No word on future Pro Bowl sites
No announcement on sites for future Pro Bowls is expected until after the Super Bowl, a state negotiator to keep the game in Hawaii said Sunday.
Hawaii Tourism Authority president Michael McCartney watched the game with NFL officials in the baseball press box. He said he did not expect serious negotiation to take place until later.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who has made mixed remarks about whether Hawaii should host future Pro Bowls, was at the stadium for part of the game.
Hawaii paid the NFL $4 million each year to host the 2011 and 2012 games, after it was played in South Florida in 2010. That was the first Pro Bowl to be played away from Hawaii since 1979.
This year’s game was not a sellout. An announced crowd of 48,423 attended the game. But there were closer to 40,000 in the house. The game was televised locally on KHNL-TV (Ch. 8).
Officials take it easy
Nobody had an easier time on Sunday than the seven officials assigned to the game.
Not a single penalty was enforced on either team and any questionable mark of the ball near a first-down marker was always awarded a new set of downs.
In addition to his record four touchdowns, Brandon Marshall did draw a flag on his final score.
The NFC was whistled for pass interference on the 3-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton, but it was declined after Marshall held on to the ball in the back of the end zone to give the AFC a 52-35 lead.
NFC gets bold on special teams
NFC coach Mike McCarthy got creative to keep his team in it for three quarters, and he turned to his San Francisco specialists to help him do it.
The NFC got two successful onside kicks by 49ers kicker David Akers and a successful fake punt by San Francisco’s Andy Lee.
The first-quarter onside kick (recovered by Chicago cornerback Charles Tillman) and the second-quarter punt feint (a pass completion to Patrick Peterson) resulted in touchdowns.
"We were trying to find a way to win … steal a couple of possessions. We did, we got up a little bit, but we weren’t able to sustain it," NFC receiver Larry Fitzgerald said.
The final onside gambit in the third quarter (recovered by 49ers long snapper Brian Jennings) did not result in a score as NFC quarterback Cam Newton threw an interception on that drive.
Broncos’ Miller runs down Newton
As expected, the quarterbacks didn’t face much defensive pressure for most of the game. But the AFC turned up the heat in the second half, with Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller coming up with two tackles for loss on Carolina’s Newton on a fourth-quarter series.
"We wanted to help out DBs a little bit," said Miller, a rookie out of Texas A&M. "When you’re going against those great receivers, you have to get some pressure."
Miller finished his first Pro Bowl with a game-high eight tackles.
Fine finish for Cincinnati’s Dalton
Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton got the better end of the duel of rookie quarterbacks in the second half of his Pro Bowl debut.
Dalton completed seven of nine passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns, both to Miami’s Brandon Marshall.
"I knew I was going to get the third quarter. They ended up giving me the whole second half and it was a lot of fun out there," said Dalton, a second-round draft pick out of TCU.
"It was great to be a part of this and to come out and get the win, it’s what you want to do. It’s a great way to end a rookie year."
Dalton’s first touchdown was a 47-yarder that was deflected by two NFC defenders before falling into Marshall’s hands.
"At first I was glad the defensive backs ran into each other and then for him to be laying in the right spot was awesome," Dalton said.
The second score, a 3-yarder on a fade route to the right corner, gave Marshall the Pro Bowl’s single-game scoring record.
"I saw the matchup I had and he’s a big receiver, so I threw it out there where he could make a play," Dalton said.
