# 2008 Pro Bowl

The 2008 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2008. The game was televised in the United States by Fox and began shortly after 11:40am local time (4:40pm EST) following Pole Qualifying for 2008 Daytona 500. The NFC won, 42–30, despite a 17-point first half AFC lead. NFC running back Adrian Peterson rushed 16 times for 129 yards and was named the game's MVP, winning a Cadillac CTS in recognition of his efforts.
The starting rosters for the game were released on December 18, 2007, with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady starting for the AFC and the Green Bay Packers' Brett Favre for the NFC. However, Brett Favre withdrew due to an ankle injury. Notable Pro Bowl selections included the late Sean Taylor. The Dallas Cowboys had a record thirteen players named to the Pro Bowl roster, while five teams, including all four members of the NFC South, had no players initially named (Jeff Garcia of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was later chosen as a replacement quarterback for Brett Favre.) This was the first occasion since their 1–15 1980 season that the New Orleans Saints had no player make the Pro Bowl. The AFC was coached by Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers staff, while Mike McCarthy and the staff of the Green Bay Packers coached the NFC. Three Washington Redskins players (Chris Cooley, Chris Samuels and Ethan Albright) wore #21 in memory of Taylor, their deceased teammate. The game featured 41 players appearing in their first Pro Bowl (out of 86 total players), the most in eight years. In addition, the NFC played their first defensive play with only ten players on the field, lacking a free safety, in Taylor's honor.
On February 4, 2008, Brady, Patriots receiver Randy Moss, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, and Chargers defensive lineman Jamal Williams decided to pull out of the 2008 Pro Bowl. Brady was replaced by Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson, Moss was replaced by Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, Gates was replaced by Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, and Williams was replaced by Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Casey Hampton.
The game was the most watched Pro Bowl since 2000, pulling in a Nielsen rating of 6.3 and a 12 share. It also marked the first ever Pro Bowl to be televised by Fox. The 2008 Pro Bowl also marked the fewest players represented by a Super Bowl winning team, with Osi Umenyiora being the lone representative of the New York Giants, winners of Super Bowl XLII.

## Scoring summary

* 1st Quarter
** AFC – Lorenzo Neal 1-yard run (Rob Bironas kick), 10:59. AFC 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 4:01.
** NFC – Larry Fitzgerald 6-yard pass from Tony Romo (Nick Folk kick), 7:08. Tied 7–7. Drive: 9 plays, 54 yards, 3:51.
** AFC – T.J. Houshmandzadeh 16-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Rob Bironas kick), 2:42. AFC 14–7. Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards, 4:26.
** AFC – Rob Bironas 33-yard FG, 0:48. AFC 17–7. Drive: 5 plays, 14 yards, 1:41.
* 2nd Quarter
** AFC – T.J. Houshmandzadeh 1-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Rob Bironas kick), 12:08. AFC 24–7. Drive: 4 plays, 29 yards, 1:48.
** NFC – Terrell Owens 6-yard pass from Tony Romo (Nick Folk kick), 7:58. AFC 24–14. Drive: 8 plays, 51 yards, 4:10.
** AFC – Rob Bironas 48-yard FG, 3:30. AFC 27–14. Drive: 9 plays, 51 yards, 4:28.
** NFC – Chris Cooley 17-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck (Nick Folk kick), 0:28. AFC 27–21. Drive: 6 plays, 77 yards, 3:02.
* 3rd Quarter
** NFC – Adrian Peterson 17-yard run (Nick Folk kick), 9:49. NFC 28–27. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 5:11.
** AFC – Rob Bironas 28-yard FG, 6:58. AFC 30–28. Drive: 6 plays, 56 yards, 2:51.
* 4th Quarter
** NFC – Terrell Owens 6-yard pass from Jeff Garcia (Nick Folk kick), 12:29. NFC 35–30. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 5:46.
** NFC – Adrian Peterson 6-yard run (Nick Folk kick), 2:43. NFC 42–30. Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 5:21.

## AFC roster
### Offense

| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) | Alternate(s) |
| Quarterback | 12 Tom Brady, New England | 18 Peyton Manning, Indianapolis 7 Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh | 3 Derek Anderson, Cleveland |
| Running back | 21 LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego | 29 Joseph Addai, Indianapolis 39 Willie Parker, Pittsburgh | 28 Fred Taylor, Jacksonville 23 Willis McGahee, Baltimore |
| Fullback | 41 Lorenzo Neal, San Diego | | |
| Wide receiver | 81 Randy Moss, New England 87 Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis | 17 Braylon Edwards, Cleveland 84 T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati | 85 Chad Johnson, Cincinnati |
| Tight end | 85 Antonio Gates, San Diego | 88 Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City | 80 Kellen Winslow II, Cleveland |
| Offensive tackle | 72 Matt Light, New England 71 Jason Peters, Buffalo | 75 Jonathan Ogden, Baltimore | 73 Joe Thomas, Cleveland 73 Marcus McNeill, San Diego |
| Offensive guard | 66 Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh 70 Logan Mankins, New England | 68 Kris Dielman, San Diego | |
| Center | 63 Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis | 67 Dan Koppen, New England | |

