The 2000 Pro Bowl witnessed scoring galore and controversy. It was a game in which many records fell. A crowd of 50,112 saw the game in Honolulu. The coaches were Tom Coughlin of Carolina and Tony Dungy of Indianapolis.
In the 1st quarter, the first Pro Bowl pass of the Colts’ Peyton Manning’s career was taken back 62 yards for a touchdown by NFC cornerback Aeneas Williams of the Cardinals. Intended receiver Jimmy Smith of Jacksonville fell down on the play. Detroit’s Jason Hanson kicked a 21 yard field goal to make the score 10-0. The AFC responded with the Smith’s 5 yard touchdown catch from teammate, Mark Brunell. In a wild second quarter, the Buc’s Mike Alstott ran one yard for a score and the Chiefs’ Tony Gonzalez caught a ten yard touchdown toss from Rich Gannon. It was 17-14 when Alstott scored on a 3 yard run. The AFC followed with 21 yard touchdown pass from Manning to Smith. The scoring ended with a Hanson 51 yard field goal. The Halftime score was 27-21, NFC.
Alstott scored his third touchdown of the game in the third quarter and Hanson added a 23 yard field goal. It was 37-21 after three. Miami’s Olindo Mare kicked a 33 yard field goal for the AFC to open the fourth quarter scoring. Tampa Bay’s Derrick Brooks then returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown and the score was 44-24, NFC. The AFC came back again when Manning hit Smith on a 52-yard touchdown route. The final score of the game was controversial. With 1:05 remaining in a game long since decided, Carolina’s Steve Beuerlein threw a 25 yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss. According to Beuerlein, the late touchdown was in retaliation to the AFC’s disregard of the defensive rule limitations in the game.
It was the highest scoring Pro Bowl ever. Manning completed 17 of 23 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Alstott and Smith both scored three times to tie the Pro Bowl record for most touchdowns in a game. Randy Moss set a record with nine catches for 212 yards and was awarded the game’s MVP. In all, seven individual and eight team records were broken and an additional five individual and two team marks were tied.
