By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
AFC quarterback Mark Brunell of the Jacksonville Jaguars
scrambles away from pressure by the NFC's Lamar Lathon of
the Carolina Panthers. Brunell was named the game's MVP.

The Jacksonville Jaguars' quarterback was a late replacement for Denver's John Elway, who stayed home because of injuries.

Fortunately for the American Football Conference, the 26-year-old Brunell emulated his comeback kid counterpart.

He not only tossed an 80-yard scoring strike to Oakland's Tim Brown that sent the game into overtime, Brunell also found New England's Ben Coates for a 43-yard completion that set up the game-winning field goal.

Cary Blanchard obliged by hitting a 37-yarder to secure the 26-23 overtime victory over the National Football Conference.

It allowed Brunell to be named the most valuable player. He hit 12 of 22 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown. His ability to move in the pocket was key to him making the big plays for the AFC.

"He's been doing that all year," said AFC and Jacksonville head coach Tom Coughlin. "We have all the confidence in the world with Mark. He makes things happen."

Brunell is just one of several young quarterbacks who performed well in yesterday's game. New England's Drew Bledsoe, Washington's Gus Frerotte and Carolina's Kerry Collins were a combined 20 for 41 for 290 yards.

"This game reflects how many young quarterbacks there are coming up in the league," Brunell said. "Sure, guys like Troy Aikman, John Elway and Steve Young weren't here, but I thought all the young guys put on a good show."

You won't get any argument from NFC head coach Dom Capers. He believes there's a changing of the guard in the NFL.

"I think you're going to keep seeing these young quarterbacks in this game for a while," Capers said. "They made some mistakes, but they also made some big plays when it counted."

His 54-yard interception return for a touchdown is the first time a Bengal has scored a six-pointer in the Pro Bowl.

"I didn't know that," Ambrose said. "That makes it even more special. In this game, everything happens in a split second.

"It gave us some momentum. They kept fighting and scratching to get back in the game. They came back. I'm just glad we got the victory."

Ambrose stepped in front of a Collins pass intended for Irving Fryar on the first play of the fourth quarter. It gave the AFC its first lead of the game at 16-15.

"We needed something to give us a lift," Ambrose said. "We were kind of waiting for something to happen. I was able to give us an emotional lift with that play."

Ambrose also broke up a potential touchdown pass from Brett Favre to Isaac Bruce in the first quarter. He finished with one interception, two pass breakups and five tackles.

He scored the NFC's first touchdown on a 5-yard pass from Favre on the tackle eligible play. It's something he'll never forget.

"Scoring a touchdown in a game like this is something you only dream about as an offensive lineman," McDaniel said. "It was a designed play.

"I knew when he threw it that I was going to catch it. It feels good. I'm not going to let this football out of my sight until I get back home. This is something I've been waiting for for nine years.

Bruce had the most receptions in the game with seven for 104 yards, but Brown made the most of his five catches, including the 80-yarder for the game-tying touchdown from Brunell.

"It feels good to set a Pro Bowl record," Brown said. "I'm just glad I could contribute in the win."

Minnesota's Cris Carter also etched his name into the record book. His 53-yard scoring reception from Frerotte is the third Pro Bowl touchdown of his career.

"That's a record?" Carter said. "It's nice, but I wish it would have been the game-winner."

Ambrose also set a record with the longest interception return for a touchdown.

"I took a chance and it paid off," Ambrose said. "This was a great game because I helped our team get the win."

Kickers are creatures of habit.

Take away their snapper and their holder, and suddenly they're like Linus minus his blanket.

Just ask Pro Bowl place-kickers John Kasay of Carolina and Cary Blanchard of Indianapolis. They were a combined 3 for 8 in yesterday's Pro Bowl, including 1 for 3 on game-winners.

Kasay had a chance to win it for the National Football Conference with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but fell agonizingly short on a 39-yard-attempt after a bad snap and a worse hold.

Not to be outdone, Blanchard hooked a 41-yarder wide to the left early in overtime, but got a shot at redemption. His 37-yard effort split the uprights to give the American Football Conference the 26-23 victory.

"I was just glad to get a second chance to win it," Blanchard said. "The one I missed in overtime, everything was a little off and I ended up hooking it.

"My plant foot was just a little too close. It doesn't take much to miss them. But it turned out all right. On the 37-yarder, everything was perfect."

That's not something Kasay was able to say too often. Washington Redskins punter Matt Turk was not accustomed to holding the football, especially for a left-footed kicker.

He had trouble with most of the snaps, including one he fumbled on the first extra point that resulted in the unusual 9-0 NFC lead in the opening quarter.

"We tried the best we could, but it just didn't work out very well," Kasay said. "I appreciated the guys doing everything they could.

"We didn't get a chance to work on it much and it showed. Those are things fans take for granted. But when something is new like in a game like this, the little things can throw off your rhythm."

Kasay did hit a 20-yarder in the first quarter, but missed his next three, including one from 66 yards out to end the first half.

"Because of the (Pro Bowl) rules not to rush the kicker, you actually have a chance of making one of those," said Kasay, whose kick landed halfway into the end zone.

Even Blanchard tried one from rocket-launcher range, but his 55-yarder midway through the second was short and a little left.

"I had a much better chance of making that one than John did on that 66-yarder," said Blanchard, who did make one from 28 yards out in the second. "I actually didn't hit my long one very well.

"The snap was a little high and that kind of disrupted me. I'm just glad I got another chance to win the football game. I'm sure John wishes he had, too."

