AFC Wins in Pro Bowl - Again

Although it took them to the final play of the game, the AFC was once again victorious in the Pro Bowl.  Combine the Cincinnati Bengal's Carson Palmer's ability to keep his cool with a very timely (or untimely as the case may be) NFC penalty, and you had the perfect setup for Nate Kaeding to kick a 21-yard field goal as time expired to give the AFC a 31-28 victory Saturday.

Palmer, the MVP of the game, passed for 190 yards and two touchdowns - a 42-yard TD pass to teammate Chad Johnson and a 72-yarder to Reggie Wayne.  Palmer took over for Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning after he went 8-for-17 in two series.  Manning missed last season's Pro Bowl appearance with a knee injury.  League MVP LaDainian Tomlinson also ran for a TD as the AFC continued to demonstrate its regular-season superiority.

The NFC was down 28-14 with 3 minutes to play when things got interesting.  After Steven Jackson scored on a fourth-down TD run, Ronde Barber recovered an onside kick which set up Anquan Boldin's 47-yard TD catch from Tony Romo.  They followed that up with a 2-point conversion to tie the game. 

If the AFC wanted to earn their $40,000 bonus for winning the game, they were going to need to step it up, big time.  Fortunately for them, the NFC tripped themselves up.  Thinking a pass by Palmer had been tipped, Arizona's Adrian Wilson decked Chad Johnson at the goal line before the pass reached them.  The result was a 39-yard pass interference penalty that put the ball at the goal line, allowing San Diego's Kaeding to make an easy field goal and win the game for the AFC in front of a sell-out crowd in Aloha Stadium  It was the AFC's eighth win in the last 11 Pro Bowls.

Other notes on the game:
The Bears' Devin Hester returned one punt 63 yards and had four kickoff returns averaging 24.2 yards. 
Baltimore's Ed Reed intercepted two passes and tied the Pro Bowl record for interceptions. 
Green Bay's Donald Driver caught three passes for 38 yards and Aaron Kampman had four tackles.