The AFC beat the NFC in the 2010 Pro Bowl on a late fourth quarter touchdown run by Tennessee’s Chris Johnson. The Pro Bowl, usually played in Hawaii after the Super Bowl, was moved to Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida and played one week before the Super Bowl. It was the 40th edition of the Pro Bowl.

Because of the date change of the NFL Pro Bowl, All Star members of both Super Bowl qualifiers (Colts and Saints) did not play in the game. Many of those players were on the sideline to watch Houston’s Matt Schaub get the AFC out to a fast start with touchdown passes to Texans teammate Andre Johnson and Denver’s Brandon Marshall.

Schaub finished with 189 yards on 13-of-17 attempts and took home the MVP award.

San Diego’s Vincent Jackson caught seven passes for 122 yards with a TD from Jacksonville’s David Garrard, who ended with 183 yards on 8-of-14 attempts and handed off to Jaguars teammate Maurice Jones-Drew for a rushing score.

Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay threw for 197 yards and two TDs on 15-of-19 attempts for the NFC, which had won the previous two installments of this contest. DeSean Jackson of Philadelphia caught a pair of touchdowns and had 101 yards on six receptions in defeat.

Chris Johnson’s two-yard score capped a rare lengthy drive that covered 76 yards in 11 plays to put the AFC up 41-34 with 5:59 left in the game.

Pittsburgh’s James Harrison picked off Dallas’ Tony Romo deep in AFC territory on the ensuing drive, and the AFC ran out the clock to secure the win.

A Schaub-to-Andre Johnson 33-yard hookup opened the scoring just over three minutes into the game.

Philadelphia’s David Akers put the NFC on the board with a 47-yard field goal, and Marshall hauled in a 23-yard score for a 14-3 lead with seven minutes left in the opening stanza.

Rogers then threw a 48-yard bomb to New York’s Steve Smith near the end of the first and hit DeSean Jackson with a screen pass that the speedster turned into a seven-yard touchdown 3:37 into the second.

Dan Carpenter of Miami finished off the first-half scoring with a 30-yard field goal, tying the game, 17-17.

On the second play from scrimmage out of the break, DeSean Jackson took a quick screen from his everyday quarterback, Donovan McNabb, and raced 58 yards for a touchdown.

Vincent Jackson’s 48-yard TD grab just 51 seconds later tied things again.

Shortly after Denver’s Brian Dawkins picked off McNabb on the next possession, Jones-Drew went in from four yards out. Carpenter’s 26-yard field goal with 5:09 left in the third made it a 34-24 contest.

Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams ran for a seven-yard score to cut into the deficit four minutes later, and Akers booted a 39-yard early in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

It seems that this year’s Pro Bowl lacked the interest of more than a few All Star participants. In fact, at least 12 players elected not to play and 1 player, Vikings Bryant McKinnie was removed from the NFC All Star team because of unexcused absenses - he missed 3 of the 4 pre-game practices.

It’s sad to see the lack of interest by the players. They should be grateful that they were choosen and at least have the common decency to represent their teams and hometown fans. Shame on these guys!

Here are the complete NFC vs AFC 2010 Pro Bowl statistics

source: usatoday.com

Kurt Warner has called an end to his storybook career in the NFL. The 38-year-old quarterback, who went from a supermarket grocery bagger to a winning Super Bowl QB, announced his retirement from the game on Friday.

Kurt Warner’s NFL story has all the hallmarks of a great “root for the underdog” movie. Kurt went from being a grocery store clerk to overcoming early NFL rejection to 12 good years of NFL to leading the lowly St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls, winning the first of them to walking away from the game a winner after again, being written - this time as a has-been .

Warner, a man of deep faith who carried a Bible to each post-game news conference, walked away with a year left on a two-year, US$23 million contract.

“It’s been an amazing ride,” he said. “I don’t think I could have dreamt it would have played out like it has, but I’ve been humbled every day that I woke up the last 12 years and amazed that God would choose to use me to do what he’s given me the opportunity to do.”

Warner brought all seven children and his wife up to the podium. He choked up as he thanked them.

“Every day I come home and it doesn’t matter if you won or lost or have thrown touchdowns or interceptions, the one thing that I always knew is that when I entered that door, when I stepped in our house, that none of that mattered to these guys,” he said. “I can’t tell you how much of a blessing that is.”

Just two weeks prior to his announcement, Warner had one of the greatest post-season QB performances in Arizona’s 51-45 overtime wild card victory over Green Bay on Jan. 10. But he took a brutal hit in the Cardinals’ 45-14 divisional round loss at New Orleans six days later.

The Cards signed Warner to a one-year contract in 2005 largely because no other team would give him a chance to be a starter. His opportunities over the next two years were scattered and even when coach Ken Whisenhunt took over in 2007, Warner was the backup to Matt Leinart.

When Leinart went down with an injury five games into the season, Warner got his chance. He started 48 of the remaining 49 games of his career.

Warner leaves the game with a legacy that could land him in the Hall of Fame even though he didn’t get his first start until he was 28.

In a comparison with the 14 quarterbacks to make the Hall of Fame in the last 25 years, Warner has a better career completion percentage, yards per pass attempt and yards per game. Only Dan Marino had more career 300-yard passing games.

In 124 regular-season games, Warner completed 65.5% of his passes for 32,344 yards and 208 touchdowns.

Warner may have ended his NFL career a year or two early, but he went out on his own terms - and he went out a winner!

source: espn.com, nfl.com, wikipedia.com