Puppy Bowl 2025: Date, Starting Lineup, TV Schedule and More

Saquon Barkley will be looking to power the Philadelphia Eagles to victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday evening. But before that, Saquon Barky (a Bernese Mountain Dog/Australian Shepherd) will try to lead Team Ruff to a win over Team Fluff in Puppy Bowl XXI.

The Puppy Bowl is back again on Sunday afternoon, when the Lombarky Trophy will be on the line during the Animal Planet-produced event. It's a Super Bowl Sunday tradition that dates back to 2005.

Here's everything you need to know about this year's Puppy Bowl.

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Puppy Bowl XXI Information

Date: Sunday, Feb. 11

Start Time: 2 p.m. ET

TV: Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, TBS, TruTV

Live Stream: Discovery Plus, Max

Starting Lineups: A photo gallery of the starting lineups can be found at Discovery.com.

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Preview

Team Ruff won last year's Puppy Bowl (a 72-69 victory), ending a two-year reign by Team Fluff. Of course, the real winners are the audience who gets to tune in and watch as puppies run around a football-themed set for three hours.

There will be barking. There will be football toys. There will be plenty of cuteness from the participants.

Saquon Barky won't be the only dog with a name that serves as a fun twist on an NFL player. Among the other puppies will be Dee-Bone Samuel (poodle mix) and Paws Allen (Labrador Retriever mix).

Those two dogs were among the 16 in the Pupularity Playoffs. People can vote daily on Discovery.com to name the "Most Pupular" puppy. The championship matchup features Dee-Bone Samuel and Whoopie (Great Pyrenees mix).

Dee-Bone Samuel, who is representing Team Ruff, is from the Sacramento SPCA in Sacramento, Calif. Whoopie, who will be on Team Fluff, is from Wags & Walks in Nashville, Tenn.

"Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl serves as an annual pop culture programming event that continues to expand in reach, awareness and of course, puppies, every year," said Howard Lee, Chief Creative Officer of U.S. Networks and President of Discovery Networks, in a press release. "Win or lose, Puppy Bowl XXI will have the cutest players in the game."

Dan Schachner is returning to serve as the Puppy Bowl referee this year.

The field will include 11 special needs dogs. That includes Jolene (American Pit bull terrier mix), who will be in a wheelchair, and Sprinkle (Australian shepherd mix), who is blind and hearing-impaired.

For those who want to tune in for more puppy action prior to the event, the Puppy Bowl XXI Kickoff will air at 1 p.m. ET on Animal Planet. The show will feature 10 dogs competing in practice drills during the first Puppy Combine. Puppies will be selected in the Puppy Bowl Draft to join Team Ruff or Team Fluff.

As always, the Puppy Bowl should be an entertaining way to spend the afternoon during the buildup to the Super Bowl.