### Defense

| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) | Alternate(s) |
| Defensive end | 69 Jared Allen, Kansas City 93 Kyle Vanden Bosch, Tennessee | 99 Jason Taylor, Miami | 94 Aaron Schobel, Buffalo |
| Defensive tackle | 92 Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee 75 Vince Wilfork, New England | 76 Jamal Williams, San Diego | 98 Casey Hampton, Pittsburgh |
| Outside linebacker | 92 James Harrison, Pittsburgh 50 Mike Vrabel, New England | 56 Shawne Merriman, San Diego | |
| Inside linebacker | 59 DeMeco Ryans, Houston | 52 Ray Lewis, Baltimore | |
| Cornerback | 24 Champ Bailey, Denver 22 Asante Samuel, New England | 31 Antonio Cromartie, San Diego | |
| Free safety | 20 Ed Reed, Baltimore | | |
| Strong safety | 21 Bob Sanders, Indianapolis | 43 Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh | 47 John Lynch, Denver 41 Antoine Bethea, Indianapolis |

### Special teams

| Position: | Player: |
| Punter | 9 Shane Lechler, Oakland |
| Placekicker | 2 Rob Bironas, Tennessee |
| Kick returner | 16 Joshua Cribbs, Cleveland |
| Special teamer | 81 Kassim Osgood, San Diego |
| Long snapper | 64 Ryan Pontbriand, Cleveland |

## NFC roster
### Offense

| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) | Alternate(s) |
| Quarterback | 4 Brett Favre, Green Bay | 9 Tony Romo, Dallas 8 Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle | 7 Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay |
| Running back | 28 Adrian Peterson, Minnesota | 24 Marion Barber III, Dallas 36 Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia | |
| Fullback | 49 Tony Richardson, Minnesota | | |
| Wide receiver | 11 Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona 81 Terrell Owens, Dallas | 80 Donald Driver, Green Bay 81 Torry Holt, St. Louis | |
| Tight end | 82 Jason Witten, Dallas | 47 Chris Cooley, Washington | |
| Offensive tackle | 76 Flozell Adams, Dallas 71 Walter Jones, Seattle | 60 Chris Samuels, Washington | 76 Chad Clifton, Green Bay |
| Offensive guard | 70 Leonard Davis, Dallas 76 Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota | 73 Shawn Andrews, Philadelphia |
| Center | 65 Andre Gurode, Dallas | 78 Matt Birk, Minnesota | |

### Defense

| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) | Alternate(s) |
| Defensive end | 74 Aaron Kampman, Green Bay 97 Patrick Kerney, Seattle | 72 Osi Umenyiora, N.Y. Giants | 58 Trent Cole, Philadelphia |
| Defensive tackle | 93 Kevin Williams, Minnesota 94 Pat Williams, Minnesota | 91 Tommie Harris, Chicago | 90 Darnell Dockett, Arizona |
| Outside linebacker | 59 Julian Peterson, Seattle 94 DeMarcus Ware, Dallas | 55 Lance Briggs, Chicago | 98 Greg Ellis, Dallas |
| Inside linebacker | 51 Lofa Tatupu, Seattle | 52 Patrick Willis, San Francisco | |
| Cornerback | 31 Al Harris, Green Bay 23 Marcus Trufant, Seattle | 41 Terence Newman, Dallas | |
| Free safety | 21 Sean Taylor, Washington | 26 Ken Hamlin, Dallas | |
| Strong safety | 42 Darren Sharper, Minnesota | | 31 Roy Williams, Dallas |

### Special teams

| Position: | Player: |
| Punter | 4 Andy Lee, San Francisco |
| Placekicker | 6 Nick Folk, Dallas |
| Kick returner | 23 Devin Hester, Chicago |
| Special teamer | 94 Brendon Ayanbadejo, Chicago |
| Long snapper | 67 Ethan Albright, Washington |
Notes:
    $^a$ Replacement selection due to injury or vacancy
    $^b$ Injured player; selected but did not play
    $^c$ Replacement starter; selected as reserve
    $^d$ "Need player"; named by coach
    $^e$ Posthumous selection
    $^f$ Wore 21 in honor of Sean Taylor
    $^g$ Replacement for posthumous selection Sean Taylor

## Number of selections per team

| AFC Team | Selections | NFC Team | Selections |
| San Diego Chargers | 9 | Dallas Cowboys | 13 |
| New England Patriots | 8 | Minnesota Vikings | 7 |
| Cleveland Browns | 6 | Seattle Seahawks | 6 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 6 | Green Bay Packers | 5 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | Chicago Bears | 4 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4 | Washington Redskins | 4 |
| Tennessee Titans | 3 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2 | Arizona Cardinals | 2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | San Francisco 49ers | 2 |
| Denver Broncos | 2 | New York Giants | 1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 2 | St. Louis Rams | 1 |
| Houston Texans | 1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 1 | Atlanta Falcons | 0 |
| Miami Dolphins | 1 | Carolina Panthers | 0 |
| Oakland Raiders | 1 | Detroit Lions | 0 |
| New York Jets | 0 | New Orleans Saints | 0 |

## Halftime

The halftime show featured a performance by the band Lifehouse, who played their songs "Hanging by a Moment" and "First Time".

## Foreign transmissions

* Denmark – TV3+
* Norway – SportN
* United Kingdom – Sky Sports
* Middle East – Showsports 4