Final — Team Irvin 32, Team Carter 28: That actually was pretty exciting.
Dalton’s fourth-down pass toward the end zone fell incomplete, sealing Team Irvin’s comeback win over Team Carter in the 2015 Pro Bowl.
Matthew Stafford earned Offensive MVP honors with 316 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while J.J. Watt took home Defensive MVP after tallying an interception, a fumble and three passes defensed.
One point of interest to note: Players seemed to have trouble with their footing, as several slipped and fell on the grass throughout the night. It’d be interesting to see if that plays a factor in Super Bowl XLIX.
Fourth quarter, 2:00, Team Irvin 32-28: It’s all on Andy Dalton’s shoulders.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback has the ball at Team Irvin’s 47-yard line with a chance to lead his team to victory. Clutch drives aren’t exactly Dalton’s expertise, but hey, it’s the Pro Bowl. Anything can happen.
Fourth quarter, 3:10, Team Irvin 32-28: Team Irvin means business.
After his defense got another stop, Matt Ryan led his offense down the field again with the help of a big run from Darren Sproles.
On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Ryan fired a slant to Graham for the go-ahead score. Your move, Team Carter.
Fourth quarter, 11:57, Team Carter 28-25: ESPN just showed some crazy footage of Odell Beckham Jr. booting a field goal in warmups. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
End of third quarter, Team Carter 28-25: Adam Vinatieri definitely won’t support narrower field goal posts.
The Colts kicker shanked a 38-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game. It’s his third miss of the night.
Andy Dalton entered the game for Team Carter but couldn’t get his team on the board, and Ryan found Golden Tate for a big gain to help spark Team Irvin’s drive and put the team in field goal range.
Third quarter, 1:52, Team Carter 28-25: Matt Ryan is trying to lead Team Irvin to a comeback win.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback capped off an impressive drive with a one-yard fade to Sanders in the end zone to cut Team Carter’s lead to three.
Vinatieri continues to struggle with the narrow goalposts, as he missed his second PAT of the night.
Third quarter, 5:31, Team Carter, 28-19: Here’s a look at Grimes’ interception.
Third quarter, 7:07, Team Carter, 28-19: Brent Grimes just made one heck of an interception.
The Miami Dolphins cornerback stepped up big for Team Irvin by basically stealing the ball from Hilton in the end zone to prevent a Team Carter touchdown and keep his team in the game.
Team Irvin turned the ball over on downs during the previous drive.
Third quarter, 13:33, Team Carter, 28-19: Greg Olsen has his second TD of the night.
Olsen’s impressive sideline catch was ruled incomplete, but John Harbaugh challenged the play, and the refs reversed the call.
Team Irvin needs to get its act together if it wants to stay in this game.
Third quarter, 14:55, Team Carter, 20-19: Watt is picking up right where he left off.
C.J. Anderson fumbled the hand-off on Team Irvin’s first play from scrimmage, and Watt — who else? — immediately pounced on the loose ball.
Halftime, Team Carter, 20-19: Someone’s making the most of halftime.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JJWatt/status/559539752668389377 align=’center’]
Halftime, Team Carter, 20-19: J.J. Watt is a beast. What else is new.
The Houston Texans’ superhuman defensive end swatted Stafford’s pass in the air then caught it on the way down to record the interception and stop Team Irvin’s drive deep in the red zone.
Odell Beckham Jr. made another highlight-reel catch for Team Irvin. He came to play tonight.
Team Irvin will start with the ball in the second half and would do best to just run every play away from wherever Watt is.
Second quarter, 1:59, Team Carter, 20-19: Jordy Nelson just celebrated with Clay Matthews after scoring a touchdown. The only problem? They’re on separate teams.
Matthews couldn’t resist giving a shoulder bump to his Green Bay Packers teammate after Nelson hauled in a 21-yard pass from Brees.
So much for stiff competition.
Second quarter, 6:07, Team Irvin 19-13: Vinatieri bangs another one through the narrow uprights from 28 yards, and Team Irvin extends its narrow lead to six.
Second quarter, 7:55, Team Irvin 16-13: Team Carter’s offense has hit a bit of a rough patch.
