TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Fitzgerald's 2 TD Catches Power NFC

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: February 9, 2009

HONOLULU - Larry Fitzgerald played as if the Super Bowl never ended.

Fitzgerald caught five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, 44-year-old John Carney kicked two fourth-quarter field goals, and the NFC rallied for a 30-21 victory vs. the AFC.

The Arizona All-Pro receiver, coming off a record-breaking postseason and a spectacular Super Bowl in a loss to Pittsburgh, earned MVP honors. He caught a 46-yard scoring pass from Drew Brees before the half and a 2-yard TD pass from Eli Manning for the go-ahead score with 4:07 to play.

The NFC defense took care of the rest.

Fitzgerald said the victory against the AFC, which featured three members of the Steelers' defense, didn't ease the pain from the Super Bowl.

"No, not one bit," he said.

For the Bucs, return man Clifton Smith had three kickoff returns for an average of 42.7 yards, with a long of 55, and added two punt returns for a 14.0 average. Also, cornerback Ronde Barber had four tackles. Guard Davin Joseph was an injury replacement, while linebacker Derrick Brooks was unable to play due to injury.

Manning, making his Pro Bowl debut, was 8-for-14 for 111 yards. While big brother Peyton had better stats, 12-for-17 for 151 yards and a TD, Eli got the win.

"He didn't play the whole second half, so it's not about beating my brother, it's just about having fun," Eli Manning said.

The Manning brothers were the first quarterback brothers in Pro Bowl history. Carney, who was 3-for-3, became the oldest player in the game's history. He booted a 48-yarder with 2:06 left to make it 30-21 and sealed the win with a 26-yarder with 32 seconds left.

Sunday's all-star game ended a successful 30-year run at Aloha Stadium, with a sellout every year. The Pro Bowl will be played in Miami next year, a week before the Super Bowl. The NFL, which has been looking to increase the profile of the game, hopes to bring the game back to Hawaii.

The players, who spent most of the week by the beach and sipping umbrella-adorned mai tais, were pretty unanimous in wanting the game to return.

AFC-Gonzalez 19 pass from P.Manning (Gostkowski kick), 7:44.

Second Quarter

NFC-FG Carney 37, 10:42.

AFC-Daniels 9 pass from Collins (Gostkowski kick), :28.

NFC-Fitzgerald 46 pass from Brees (Carney kick), :00.

Third Quarter

NFC-Peterson 10 run (Carney kick), 2:24.

Fourth Quarter

AFC-McClain 5 run (Gostkowski kick), 6:59.

NFC-Fitzgerald 2 pass from E.Manning (Carney kick), 4:03.

NFC-FG Carney 48, 2:06.

NFC-FG Carney 26, :32.

A-49,958.

RUSHING-NFC, Peterson 8-48, Portis 5-18, White 1-7, Turner 2-4, Sellers 1-1, E.Manning 2-(minus 1). AFC, Lynch 6-48, Brown 7-41, Washington 2-22, Jones 6-21, McClain 3-5, Collins 1-0, Cutler 1-(minus 1).

PASSING-NFC, Brees 11-19-0-142, E.Manning 8-14-1-111, Warner 1-2-0-8. AFC, P.Manning 12-17-0-151, Collins 10-15-1-108, Cutler 7-15-1-48, Brown 0-0-0-0.

RECEIVING-NFC, S.Smith 6-89, Fitzgerald 5-81, Boldin 2-27, Peterson 2-15, Portis 2-8, White 1-26, Witten 1-8, Sellers 1-7. AFC, Gonzalez 6-98, Marshall 5-44, Wayne 4-45, Brown 4-27, Welker 3-23, Daniels 2-30, Johnson 2-29, Washington 1-6, Jones 1-3, Lynch 1-2.

MISSED FIELD GOALS-None.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT