NFC wins sloppy Pro Bowl
HONOLULU – Derrick Brooks was just happy to be on the winning side for a change in the Pro Bowl. Being selected the game’s outstanding player was a bonus.
Brooks and the NFC’s solid defense gave the NFL’s so-called inferior conference something to feel good about Sunday, making the big plays in a sloppy 23-17 victory in a game that featured 10 turnovers – six by the favored AFC.
Brooks, the Tampa Bay linebacker playing in his ninth straight Pro Bowl, made the biggest play, returning an interception 59 yards for a touchdown. He received a car on the field shortly after the game ended.
“I stand real humble,” Brooks said. “I’ve been here a few times, and I don’t have many wins. It was just important for me to get the win.”
Neil Rackers kicked a 22-yard field goal with 6:29 left to give the NFC a 20-17 lead. With Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback, the NFC moved 59 yards before its drive stalled, and coach John Fox was booed for opting for the field goal on fourth-and-2.
But it paid off.
Steve McNair mishandled two snaps from center after that, and the NFC recovered both. Jeremiah Trotter fell on the second one at the AFC 18, and Rackers kicked a 20-yard field goal with 1:10 left to complete the scoring.
The AFC reached the NFC 49 before McNair threw three incompletions and was sacked by Michael Strahan on the game’s final play.
“It all goes to the players because there isn’t a lot of scheming,” Fox said. “They went out and made plays.”
MVP open to change
Shaun Alexander, who sat out the Pro Bowl on Sunday because of a sprained right foot, said contract negotiations with the Seattle Seahawks will continue today. But the NFL’s Most Valuable Player said he’s open to playing elsewhere.
“I never really thought up until I got out here that I could be on another team, but it was really neat to see me with Carolina guys and having fun like that,” he said. He will become one of the league’s most coveted free agents if he doesn’t re-sign with the Seahawks before March 3.
“It is an exciting opportunity for me, having all these teams basically come at me and sign me. That’s cool,” he said.