Defenses Rest in Pro Bowl

When Mike Vanderjagt’s 51-yard kick wandered, wobbled and finally dropped outside the uprights, even the officials waving their arms looked a bit shocked.

After the incredible offensive feats in the highest-scoring Pro Bowl, a miss by the NFL’s most reliable kicker was the last surprise in a game that was anything but a Hawaiian vacation.

Most valuable player Marc Bulger threw a Pro Bowl-record four touchdown passes, and Detroit’s Dre’ Bly returned an interception 32 yards for the go-ahead score with 4 minutes, 50 seconds to play during the NFC’s rally from an 18-point deficit in the final 13 minutes of a 55-52 victory over the AFC.

It wasn’t over until Vanderjagt, who didn’t miss a field-goal or an extra-point try all season, was barely wide right on his field-goal attempt as time expired. A week after New England won the Super Bowl on Adam Vinatieri’s field goal with four seconds left, the NFC got only its second victory in eight Pro Bowls on a miss.

“It’s going to be tough to match, if I make it back in the future,” Bulger said. “We have all kinds of playmakers out here. I knew Dre’ Bly was going to make a play. They made plays when they had to, and for me to win the MVP is special. The quarterback is a reflection of the team, and everyone deserves it.”

Shaun Alexander had three touchdowns for the NFC, which scored 28 consecutive points in the fourth to set the scoring record for a single team.

“I think the Pro Bowl is supposed to be offensive, like NBA All-Star games are,” said Alexander, who signed autographs with Bulger at an event earlier in the week. “We were talking about one of us needing to win the MVP. They picked the wrong guy, but it’s still cool.”

Defense always takes a back seat in this game, but never to this degree. With 42 points in the helter-skelter fourth quarter, the teams easily topped the 82 total points scored in 2000 (51 by the NFC, the previous team high) -- and they set another record with 1,022 yards, including 300 in the fourth quarter.

The teams also set records with seven touchdowns apiece. League co-MVP Peyton Manning established records with 22 completions, 41 attempts and 342 yards passing.

“We had the lead and started making some mistakes and let them get back into it,” said Manning, who had three touchdown passes.

“We got a little greedy with those reverse passes, and the NFC got hot in the end.”

With an incredible surge that had the stars dancing on the sidelines, several first-time Pro Bowlers -- there were 41 -- led the way in a wacky game.

Just how crazy was it? The AFC set a Pro Bowl record with 31 points in the first half -- and it stood for about two hours until the NFC scored 42 after halftime.

“I told them to just keep playing,” NFC Coach Andy Reid said of his advice before the frantic final minutes. “Anything is possible in these games.”

Chad Johnson, Cincinnati’s brash receiver, had five receptions for 156 yards. St. Louis’ Torry Holt caught seven passes for 128 yards and a score.