Puppy Bowl Highlights: All the Cuteness

Beagle and Pomeranian mix Wolfie. Elias Weiss Friedman/Animal Planet/Discovery +

If you’re looking for the Puppy Bowl highlights, here’s the scoop on all the adorable contestants, the teams, and what to expect for Puppy Bowl 2023. Whether this is your first Puppy Bowl or your 19th, you won’t want to miss the furry competition. The Puppy Bowl XIX celebrates the Super Bowl with a heated game between two teams of serious rescue pups - Team Ruff (sporting orange bandanas) and Team Fluff (in blue).

Puppy Bowl highlights include meeting dozens of adorable rescue pups, lots of furry action on the field, a water bowl cam, and a puppy kiss cam.

What Is the Puppy Bowl?

The Puppy Bowl celebrates rescue pups and gives animal lovers some game-day competition to warm up before the Super Bowl. Whether you like football or not, the rules of engagement for the Puppy Bowl are much simpler to understand than regular football. The two teams, composed of rescue puppies from around the world, face off, with Team Ruff (in orange) taking on Team Scruff (in blue bandanas).

The determined dog athletes will compete for the Chewy “Lombarky” trophy. Each team of puppies will try to get a toy into the end zone of the opposing team while enjoying some play along the way. The mini-football stadium gets quite heated as the entertaining pups enjoy a day of play. And the pup cheerleaders are there to offer plenty of team spirit throughout the game.

This is the 19th annual Puppy Bowl, which began in 2005, and continues to grow in reach and adoptions. With big-name pet company sponsors, and plenty of cute puppy and kitten entertainment, the Puppy Bowl is a crowd-pleasing tradition every February.

Puppy Bowl Supports Rescue Dogs

The Puppy Bowl highlights include more than cute entertainment, as each puppy comes from an animal rescue or shelter and is available for adoption. The popular annual tradition draws attention to the plight of rescue pups and kittens, and showcases different organizations that are providing animal rescue services around the world.

If you see a puppy you want to adopt or an organization you want to support during the Puppy Bowl, you can reach out to the shelter directly on Animal Planet’s website. The Puppy Bowl pups become celebrities and tend to get adopted quickly, but some may still need homes, and rescue organizations can help match you with the perfect pup for you. Every puppy and kitten featured in past Puppy Bowls has been adopted.

Elias Weiss Friedman/Animal Planet/Discovery +

Puppy Bowl Lineup

This year’s Puppy Bowl XIX will feature 122 puppies from 67 shelters and rescues across 34 states. For the first time, the Puppy Bowl will feature a Native American animal organization and a pup player from Dominica, West Indies.

There will also be 11 pups with disabilities at the Puppy Bowl, including Julius, a hearing-impaired Dalmatian; Marmalade, a sight and hearing-impaired Border Collie and Australian Cattle Dog mix; and Mykonos, an American Staffordshire Terrier and Bulldog mix with a cleft palate, among others. As an owner of a dog with special medical needs myself, I have to say this is one of my favorite parts of the Puppy Bowl! Many pups with disabilities do not get adopted and it’s inspiring to see these pups strut their stuff and also find fur-ever homes.

You can see the full lineup of pups and Puppy Bowl highlights here.

Elias Weiss Friedman/Animal Planet/Discovery +

Puppy Bowl Halftime

If you’re more of a cat person, tune in for the Puppy Bowl halftime show, which features feline friends up for adoption in a show of their own. With adorable kittens taking to the field, you won’t want to miss the action, which includes confetti fun, a volleyball net, a sandcastle, and of course, plenty of cattitude.

Puppy Bowl Highlights

The Puppy Bowl highlights include lots of puptastic fun. You’ll see dog collar tackles, fierce tug-of-war matches, and lots of touchdowns. As you watch the Puppy Bowl action, you can pick your top player and vote for the MVP - Most Valuable Pup.

Between the exciting game action, learn more about the pup players and rescues they come from, with the spotlight on 11 adoptable pups, including Captain, a Chihuahua mix who loves snuggling. The game day also features DNA test results to showcase the rescue pups’ different breeds and discusses common traits of different dog breeds.

For more details on different dog breeds, check out our Breeds section. If you’re looking for the best guard dog, best dog for an apartment, or other top dog lists in different categories, check out our Rankings section.

After an exciting fourth quarter, reigning champion Team Fluff won Puppy Bowl XIX, beating Team Ruff with a score of 87-83. The Underdog Award went to Moocow, who was imitating the ref. The MVP award was secured by star pup player Pickle.

After an exciting game of furry competition, every pup - and kitten - in the Puppy Bowl won, with a spike in adoptions and new homes for the players.

How to Watch the Puppy Bowl

The Puppy Bowl begins on Super Bowl Sunday at 2 pm EST. You can watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet, Discovery, tbs, HBO Max, and discovery+ as well as see bonus clips and more videos of the adorable pups.

I hope you enjoy the Puppy Bowl highlights! Did you watch Puppy Bowl XIX? Who were your favorite pups?

Adopting a Rescue Pup

If you’re interested in adopting a rescue puppy, check out our top tips to prepare before adopting a dog so you can prepare your home for your new furry family member. Adopting a pup is a longtime commitment for the life of your dog so it’s important to do your research on dog breeds and care and make sure you’re financially ready to commit to up to 20 years of vet care, food, and care.