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AFC running back LaDainian Tomlinson, of the San Diego Chargers, took a handoff from quarterback Drew Bledsoe, of the Buffalo Bills, yesterday.
AFC strolls past NFC It was a blowout of Super proportions, but in reverse.
Ricky Williams leads the offense
Kick returner made statement
and earns the MVP award, while
the defense picks off six passes
in a 45-20 rout
NFL's best played to win
Williams thrives here again
Pro Bowl notebook
Game stats and historyBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com
A week after Tampa Bay used five interceptions to beat Oakland in the Super Bowl, the AFC pulled six NFC passes out of the warm Halawa air to win yesterday's Pro Bowl in convincing fashion.
The AFC offense took full advantage of the opportunities, riding MVP Ricky Williams' hard running and Rich Gannon's passing -- again -- to a 45-20 victory before a sellout crowd of 50,125 at Aloha Stadium.
"It's a little bit of redemption for the Super Bowl," Williams said. "The best thing about the Pro Bowl is that we get to do whatever we want to do, and we really don't have pressure on ourselves."
Two NFC players, Tampa Bay's Simeon Rice and San Francisco's Terrell Owens, did whatever they wanted to do instead of going to practice on Friday. And the five Bucs didn't get into town until late Wednesday because of their Super Bowl celebration.
"That may have had something to do with it," said Buffalo running back Travis Henry, who caught a 13-yard touchdown pass in his first Pro Bowl. "I think we had more young hungry guys. And the way we came out, you could tell we wanted to win the football game. I knew we had the offensive weapons. A lot of good backs. But the defense definitely stepped up today."
The party line was that the AFC played harder than the NFC. But there were whispers that the AFC bent the Pro Bowl rules about pass rushing and coverages, which are modified to increase offense and decrease injuries.
"Blitzing? You know we're not supposed to blitz," said Miami defensive end Jason Taylor, who then winked.
Taylor, who was allowed to rush the passer by the rulebook, intercepted a pass and knocked another down. His Dolphins teammate, linebacker Zach Thomas, also picked off a pass and recovered a fumble. He led the NFC with five tackles.
"It was a good thing we won," Thomas said. "After seeing that bill at the hotel this morning I had to get this win to pay for my family's trip."
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NFC running back Marshall Faulk looked for a path to the end zone against AFC defenders Lawyer Milloy and Peter Boulware.
Each AFC player got $30,000 for the win while the NFC players each received $15,000.
Was it ill-gotten treasure for the AFC? Fair and square, at least according to two NFC players.
"It's not a serious game anyway," Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey said. "I saw some stuff, but hey, it's football. Give their defense credit for a great game."
Chicago Bears center Olin Kreutz wouldn't call the AFC cheaters, either.
"You obviously want to win. We got beat today, but the AFC just played better than us. They made more plays than us, and that's how it's going to look when they do that," Kreutz said. "Everybody takes some liberties here and there (with the rules). But they played a good game. I'm not going to make any excuses about that stuff."
New England's Ty Law intercepted a pass and took it for a 38-yard touchdown, giving the AFC a 38-6 lead with 11:52 left in the game. He knows the rules by heart.
"When you make plays on defense in this game you have to earn it. There's no bump and run, you have to play 7 yards off, you have to play man or cover three, and you can't blitz," said Law, who has now returned interceptions for touchdowns twice in Pro Bowl games.
The AFC wasted no time getting started.
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NFC quarterback Donovan McNabb reversed field to avoid the AFC pass rush.
Taylor intercepted San Francisco's Jeff Garcia on the third play from scrimmage. The AFC took over at the NFC 31, and Williams was in the end zone four plays later with a 1-yard TD.
Williams finished with 56 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 18 yards and forced a fumble on kickoff coverage.
The NFC responded with David Akers' 45-yard field goal, set up by Michael Lewis' 47-yard kickoff return.
But Gannon then drove the AFC from its own 29 with a steady drive ending in his 11-yard TD pass to Tony Gonzalez.
Akers' Pro Bowl record and career-long field goal of 53 yards highlighted the second quarter, but it was all the points the NFC could muster in the period, while Gannon hit Henry for a 13-yard TD and Williams scored on another 1-yard run. That made it 28-6. The rout was on, and the AFC was headed toward its sixth win in the last seven Pro Bowls.
"They've really been getting our number the last few years," Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington of the NFC said. "We have to figure out some way to get this thing turned around."
The half ended with Rod Woodson's first of two interceptions, and a wild series of laterals that ended with Taylor running 45 yards before he was finally downed.
"We had a play like that with Samari Rolle in our Monday Night game," AFC coach Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans said. "And Samari was as tired as Jason was when he got in the locker room."
Fisher said intensity from the beginning of the game is not a given in the Pro Bowl.
"You don't know how the players are going to start. You know how they're going to end, because they get serious and intense at the end. But the turnovers and the big drives started early for us," he said. "This team came together real quick. They had a great week of practice and were ready to play the game."
Like the Raiders did in the Super Bowl, the NFC made a late comeback attempt yesterday. But Brad Johnson's touchdown passes to Joe Horn for 12 yards and Mike Alstott for 4 were far from enough.
Hines Ward also scored for the AFC in the fourth quarter, on a 32-yard pass from Peyton Manning.
"It's kind of a consolation prize for not making the playoffs," Taylor said. "But now I've got a 12-hour flight to think about how much talent we have on defense and why we didn't make the playoffs."
The world is back in balance, according to Kansas City Chiefs' kick returner Dante Hall.
"It's only right. The NFC got the Super Bowl, so we got the Pro Bowl," he said.
National Football League
