AFC 59

NFC 41

 

January 30, 2012

 

 

NOTE: By 2012, the Pro Bowl was struggling for its identity among players and fans. Lack of interest had always been an issue, dating back to Sammy Baugh in 1942. But, 2011 and 2012, with the game moved to the week before the Super Bowl and not including the Super Bowl teams' players, seemed to bring the issues to the forefront. The following quotes taken from Wikipedia illustrate the growing concern:

Simon Samano of NFL.com wrote about the game, "Players love the trip to Hawaii but don't care for the game itself. They have no desire to risk injury in a 'meaningless' game, which is why they don't play hard, which is how you end up with 59-41 as the final score. It's that lack of effort that caused fans to boo during portions of this year's game." Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers stated on his radio show, "I was just surprised that some of the guys either didn’t want to play or when they were in there didn't put any effort into it." It should be noted that the Pro Bowl has different rules than a regular season NFL game. Blitzing is not allowed and the 4-3 formation must always be used in defensive formations.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking a week after the game, stated that the 2012 Pro Bowl wasn't "the kind of football we want to be demonstrating to our fans, and you heard it from the fans, the fans were actively booing in the stands. ... We are going to either have to improve the quality of what we are doing in the Pro Bowl or consider other changes, or even consider eliminating the game if that is the kind of quality of game we are going to provide."

Philip Rivers also questioned some of the players efforts in the Pro Bowl game. Rivers discussed with Bill Williamson during an interview “In general, maybe the whole week should be up for discussion, but I know there are guys in the game whose contracts may be up and they don’t want to get hurt and things like that. Still, we have to think of the fans and try to stay true to the game and not make a joke or a mockery out of the game."

 

HONOLULU (Sports Network)- Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall caught a Pro Bowl-record four touchdown passes, as the AFC downed the NFC, 59-41, Sunday at Aloha Stadium.

 

Marshall had six catches for 177 yards- the second-most in Pro Bowl history, hauled in a pair of dazzling second-half touchdown passes from Bengals rookie Andy Dalton and earned MVP honors for the effort.

 

Ben Roethlisberger, elevated to AFC starter due to Tom Brady's upcoming Super Bowl appearance, threw for 182 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the victors, while Philip Rivers had a pair of TD passes and a pick.

 

Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees both threw two touchdowns without an interception for the NFC, while the Saints' signal caller went 0-for-1 on extra point attempts.

 

Panthers rookie Cam Newton, pitted against Dalton for the entire second half, threw two touchdowns but had three interceptions- two to San Diego's Eric Weddle- in a rough Pro Bowl debut.

 

Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald nearly matched Marshall, reeling in six passes for 111 yards and three scores in defeat. The NFC had three players with 100-yard yard receiving: Fitzgerald (6 for 111), Tony Gonzalez (seven for 114), and Steve Smith (5 for 118).

 

Sunday's game marked the third consecutive year that the Pro Bowl was played one week prior to the Super Bowl. As a result, the AFC and NFC were without eight Patriots and two Giants, respectively. Brady's absence, along with that of Eli Manning, facilitated the inclusion of Dalton and Newton.

 

Carolina's No. 1 overall pick was at the foreground of the national spotlight this season, throwing for 21 touchdowns and rushing for an NFL quarterback record 14 scores for the 6-10 Panthers. Dalton, meanwhile, flourished in the background, leading the upstart Bengals to a 9-7 record and a playoff berth. On Sunday, the touted rookies took to the field, with Dalton eventually coming out on top.

 

They entered a game tied at 28 points apiece in the third and Newton was intercepted by Weddle four plays in, leading to a 37-yard field goal from the Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski. Newton came back with a 55-yard TD bomb to leaping teammate Steve Smith and got another chance after San Francisco's David Akers converted his second successful on-sides kick of the game.

 

This time he was intercepted by Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph. Dalton then moved his team the NFC 10, but his rookie teammate A.J. Green fumbled away the ball at the goal line.

 

An NFC three-and-out preceded Marshall's dazzling 47-yard touchdown grab. Prone in the end zone, the sixth-year wideout kicked a deflected Dalton bomb out of the air and snared it for a 38-35 AFC lead.

 

Ravens' fullback Vonta Leach made it 45-35, bulling in from one yard out as Newton continued to trade punts for scores. Another NFC three-and-out led to Marshall's twisting, over-the-shoulder TD grab.

 

Weddle then came up with his second pick, corralling a Newton pass and turning upfield before fumbling. Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 58 yards for the score and a 59-35 lead.

 

Newton hit Fitzgerald for a 36-yard touchdown in the closing minutes. The score remained 59-41 after Brees attempted a drop-kick extra point, which floundered harmlessly beneath the crossbar.

 

Earlier, part of the Packers contingent staked the NFC to an 14-0 lead, as coach Mike McCarthy opted for an on-sides kick after Rodgers opened the scoring with a touchdown pass to Fitzgerald. Akers executed the kick deftly and Chicago's Charles Tillman recovered, leading to Fitzgerald's 44- yard touchdown haul on the ensuing play. The reception was Fitzgerald's sixth career TD catch in the Pro Bowl, tying Gonzalez's record.

 

Roethlisberger answered with a long TD strike to Green, then hit Marshall for a longer TD after a fumble from Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy.

 

In the second, the AFC went to Rivers, who was promptly intercepted by Cardinals rookie Patrick Peterson. The NFC countered with Brees, who executed an 80-yard drive and hit teammate Jimmy Graham for a short TD and a 21-14 advantage.

 

Rivers and Brees then traded scoring strikes, with the Chargers signal caller hitting Marshall for 29 yards and Brees going to Packer Greg Jennings for an 11-yard connection. Rivers found teammate Antonio Gates for a game-tying 27-yard TD directly before the half.

 

Andy Dalton and Cam Newton became the first rookies at the quarterback position to make the Pro Bowl since Vince Young during the 2006 season. The all-time Pro Bowl series between the conferences is now tied at 21. This was the 32nd time in the past 33 years that the Pro Bowl was played at Aloha Stadium. The 2010 game was played at Miami's Sun Life Stadium.

 

MVP Brandon Marshall of Miami scored a Pro Bowl record four touchdowns.

 

Rookies Andy Dalton and Cam Newton replaced Super Bowl quarterbacks, Eli Manning and Tom Brady.

 
Although upstaged by Marshall, Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals had a monumental day.

 

Drew Brees got the chance to dropkick an extra point. It failed.

 

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