Brees’ offense goes four-and-out, and Team Irvin gets the ball at Team Carter’s 30-yard line with a chance to extend its lead.
Second quarter, 9:51, Team Irvin 16-13: Odell Beckham Jr. in the house.
The New York Giants rookie makes a sweet diving catch on 48-yard bomb from Stafford to start Team Irvin’s drive.
Stafford makes the most of it, lofting a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham, who happily dunks on the field goal post without getting penalized.
Gotta love the Pro Bowl.
Second quarter, 12:42, Team Carter 13-9: We have our first punt!
Drew Brees and Team Carter try some trickery with a flea-flicker, but Brees’ pass to Jordy Nelson falls incomplete.
Second quarter, 13:55, Team Carter 13-9: No hard feelings?
[tweet https://twitter.com/nfl/status/559509859591147521 align=’center’]
End of first quarter, Team Carter 13-9: These rule changes are a bit different.
Matthew Stafford and Team Irvin have to hurry up with the ball changing hands at the end of the quarter, but their drive stalls at Team Carter’s 40-yard line.
Team Carter will have the ball with a 13-9 lead to start the second quarter.
First quarter, 0:34, Team Carter 13-9: Luck hooks up with his favorite target, and Team Carter is back on top.
The Colts quarterback found Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton on a 14-yard slant route for the touchdown after a relatively uncontested drive.
Team Carter went for two, but Clay Matthews — yes, that Clay Matthews — broke up Luck’s fade route to keep the score at 13-9.
First quarter, 4:11, Team Irvin 9-7: Golden Tate breaks free for a long completion from teammate Matthew Stafford as Salters interviews Sherman and Seahawks teammate Earl Thomas on the sideline. As expected, Sherman and Thomas go nuts.
Emmanuel Sanders hauls in a 10-yard TD pass from Stafford one play later, but Vinatieri shanks the extra point on the narrow uprights.
First quarter, 5:25, Team Carter 7-3: Luck finds Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen on a wide-open go route for a 17 yard touchdown, and Team Carter is up 7-3.
Luck was 5-for-5 on the drive and threw two passes for 24 yards to wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Side note: Not a lot of defense being played in this one.
First quarter, 9:32, Team Irvin 3-0: [tweet https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/559522104500965377 align=’center’]
First quarter, 9:32, Team Irvin 3-0: Adam Vinatieri doesn’t mind the narrower uprights.
The Indianapolis Colts kicker drills a 32-yard field goal after Team Irvin’s drive falls short with Romo’s incomplete pass to Jimmy Graham in the end zone.
Team Irvin leads 3-0.
8:16 p.m.: Romo hands off to real-life teammate DeMarco Murray for a nine-yard gain, and we’re underway.
8:15 p.m.: Team Carter wins the coin toss and elects to take the ball in the second and fourth quarter. Team Irvin will start things off on offense.
8:10 p.m.: Some notable rule changes for tonight’s game: No kickoffs (opponents get the ball at their own 25-yard line after scoring plays), change of possession after the first and third quarters and 2-minute warnings in each quarter.
8:05 p.m.: Romo just tried to engage Luck in some smack talk, telling ESPN’s Lisa Salters that Team Irvin would “win in a rout.”
Luck’s response: “We’ll let our play do the talking.”
For a guy who congratulates opponents after sacks, those are fighting words.
7:50 p.m.: Richard Sherman is in the house. After making some rather inflammatory remarks about DeflateGate, the Seattle Seahawks cornerback made his way down to the field to check out the action.
7:46 p.m.: It’s not Super Bowl XLIX, but there will be plenty of talent on the field Sunday night.
Team Carter and Team Irvin are less than 15 minutes away from squaring off in the 2015 Pro Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Cris Carter and Michael Irvin filled out their respective teams in a fantasy draft Friday night, with Andrew Luck (Team Carter) and Tony Romo (Team Irvin) going first off the board.
The action won’t feature the most competitive football, but one interesting aspect to watch will be the kicking game, as the field goal posts have been narrowed by more than four feet.
Keep it locked on NESN.com for latest updates, crazy trick plays and star appearances.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
