Getty ImagesAfter the NFC jumped out in front 10-7 in the Pro Bowl’s initial 16 minutes, Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson briefly returned the lead to the AFC by reading Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s eyes in zone coverage and picking off Eli’s pass, which was intended for Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph.
Johnson beat everyone to the house for a 42-yard pick six, putting the AFC up 14-10 early in the second quarter.
The NFC rallied back on its next drive, keyed by a BeastMode run out of Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch shed five tackles for a vicious 12-yard gain, easily the best run of a Pro Bowl that has so far been decidedly pass happy.
Two snaps after Lynch’s run, Eli hit Giants teammate Victor Cruz for a nine-yard touchdown on an in route out of the slot, giving the NFC the lead back at 17-14. Cruz, as he is known to do, performed a quick salsa dance in the end zone to celebrate.
Trailing by three points midway through the second quarter, the AFC replaced Peyton Manning at quarterback with Matt Schaub of the Texans. On a 40-yard bomb attempt intended for Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas, Schaub was intercepted by Falcons safety William Moore. Moore returned the pick 27 yards to the NFC 28.
Eli got aggressive with under three minutes remaining in the first half. He noticed Rudolph in Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali’s coverage down the right sideline, waved Rudolph to continue his route downfield, and hit him for a deep gain of 52 behind a lumbering Hali.
The first flag of the game was called on Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey toward the end of the second quarter. When explaining the penalty, official Ed Hochuli made sure to announce that “Yes, there are penalties in the Pro Bowl.” (Yes, Hochuli really said that.)
Bailey was covering Bucs receiver Vincent Jackson in the end zone when whistled, so the ball was placed at the AFC’s one-yard line.
Lynch punched it in from a yard out, increasing the NFC’s lead to 24-14. Eli led yet another touchdown drive to close out the half, going 75 yards in the final 68 seconds with a three-yard scoring strike to Rudolph to cap it off.
As of halftime, top performers in the 2013 Pro Bowl so far have included Rudolph (five catches, game-high 122 yards, one touchdown), Jackson (five catches, 86 yards, one touchdown) and Cruz (game-high eight catches, 66 yards, touchdown).
Through two quarters, Rudolph is the favorite for Pro Bowl MVP.
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noone cares. lol
Eli will never win a Super Bowl he even throws pick six’s in the pro bowl !
Schaub is on par with the likes of Sanchez and he is playing in the Pro Bowl. What a joke.
I’d give the MVP to Ed Hochuli for that crack alone
Evan stop wating your time watching this junk and go hang out with your family. Its ok, we give you permission, everyone is watching the x games….
eiggles in the real world Eli hss two Superbowl MVPs to go with his two rings
Nfc is just showing whats gonna happen in superbowl. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock
Eli has 2 Superbowl rings already genius. Do you even watch football or just catch sports center so you can try to be part of the conversation with those of us who do?
I turned it on for, like, a minute, and got to see victor Cruz score. Man, doesn’t he realize how truly freaking tired that Salza really is? Enough, Victor. You’ve been to the end zone plenty. Start acting like it.
So far there are 67 idiots that gave the Eli comment a thumbs down ! Dopes !
Pro Bowl has officially become a lame joke and is a waste of time watching…even the refs aren’t interested in officiating the pro bowl…
The best part about the AFC being so far behind is that we don’t have to watch Marcel Reece try and lead block anymore. #manhesbad
Almost done watching this game. Just one more TD until we cover the over.
Wonder how Rudolph would do with a better QB than Ponder.
I really hope no self-respecting football fan is watching this “game”. IDEA – Instead of having two franchises play in the Hall Of Fame game… why not make THAT the Pro Bowl instead? That way players would have a better chance of being healed from the previous seasons injuries, they would have a few weeks of training camp, and would probably look forward to playing a game after being off all summer. Plus, the Super Bowl participants could take part.
They should scrap the growl bowl and have an NFL Skills competition instead. They used todo a skills challenge during the week of, but I never see it anymore. I would much rather watch QBs throwing balls at targets, timed juggs machine catch/run events for receivers, etc.
Eiggles, last I checked Eli has 2 rings. Even though it is a pro bowl, you found a way to drink yourself stupid. Good for you.
Just cancel this crap.