I am an adult and did very adult things this weekend… like catching up on all the Looney Tunes newly-available on TCM and of course watching the greatest sport spectacle of February: Puppy Bowl XXII! And what a game it was! The 150+ athletes of the 22nd Puppy Bowl did not disappoint, and unlike that other ball game that happened on Sunday, Teams Ruff and Fluff kept it neck-and-neck the whole time. Still, the night was not without its upsets, and people are up in paws over one particularly controversial final call on a touchdown that gave the game to last year’s victor, Team Fluff. (Hi, it’s me, I’m people.) The rules of play are that any pup may pick up any of the numerous toys scattered across the field. A pup carrying the toy in their mouth into the end zone (either one) counts as a seven-point touchdown, whereas if the pup nudges the toy into the end zone with nose or paws, that’s a four-point field goal.
Cut to mere seconds left to the fourth quarter, Team Ruff leads Fluff 69-66, and Team Fluff’s Twilight Barkle grabs a toy in her mouth and… just kind of hovers at the end zone line. Then all of a sudden they call for an instant replay to review if Twilight hovered slightly enough into the end zone for it to be a touchdown. WHAT? No no no. Surely the puplete has to set paw into the end zone to earn the full seven points of a touchdown, right?! We’re talking about the prestigious Lombarky Trophy here, folks, and the winning team hangs on if a toy entered a millimeter of airspace for a millisecond?! But I guess longtime referee Dan Schachner was feeling generous, because obviously he called in favor of Twilight’s (alleged) move. As you can tell, my tail is still spinning!
Puppies took center stage Sunday night as Puppy Bowl 22 returned with a message focused on animal adoption.
Teams Ruff and Fluff competed on a miniature field in an event designed to raise awareness for animal shelters and rescue groups.
The game featured more than 150 dogs from 72 shelters across the United States, including Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands.
Team Fluff won its second straight championship, defeating Team Ruff 73-69 to take home the Lombarky Trophy.
In New Jersey, the Liberty Science Center hosted its second annual Puppy Bowl event in partnership with a Morris Township nonprofit.
The organization, Seeing Eye, trains dogs to guide and assist people who are blind.
The science center said the puppies may not follow every rule of football, but their goal was to highlight service dog training and animal welfare.
OK, I promise I’ve calmed down after grabbing a drink from the water bowl. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, I want to say I never in any way held a grudge against Twilight Barkle for making the play. She’s a doll! And is actually named Twilight Sparkle after the My Little Pony princess unicorn. That’s relevant because Twilight-the-dog was born with a rare congenital deformity that sees the skull in her forehead raised in a seeming horn, thus making Twilight a real life unicorn. (Some say deformity, others say freakin’ amazing feature.) Miss Twilight was adopted and is living her best life with bully sticks galore. And that’s what this is all about! It’s pretty hard to pick out just one favorite moment of the Puppy Bowl, but I think this year it had to be the end when they showed all the pups we’d just gotten to know in their new forever homes. I had to keep my hand on my own rescue My Guy throughout the segment (despite My Guy not showing one iota of interest in the game, at all).
Since there were so many good moments, let’s celebrate a few more! In no particular order: the on-field water bowl. It’s long been Puppy Bowl tradition to have a camera underneath the water bowl, giving viewers exceptional tongue-first shots. Brilliant. A new element this year was the senior dog halftime show, which itself was another game between Teams Oldies vs Goldies. While I hope it becomes tradition, I can understand if its future is in question. Why? Because as soon as they hit the field those seniors ran amuck piddling everywhere! I bet the kitties in the sky box were thinking, “told ya!” And to wrap up the canine coverage, my favorite honorable mention — the Underdog Award — went to Remy from Team Ruff, who found a cozy triangular corner that he wanted to disappear into rather than play the game.
PS — Some of you mentioned this in the comments yesterday but yes, at least twice as many people (13 million) tuned into the Puppy Bowl than those who suffered through the pathetic “alternative” halftime show.
AN INCREDIBLE FINAL PLAY that resulted in a REVIEW!?!? 😱 #PuppyBowl pic.twitter.com/w6WGrYGYTs
— Animal Planet (@AnimalPlanet) February 8, 2026
Staying hydrated is KEY to winning #PuppyBowl XXII! pic.twitter.com/WqarviePVP
— Animal Planet (@AnimalPlanet) February 9, 2026
It's nap cam time 🥰😴 #PuppyBowl pic.twitter.com/6oFtdTT8re
— Animal Planet (@AnimalPlanet) February 8, 2026
Wondering where all your favorite #PuppyBowl XXII players are now? Head to https://t.co/8cepwhKn0M to see their loving homes 🥰
— Animal Planet (@AnimalPlanet) February 8, 2026
Photos via Animal Planet/Instagram and Twitter and credit: Getty Images
Puppy Bowl is the best! I loved the nap cam and the follow-up on where all the cute pups found their forever families.
I was hoping you’d cover the Puppy Bowl!! The cuteness was overwhelming. I do believe Boba rushed for more yards than the entire Patriots team combined.
Also the Oldies vs Goldies team….the only one who scored any goals, Caddie, came from my local shelter, has since been adopted, and was featured on my local news before the Puppy Bowl (Along with his former shelter mates, Gazpacho and Jodie, also both adopted). Name was changed to Buck and he looks happy, loved, and living his best senior life!
I love how the adoptable cats are watching the chaos aloofly in the lap of kitty luxury as well.
This is the only controversy I can handle.
This is my favorite part of everything.
Kismet, I have to disagree with your assessment–I believe the umpire made the correct call– the squeaky toy was in the air space past the goal line before time was up. I forgot what you said the rules were, but it seemed fair to me. I hope all the dogs were adopted. Thank God for good people in these dark times.
The toy crossed the plane! It counts! 😂😂 I love it; more exciting than the game.
They’re all too adorable. Remy looked like such a sweetheart. And they had their own “Bad Doggy” for halftime. It’s a low bar, but I’m glad they didn’t shy away from talking about it or highlighting BVI & PR shelters.