Marshall sets Pro Bowl record with four TDS
While everyone was playing at halfspeed and ready to extend their Hawaiian vacation, Brandon Marshall played as if it was his last game.
The Miami Dolphins wide receiver caught six passes for 176 yards and a Pro Bowl-record four touchdowns, and the AFC used a second-half surge to beat the NFC 59-41 on Sunday.
“You never know when you’re going to be back,” Marshall said, “and I wanted to go all out today because it could be my last Pro Bowl.”
Marshall had a touchdown catch in each quarter, including an early 74-yarder and a three-yarder in the fourth, in a game filled with highlight-reel grabs.
He was selected the game’s MVP, and his name now will join the likes of Walter Payton and Jerry Rice on the MVP banners at Aloha Stadium.
“You know what? I wanted it,” he said. “It’s a Pro Bowl. Some guys are playing 100 (per cent), some guys are playing 90, some guys aren’t playing at all, but it means a lot to be up in the rafters with some of these guys.”
The 59 points by the AFC set a Pro Bowl mark, and the 100 points scored by the teams combined was the second highest, a touchdown shy of the 107 scored in 2004.
But it was clear from the start it was Marshall’s day. He hauled in a deflected, go-ahead 47-yard TD pass from Andy Dalton, while on his back, to give the AFC a 38-35 lead late in the third quarter. It was Marshall’s third TD catch of the game, tying Jimmy Smith’s record set in 2004.
Marshall, making his third Pro Bowl appearance, then nabbed a three-yard TD pass from Dalton that gave the AFC a 52-35 lead with 8:25 left and put the game away.
Hawaii has been kind to Marshall, who also won MVP honours at Aloha Stadium in his final game at Central Florida in the 2005 Hawaii Bowl, where he caught 11 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns.
Marshall noted he had six TDS this season, but four this game.
“It says a lot when you’re playing with these type of quarterbacks,” Marshall said. “They just put it in the right place and I just made the play. Hats off to those guys throwing me the ball.”
The game featured 36 first-timers, including rookie quarterbacks Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers and Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals, who replaced Super Bowl QBS Eli Manning and Tom Brady. Their selection made this Pro Bowl the first to feature two rookie signal callers.
Dalton and Newton played the entire second half.
While Dalton looked composed, Newton struggled to move the ball, stay in the pocket and find his targets, which drew some boos from the sellout crowd of 48,423.
“No excuses,” Newton said. “I learned a lot.”
Newton finished 9 of 27 for 186 yards with two TDS and two interceptions. Dalton was seven of nine for 99 yards and two TDS.
With the Pro Bowlers unable to get out of third gear, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines, and hitting each other as though they were having a pillow fight, the Pro Bowl featured some good, bad and real ugly — sometimes on the same play. For example, QB Aaron Rodgers caught a pass from himself. His throw was deflected at the line and he leaped to catch the ball and backpedalled for a 15-yard loss.
The NFC had three players with 100-plus yard receiving: Gonzalez (seven for 114), Larry Fitzgerald (six for 111) and Smith (five for 118).
The AFC and NFC traded score after score, and turnover after turnover in the first half. Each AFC player earned a record $50,000 for the win, while the NFC players received $25,000.