GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Cincinati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson of the AFC tried to fend off Minnesota Viking Corey Chavous of the NFC during yesterday's Pro Bowl.
Best Pro Bowl ever?
Led mostly by replacements,
the NFC comes from 25 down
to win 55-52
Call them the replacement thrillers.
CORRECTION
Tuesday, Feb.10, 2003>> The AFC made six turnovers in Sunday's Pro Bowl. A story on Page B1 yesterday said incorrectly that there were five turnovers..
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.Who needs Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Deuce McAlister, Jeremy Shockey and Simeon Rice when you have Marc Bulger, Shaun Alexander and Kris Jenkins?
The NFC rode the efforts of first- and second-time All-Stars and guys who were supposed to be at home watching on TV to a record-shattering 55-52 victory over the AFC in yesterday's Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium.
St. Louis Rams quarterback Bulger, one of 11 NFC replacements for injured or disciplined players, threw a Pro Bowl-record four touchdown passes to spark a comeback from a 25-point deficit in the third quarter.
A total of at least 15 Pro Bowl offensive records were set, including most points for both teams. The teams combined for 1,022 yards, with the losing team getting 626 yards and making five turnovers. It reminded some of a Western Athletic Conference game.
But the biggest play turned out to be a defensive effort, a 12-yard sack by Carolina defensive tackle Jenkins in the closing moments. Jenkins got to the Colts' Peyton Manning to push the ball back to the NFC 33-yard line with six seconds left in the game and the NFC up by three points.
Mike Vanderjagt's ensuing 51-yard field-goal attempt went wide right as time expired, and the NFC got its first Pro Bowl win after three losses in a row. It was the second unsuccessful field-goal try for the Colts' "Mr. Perfect" -- who hadn't missed all season -- for the day.
The sack that set up the miss was sweet for Jenkins for more than one reason. The second-time Pro Bowler's only tackle of the day made Vanderjagt's field-goal try more difficult, and it also set up redemption for him and his Panther teammates, who lost in the Super Bowl to the Patriots a week before.
"It feels good. A lot of people think we come out here just to have fun. This game is pretty serious also," Jenkins said. "I'd hoped I could give those guys from New England a bad taste in their mouths so they could see how it feels."
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning of the AFC looked for an open man at Aloha Stadium yesterday.
From early on, it seemed the AFC would continue its recent dominance, as it led 14-0 after running only one offensive play and 38-13 in the third quarter.
"I told them to just keep playing at halftime," said NFC coach Andy Reid, the Eagles head man who is finally a winner after two previous consecutive Pro Bowl losses. "Anything's possible in this game. We had a lot of contributions from a lot of people."
Perhaps the biggest came from Pro Bowl MVP Bulger, who was a no-name backup to Kurt Warner on the Rams less than two years ago.
"We knew it wasn't over because we'd seen this game on TV before, I have, and there can be so many turnovers and special-teams errors that just don't happen during the regular season. If we could just chip away at it, that was our game plan," Bulger said. "For them to come out and score and for us to come back shows a lot about these guys."
Seattle's Alexander, another NFC replacement player, scored two of this three touchdowns in the second half, including a 2-yard run that gave his team a 55-45 lead with 3:32 left in the game that seemed to cap the improbable comeback.
But Manning drove the AFC quickly downfield, and hit the Steelers' Hines Ward with a 10-yard touchdown pass to close the gap to three points with 1:38 left.
Miami's Brock Marion intercepted a Bulger pass 5 yards deep in his own end zone and ran it back to the AFC 22, and Manning was on the move again with 1:15 and no timeouts left.
He found Ward once more, as well as Colts teammate Marvin Harrison for two big catches, and an interference call on Dre Bly against Harrison put the ball on the NFC 21 before Jenkins' sack.
"Huge," Bulger said. "We didn't think we were going to get a turnover, but if we could get a sack it would take a lot of time off (the clock) and make it a longer field and that's what happened."
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
The AFC's Patrick Surtain of the Miami Dolphins grabbed St. Louis Rams wide receiver Torry Holt yesterday. Surtain had a solo tackle and an interception in the pass-heavy affair.
Bulger didn't really have reason to doubt another AFC turnover, though, considering how generous Tony Dungy's crew was all day.
"We were a little careless with the ball -- a couple fumbles, three interceptions makes it tough. We kind of self-destructed down the stretch," the Indianapolis Colts coach said. "We thought we'd come back and get a chance to win it at the end but didn't quite do it."
It certainly didn't seem the AFC would be in need of a miracle early on. On the team's first offensive play, Steve McNair of the Titans faked a handoff to the Ravens' Jamal Lewis and then found a wide-open Chad Johnson of Cincinnati behind the NFC secondary.
The 90-yard TD pass play was the second-longest in Pro Bowl history. Cincinnati's Jeff Blake and Pittsburgh's Yancey Thigpen hooked up for a 93-yard play in the 1996 game.
Just four plays later, Ed Reed of the Ravens blocked a punt by Carolina's Todd Sauerbrun. More impressive than the block was Reed's ability to pick up the wildly bouncing ball. He ran it into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
Alexander's 12-yard TD run and field goals of 28 and 38 yards by Jeff Wilkins of the Rams got the NFC back in it, but Vanderjagt hit from 27 yards, and Manning threw scoring passes of 50 yards to Harrison and 9 yards to Tony Gonzalez of the Chiefs before halftime.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
The NFC's Shaun Alexander tried to elude Al Wilson yesterday.
Lewis' 22-yard TD run at 11:08 of the third quarter gave the AFC its biggest lead, but Bulger hooked up with teammate Torry Holt (seven catches, 128 yards), Tampa Bay's Keenan McCardell (another replacement), Atlanta's Alge Crumpler and Alexander for touchdown passes, while the AFC responded with only a 23-yard scoring pass to Clinton Portis of the Broncos from the Chiefs' Trent Green.
"I knew when we were down we were going to start throwing the ball a lot," said Bulger, who completed 12 of 21 passes for 152 yards. "That's what I'm accustomed to at St. Louis, so it's not like I had to get into a different mode. That's what we do and I felt comfortable doing it."
Bly's 32-yard return of an interception of Manning gave the NFC its first lead with 4:50 left in the game. It was one of four NFC touchdowns after AFC turnovers.
It was a great game, it was close and we had our shots. But five turnovers, I don't care if it's an All-Star game or not, you're not going to win the ballgame. We made it hard on ourselves," AFC center Kevin Mawae of the Jets said. "They finished off strong. They did a wonderful job."
Alexander said the NFC never panicked.
"Really it was simple. At halftime, we said have fun and know that in an All-Star game, one team starts scoring, then the other team comes and the winner wins in the fourth quarter. So that's all we stuck to. That and enjoying ourselves," he said. "I was thinking maybe make one run and get things started, then a few passes. And then I still wanted another touchdown in this game, and I scored again and I looked up and saw the score and said this thing's starting to be really nice."
Jenkins said the NFC defenders also felt they could get back in the game.
"We knew we had what it took to win because we were doing good against the run," he said. "You stop the run you usually have a real good day. We weren't making the big plays (in the first half). The big plays were kind of biting us in the butt. After that we came out and made the plays we had to. That was the difference."
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
The AFC's Todd Heap, who was one of nine AFC players to make a reception yesterday, caught three passes for 43 yards.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Indianapolis wide receiver Marvin Harrison caught another TD pass from Colts teammate Peyton Manning yesterday.
