Honolulu, HI (My Sportsbook) -
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught two touchdowns, including the game-winning score late in the fourth quarter, as the NFC upended the AFC, 30-21, in the Pro Bowl.
Sunday marked the 30th straight time the NFL's stars converged in Honolulu, but in a twist to the annual bout, commissioner Roger Goodell moved the 2010 showcase to Miami, where it will be played one week prior to the Super Bowl.
Fitzgerald, whose Cardinals club lost a heartbreaking 27-23 decision to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII last Sunday, earned MVP honors while logging 81 receiving yards on five catches and a touchdown apiece from Drew Brees and Eli Manning.
Brees finished with 142 passing yards on 11-of-19 throws, while last year's MVP, Adrian Peterson, rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown for the victors.
Peyton Manning completed 12-of-17 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown for the AFC, which now trails in the all-time series, 20-19.
Kerry Collins also threw a touchdown but was picked off and fumbled inside his own 20 to lead to an opposing TD. Tony Gonzalez and Owen Daniels each caught a touchdown in the loss, with Gonzalez posting a game-high 98 receiving yards on six grabs.
Late in the third quarter, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen stripped Collins and returned the fumble four yards to the AFC 10, where on the first play of the change of possession, Peterson ran through the right side of the line for a touchdown and a 17-14 advantage for the NFC at the 2:24 mark.
With Denver's Jay Cutler leading the squad in the fourth quarter, the AFC regained the lead behind a 13-play, 89-yard drive. Baltimore's LeRon McClain scored from five yards out on a trick play, as Cutler took the shotgun snap and placed the ball clandestinely between the legs of McClain, who ran nearly untouched up the middle for a score with seven minutes remaining.
Just three minutes later, Eli Manning threw a fade in the left corner of the end zone for Fitzgerald, who picked the ball out of the air for the go-ahead score.
The Giants' John Carney tacked on a 48-yard field goal for a 27-21 NFC lead after Cutler was picked off by Carolina's Julius Peppers. On the AFC's next possession, Cutler threw four straight incompletions, and Carney completed the game's scoring with a 26-yard kick with 32 ticks remaining to seal the win.
Fans of the NFL must now wait until the 2009 campaign begins, with the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans to be played on August 9.
Peyton Manning was 6-for-8 through the air on the AFC's first drive of the game, capping it with a pin-point pass to Gonzalez, who ran a corner route to the end zone and managed to tap his right foot and drag his left for a 19-yard TD midway through the opening quarter.
Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner played just one series before yielding to Brees. The New Orleans signal-caller orchestrated a 12-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 37-yard field goal by Carney just under five minutes into the second quarter.
Denver's Brandon Marshall dropped a catchable touchdown pass on a slant route on 4th-and-goal from the one just before the two-minute warning, but Collins brought the squad back down the field just before the half, hitting Houston tight end Daniels on a nine-yard TD for a 14-3 AFC lead.
The NFC countered quickly with a Hail Mary pass from Brees to Fitzgerald, in roughly the same spot on the field where Warner was stripped on the Cardinals' last play from scrimmage of the Super Bowl. Fitzgerald hauled in Brees' 46- yard bomb over Tennessee's Cortland Finnegan just as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Game Notes
Goodell did not rule out the Pro Bowl returning to Hawaii at some point, but gave no definite timetable for the league's return to the islands...The Ravens' John Harbaugh and Philadelphia's Andy Reid served as the head coaches for the AFC and NFC, respectively...The Bills' Marshawn Lynch led the AFC in rushing with 48 yards on six carries...Carolina's Steve Smith caught eight balls for 89 yards for the NFC...Eli Manning threw for 111 yards on 8-of-14 throws...Cutler completed 7-of-15 passes for 48 yards, while Collins ended with 108 yards on 10-of-15 throws.