NFC 23 - AFC 17
February 12, 2006

The 2006 Pro Bowl was an extreme contrast to what fans had come to expect in the previous years. Instead of a scoring barrage, the Pro Bowl was a low scoring affair which was typified by miscues. The defenses exerted themselves and the most exciting plays came from that side of the ball. The coaches for the game were Mike Shanahan of Denver and John Fox of Carolina. A crowd of 51,190 attended, making it the 27th straight Pro Bowl sellout since the game moved permanently to Hawaii in 1980.

In the Super Bowl the week before, the officials had drawn criticism for questionable calls. In the early stages of this Pro Bowl a controversial call also came into play. The Colts’ Peyton Manning threw a 16 yard touchdown pass to Miami’s Chris Chambers to cap a 45 yard AFC drive following the Broncos’ John Lynch's 40 yard interception return. Chambers landed with one foot inbounds after a leaping catch. The play was ruled a touchdown, however, as the officials ruled that Chambers had been pushed out of bounds by defender, Atlanta’s DeAngelo Hall. The crowd booed as the replay seemed to show that Chambers could not have caught the ball in-bounds anyway. Hall called for instant replay in the Pro Bowl following the game.

In the second quarter, Neil Rackers of Arizona kicked a 32 yard field goal for the NFC's first points before the Bengals’ Shayne Graham connected from 31 yards away. Atlanta's Michael Vick threw a 14 yard TD pass to Atlanta teammate Alge Crumpler with 2 seconds left in the half. The TD came three plays after Roy Williams intercepted a pass by Manning and ran 11 yards before handing off to Hall, who dashed another 57 yards to the AFC 20. The score was 10-10 at the half.

Tampa Bay’s Derrick Brooks made the game's sixth interception when he picked off a pass by Kansas City’s Trent Green and ran it back for a score with 5:01 to play in the third quarter, giving the NFC a 17-10 lead.. The AFC tied it with 12:47 remaining on a 1 yard sneak by Green, capping a 68 yard drive after Denver’s Champ Bailey recovered a fumble by Santana Moss of Washington. Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck moved the NFC 59 yards before its drive stalled and Rackers kicked a 22 yard field goal with 6:29 left to give his side a 20-17 lead.

Tennessees’s Steve McNair mishandled two snaps from center after that, and the NFC recovered both. Philadelphia’s Jeremiah Trotter fell on the second one at the AFC 18 and Rackers kicked a 20-yard field goal with 1:10 left to end the scoring. The AFC reached the NFC 49 before McNair threw three incompletions and was sacked by New York’s Michael Strahan on the game's final play. The final score was 23-17.

Brooks was awarded the game’s MVP award, playing in his ninth Pro Bowl. In winning the award, Brooks became the first defensive player to claim that honor since Jerry Gray of the Rams in 2006. The AFC's Peyton Manning threw three interceptions, the NFC's Hasselbeck and Michael Vick one each, and there were several false starts and overthrows. The turnover situation was complicated by the fact that a steady rain began falling at kickoff time, although it subsided early in the second quarter. A total of 10 turnovers, including six by the AFC, stopped many a drive before they could get started.

It was the lowest-scoring Pro Bowl since the AFC's 23-10 victory in 1999. The teams averaged a combined 73.7 points in the past six Pro Bowls including the NFC's 55-52 victory two years ago and the AFC's 38-27 triumph last year. The series that went to its present format in 1971 is tied 18-18.

AFC

• Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback
• Tom Brady, New England Patriots Quarterback
• Drew Brees#, San Diego Chargers Quarterback (first alternate)
• Jake Plummer#, Denver Broncos Quarterback (second alternate)
• Zach Thomas, Miami Dolphins Middle linebacker
• Jason Taylor, Miami Dolphins Defensive end
• Willie Roaf, Kansas City Chiefs Tackle
• Richard Seymour, New England Patriots Defensive tackle.

NFC

• Mike Brown, Chicago Bears Free safety
• Olin Kreutz, Chicago Bears Center
• Brian Urlacher, Chicago Bears Middle linebacker.