Seahawks make the big plays in all 3 phases; NFC pulls away

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Seattle’s Leon Washington found running room on this 92-yard kickoff return that set up an NFC touchdown.

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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson escaped a rush and passed to Larry Fitzgerald for a score.

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub accounted for the AFC’s only score in the period.

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Even though most folks figured the game was out of reach, there was still plenty of anticipation that rookie quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson would put on a show in the second half.

The fans attending Sunday’s Pro Bowl were not disappointed.

The AFC got the ball to start the second half with Houston quarterback Matt Schaub still under center.

He threw his second interception of the game on the second play of the third quarter. NFC defensive back Earl Thomas of Seattle stepped in on a short route intended for Demaryius Thomas to get the pick.

WIlson, his Seahawks teammate, wasted little time extending the NFC’s lead. On his third pass attempt of the game, Wilson found Doug Martin for 28 yards and a touchdown to give the NFC a 38-14 advantage with 12:56 left in the third quarter. Wilson completed his first four passes of the game and also scrambled for 13 yards to set up another score.

Schaub led the AFC on one last drive in the third before giving way to Luck. The Houston Texans quarterback led a 16-play, 80-yard drive that ended on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Cleveland’s Joshua Cribbs, who was here as a kick returner. Schaub kept the drive alive on an 11-yard scramble and also completed passes for 6, 12 and 8 yards to Thomas. The 4-yard score cut the NFC’s lead to 38-21 with 6:21 left in the quarter.

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But Wilson and the NFC were just getting warmed up. The Seattle quarterback capitalized on a 92-yard kickoff return by Seahawks teammate Leon Washington, who took the ball 7 yards deep and returned it up the right sideline to the AFC 15. Matthew Slater of New England made a touchdown-saving tackle.

Not to worry, Seattle needed only four plays to go the final 15 yards that included a 13-yard scramble by Wilson that set up a 9-yard touchdown pass to Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald on fourth down. The kick was good to give the NFC a 45-21 advantage with 3:52 left in the quarter.

Two minutes later, thanks to another AFC turnover, this time by Luck on his first snap from scrimmage, the NFC scored again on a 5-yard pass from Wilson to Vincent Jackson. It was the Tampa Bay receiver’s second scoring catch of the game to make it 52-21 with 1:53 left in the quarter.

By now, some fans were heading to the exits.