Davis said.