Kasay's other miss from 40 yards out came early in the fourth quarter. Despite being in the middle of the field, he pushed it slightly to the right.

"I wish I could have done better," Kasay said. "But it was still an honor to be in this game. Maybe I'll get another chance somewhere down the road."

AFC 26, NFC 23

American	0	3	7	.13	3-26
National	9	0	6	. 8	0-23

First quarter

NFC-FG Kasay 20, 4:41.

NFC-McDaniel 5 pass from Favre (kick failed), 11:16.

Second quarter

AFC-FG Blanchard 28, 14:33.

Third quarter

NFC-Sanders 6 run (pass failed), 6:09.

AFC-C. Martin 3 run (Blanchard kick), 8:05.

Fourth quarter

AFC-Ambrose 54 interception return (pass failed), 0:11.

NFC-C. Carter 53 pass from Frerotte (Frerotte to Walls), 10:53.

AFC-T. Brown 80 pass from Brunell (Blanchard kick), 14:16.

Overtime

AFC-FG Blanchard 37, 8:15.

A-50,031.

			AFC	NFC
First downs		20	24
Rushes-yards		31-97	35-130
Passing			369	366
Punt Returns		2-51	2-33
Kickoff Returns		6-173	5-152
Interceptions Ret.	2-54	0-0
Comp-Att-Int		21-44-0	23-44-2
Sacked-Yards Lost	1-2	0-0
Punts			6-42.3	6-48.5
Fumbles-Lost		2-0	1-0
Penalties-Yards		8-43	5-32
Time of Possession	33:29	34.47

Individual statistics

Passing-AFC: Brunell 12-22-0 for 236 yards, Testaverde 6-14-0 for 68 yards, Bledsoe 3-8-0 for 67 yards. NFC: Favre 6-11-0 for 143 yards, Collins 4-8-1 for 30 yards, Frerotte 13-25-1 for 193 yards.

Receiving-AFC: T. Brown 5-137, Sharpe 3-43, McCardell 3-40, Coates 2-46, Meggett 2-24, C. Martin 2-8, T. Martin 1-41, Bettis 1-18, Anders 1-7, Davis 1-7. NFC: Bruce 7-104, C. Carter 4-87, Moore 3-48, Sanders 1-40, McDaniel 1-5, Fryar 2-25, Walls 2-40, Centers 1-12, Watters 1-0, Allen 1-5.

Missed field goals-AFC: Blanchard 55, 41. NFC: Kasey 66, 40, 39.

Pro Bowl MVPs In 1971 and 72, an outstanding back and an outstanding lineman were chosen. 1971 - Back-Mel Renfro, WR, Dallas; Lineman-Fred Carr, LB, Green Bay. 1972 - Back-Jan Stenerud, PK, Kansas City; Lineman-Willie Lanier, LB, Kansas City. 1973 - O.J Simpson, RB, Buffalo. 1974 - Garo Yepremian, PK, Miami. 1975 - James Harris, QB, Los Angeles. 1976 - Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, WR, Houston. 1977 - Mel Blount, DB, Pittsburgh. 1978 - Walter Payton, RB, Chicago. 1979 - Ahmad Rashad, WR, Minnesota. 1980 - Chuck Muncie, RB, New Orleans. 1981 - Ed Murray, PK, Detroit. 1982 - Lee Roy Selmon, DE, Tampa Bay, and Kellen Winslow, TE, San Diego. 1983 - Dan Fouts, QB, San Diego, and John Jefferson, WR, Green Bay. 1984 - Joe Theismann, QB, Washington. 1985 - Mark Gastineau, DE, New York Jets. 1986 - Phil Simms, QB, New York Giants. 1987 - Reggie White, DE, Philadelphia. 1988 - Bruce Smith, DE, Buffalo. 1989 - Randall Cunningham, QB, Philadelphia. 1990 - Jerry Gray, CB, Los Angeles Rams. 1991 - Jim Kelly, QB, Buffalo. 1992 - Michael Irvin, WR, Dallas. 1993 - Steve Tasker, WR, Buffalo. 1994 - Andre Rison, WR, Atlanta. 1995 - Marshall Faulk, RB, Indianapolis 1996 - Jerry Rice, WR, San Francisco 1997 - Mark Brunell, QB, Jacksonville

Pro Bowl Results 1971 - NFC 27, AFC 6 1972 - AFC 26, NFC 13 1973 - AFC 33, NFC 28 1974 - AFC 15, NFC 13 1975 - NFC 17, AFC 10 1976 - NFC 23, AFC 20 1977 - AFC 24, NFC 14 1978 - NFC 14, AFC 13 1979 - NFC 13, AFC 7 1980 - NFC 37, AFC 27 1981 - NFC 21, AFC 7 1982 - AFC 16, NFC 13 1983 - NFC 20, AFC 19 1984 - NFC 45, AFC 3 1985 - AFC 22, NFC 14 1986 - NFC 28, AFC 24 1987 - AFC 10, NFC 6 1988 - AFC 15, NFC 6 1989 - AFC 34, NFC 3 1990 - NFC 27, AFC 21 1991 - AFC 23, NFC 21 1992 - NFC 21, AFC 15 1993 - AFC 23, NFC 20, OT 1994 - NFC 17, AFC 3 1995 - AFC 41, NFC 13 1996 - NFC 20, AFC 13 1997 - AFC 26, NFC 23, OT