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Fitzgerald leads NFC to victory in Hawaiian Pro Bowl Finale
By Morris Phillips February 8, 2009 |
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The hottest player on the planet was the best player in the Pro Bowl, as Larry Fitzgerald led the NFC to a come-from-behind 30-21 victory over the AFC. Fitzgerald had five catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns, including the 46-yard Hail Mary grab from Drew Brees on the last play before halftime. After the game, he was named Pro Bowl MVP. Still, Fitzgerald, finishing the first year of a $40 million contract extension with the Cardinals, was typically humble in the post-game locker room when asked if he was excited to get the $45,000 winner’s share, as opposed to the $22,500 for the losers. “I’m just glad we won, that’s important. $20,000, $35, $45,000, anything will help pay for this trip for my family,” Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald used his superior size and hand strength again in the third quarter, scoring on a 2-yard slant that put the NFC ahead for good, 24-21. The catch was the final act in the finest post-season performance ever by an NFL receiver. He amassed 35 catches, 627 yards and 9 touchdowns in three playoffs games, the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl. Peyton Manning, participating in his ninth Pro Bowl, finished 12 of 17 for 151 yards in his appearance that ended one possession before halftime. At that point, 36-year old Kerry Collins, ten years removed from his previous Pro Bowl appearance, hit the Texans’ Owen Daniels on a slant for 21 yards and then, on the next play, Collins hit Daniels for a 9-yard touchdown. Daniels’ touchdown gave the AFC their biggest lead, 14-3, with just a couple minutes remaining before the half. The game featured a lot of misfires from quarterback to receiver as timing was an issue with the players having just one week to prepare. For much of the first three quarters, the showcase featured speed rushers, like Indianapolis’ Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney, who were able to do their thing, unaffected by the rule changes for the game, that allowed for the player’s inexperience with each other, and inability to combat complex defensive schemes. The ragged play kept the NFC off the scoreboard for the first 17 minutes of the game, at which point John Carney hit a 37-yard field goal to draw the NFC within 7-3. With the participants in the exhibition held in the mid-Pacific paradise of Honolulu just sixty minutes removed from a well deserved off-season break for the spirits and their tired bodies, it just seemed unfair when the AFC went to the deception with a direct snap to 260-pound fullback Le’Ron McClain. The play had the NFC defenders headed one-way and McClain the other as he powered in from five yards out to give the AFC their final lead, 21-17. The AFC fell to the NFC, despite have the overwhelming advantage in time of possession at over 36 minutes to the NFC’s 23 minutes. Instead the deciding factor was the NFC star power with the quarterback combination of Eli Manning and Brees and running back Adrian Peterson. |
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