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 3-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 (percent), 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 Pro Bowl record set in 2004.
It was the most unathletic highlight I ever had, he said. Andy put it up there for me to make a play. I saw the ball, got nervous, fell, saw the ball, kicked it up and it just fell in my hands.
Marshall, making his third Pro Bowl appearance, then nabbed a 3-yard TD pass from Dalton that gave the AFC a 52-35 lead with 8:25 left and put the game away.
People were saying throw to him. I saw the matchup I had and he s a great receiver, so I knew he could make the play, Dalton said.
Hawaii has been kind to Marshall, who also won MVP honors 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 quarterbacks 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 played horribly struggling to move the ball, stay in the pocket and find his targets, which drew some boos from the sun-splashed, sellout crowd of 48,423.
No excuses, Newton said. When you hang the ball up there, against these kinds of players, that s what you get, Newton said. It s the good and the bad of playing in a Pro Bowl. I learned a lot.
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