Fitzgerald leads NFC to comeback win
HONOLULU – With a huge red lei around his neck and a wide grin that could have stretched across Oahu, Larry Fitzgerald held up the gleaming, silver MVP trophy. It sparkled in the sunshine as much as his game.
The only problem: It wasn’t the Lombardi Trophy.
Fitzgerald caught five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, 44-year-old John Carney kicked two fourth-quarter field goals, and the NFC rallied to a 30-21 victory over the AFC. The Arizona Cardinals’ All-Pro receiver, coming off a record-breaking postseason and a spectacular Super Bowl in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, earned MVP honors.
But he said the victory over the AFC, which featured three members of the Steelers’ defense, didn’t ease the pain from the Super Bowl.
“No, not one bit,” he said.
Fitzgerald also took home keys to a new Cadillac.
“I’m just glad we won, that’s the most important thing,” he said.
On a sweltering day, with 60 percent humidity, Kurt Warner started for the NFC and played just one series before making way for Brees. Warner was just 1 of 2 for 8 yards.
“I would’ve liked to have won last week and not this week, if I could switch them out,” he said.
Fitzgerald caught a 46-yard scoring pass from Drew Brees before the half and a 2-yard TD pass from Eli Manning for the go-ahead score with 4:07 to play.
The NFC defense took care of the rest.
Manning, making his Pro Bowl debut, was 8 of 14 for 111 yards. While big brother Peyton had better stats, 12 of 17 for 151 yards and a TD, Eli got the win.
The Manning brothers were the first quarterback brothers in Pro Bowl history. And Carney, who was 3 for 3, became the oldest player in the game’s history. He booted a 48-yarder with 2:06 remaining to make it 27-21 and sealed the win with a 26-yarder with 32 seconds to go.
Sunday’s all-star game ended a 30-year run at Aloha Stadium, with a sellout every year. The Pro Bowl will be played in Miami next year, a week before the Super Bowl. The NFL hopes to bring the game back to Hawaii.
For Warner, the question now is whether this was his final game in the NFL or, as a free agent, will he opt to continue playing at age 38?
“I don’t know right now,” Warner said. “Again, when I have a feeling one way or the other, I’ll let everyone else know. I don’t have a time frame.”
The AFC was looking to hula dance into halftime with a comfortable 14-3 cushion after Kerry Collins connected with Owen Daniels on a 9-yard scoring pass with 28 seconds left in the half.
The NFC took over at its 45 with 19 seconds left after a nice kickoff return by Clifton Smith. They ran two plays before Fitzgerald hauled in Brees’ 46-yard bomb to pull the NFC to 14-10.
The AFC had a chance to take the lead late, but Julius Peppers got in the way. Down by six, the AFC started its drive on its 20 with 4:03 remaining and got to midfield. Peppers then swatted a pass by Jay Cutler with his left hand and came up with the interception that led to Carney’s 48-yard field goal.
NFC 30, AFC 21
| NFC | 0 | 10 | 7 | 13 | — | 30 |
| AFC | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | — | 21 |
AFC—Gonzalez 19 pass from P.Manning (Gostkowski kick)
NFC—FG Carney 37
AFC—Daniels 9 pass from Collins (Gostkowski kick)
NFC—Fitzgerald 46 pass from Brees (Carney kick)
NFC—Peterson 10 run (Carney kick)
AFC—McClain 5 run (Gostkowski kick)
NFC—Fitzgerald 2 pass from E.Manning (Carney kick)
NFC—FG Carney 48
NFC—FG Carney 26
A—49,958.
| NFC | AFC | |
| First downs | 16 | 26 |
| Total Net Yards | 309 | 415 |
| Rushes-yards | 19-77 | 26-136 |
| Passing | 232 | 279 |
| Punt Returns | 2-28 | 2-2 |
| Kickoff Returns | 3-128 | 5-76 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 2-31 | 1-0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 20-35-1 | 29-47-2 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 3-29 | 4-28 |
| Punts | 4-48.5 | 3-48.7 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-1 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 3-15 | 4-30 |
| Time of Possession | 23:46 | 36:14 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—NFC, Peterson 8-48, Portis 5-18, White 1-7, Turner 2-4, Sellers 1-1, E.Manning 2-(minus 1). AFC, Lynch 6-48, Brown 7-41, Washington 2-22, Jones 6-21, McClain 3-5, Collins 1-0, Cutler 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—NFC, Brees 11-19-0-142, E.Manning 8-14-1-111, Warner 1-2-0-8. AFC, P.Manning 12-17-0-151, Collins 10-15-1-108, Cutler 7-15-1-48, Brown 0-0-0-0.
RECEIVING—NFC, S.Smith 6-89, Fitzgerald 5-81, Boldin 2-27, Peterson 2-15, Portis 2-8, White 1-26, Witten 1-8, Sellers 1-7. AFC, Gonzalez 6-98, Marshall 5-44, Wayne 4-45, Brown 4-27, Welker 3-23, Daniels 2-30, Johnson 2-29, Washington 1-6, Jones 1-3, Lynch 1-2.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.