All Pro Quarterback Peyton Manning, as kind of an elder statesman, gave a little pep talk to the players preparing for the Pro Bowl being played in beautiful Hawaii. The games in recent years…and in particular last years’ game…. have not been exactly what real football fans would call a game. Guys were falling down before getting hit and no one seemed to be playing up to speed.
The AP wrote that the players in the 2012 game were “hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight”. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell even threatened to cancel the game if the action did not get better on the field.
Both Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady bowed out of the Pro Bowl this year claiming injuries. Speculation abounds weather the injuries are physical or ego.
Robert Griffin III is seriously injured and just underwent ACL surgery.
So, the Quarterbacks this year for the NFC end up being Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Russell Wilson. The AFC could only come up with Peyton Manning, Matt Schaub and Andrew Luck. The AFC running backs were led by Arian Foster while Adrian Peterson ran for the NFC.
The game started off with a bang as Drew Brees handed off to Adrian Peterson who promptly fumbled the ball turning it over to the AFC and Peyton Manning.
The party atmosphere increased as Houston linebacker AJ Watt came into the offensive huddle and came within inches of catching a TD pass from Manning. Two plays later Peyton punched it in with a short pass to AJ Green for the first score of the game.
Drew Brees came back with an 81 yard drive in 8 plays topped off by a lovely 36 yard pass to Vincent Jackson to even the score.
AJ Watt showed up on a sidelines interview still in the first quarter with blood on his hand and mud on his jersey saying, “see Commish, we are playing hard”.
Eli replaced Brees in the second quarter and promptly threw an interception to Derrick Johnson for a 42 yard touchdown by the AFC defense. Quickly making up for his throwing mistake in the previous series, Eli marched down the field for 73yards in 10 plays capped by a 9 yard pass to his team mate Victor Cruz.
In the closing moments of the first half, Eli engineered another 71 yard drive in 8 plays and the game went to halftime with the NFC leading 31-14.
