AFC 59, NFC 41
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 29, 2012
Where: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
Temperature:
81°
Head Official:
Walt Coleman
Attendance:
48423
By SportsDirect Inc.
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall set a Pro Bowl record with four touchdown receptions - the third of which he caught while on his back - as the AFC posted a 59-41 triumph over the NFC on Sunday in Honolulu.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Cincinnati Bengals rookie Andy Dalton and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers tossed two touchdown passes apiece in the highest-scoring Pro Bowl game in history.
With the NFC nursing a 35-31 lead late in the third quarter, Dalton tried to find Marshall behind the coverage. Two NFC defenders converged on the ball, but unintentionally deflected it back toward the Dolphins wideout. Marshall, who had already fallen to the turf, collected the ball after it caromed off his foot for the improbable 47-yard touchdown.
Marshall then snapped former Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Jimmy Smith's record of three touchdown receptions in a Pro Bowl game by reeling in a 3-yard score from Dalton with 8:25 left in the game.
Arizona Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald matched Smith by securing his third touchdown reception of the game with 2:37 remaining in the game.
The game's MVP, Marshall had a 74-yard scoring strike from Roethlisberger to tie the game at 14-14 in the first quarter. Marshall, who finished with six catches for 176 yards, then knotted the contest with 5:22 left in the second with a 29-yard touchdown reception from Rivers.
The NFC bolted out to an early 14-0 lead after Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers connected with Fitzgerald on a pair of scoring strikes. After the Cardinals star reeled in a 10-yard score, the NFC successfully fielded the first of two onside kicks and Fitzgerald beat New York Jets stud cornerback Darrelle Revis on the next play for a 44-yard touchdown pass.
Roethlisberger responded with a pair of long touchdowns, hitting A.J. Green on a slant-and-go before finding Marshall for his first score.
The teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter, capped by Rivers hitting teammate Antonio Gates on a 27-yard scoring strike as time expired.
Carolina rookie quarterback Cam Newton tossed a 55-yard touchdown pass to teammate Steve Smith and a 36-yard score to Fitzgerald, but was also intercepted three times.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
NFC |
546 |
73 |
473 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
0.0 |
0 |
AFC |
596 |
126 |
470 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
1.0 |
0 |