By Morris Phillips

The 2014 Pro Bowl came with an unspoken ultimatum: If the enthusiasm from the players on the field doesn’t resonate, then the commissioner is sure to re-evaluate.

Well, Roger Goodell hasn’t spoken but he had to appreciate a game with less than ideal weather, great plays, hard hitting… and a little bit of Deion Sanders’ like showboating as well.

Team Rice snuck past Team Sanders 22-21 on a two-point conversion by Carolina’s Tom Tolbert with less than a minute to play.  The new Pro Bowl format featured a fantasy-like draft, funky hi-gloss uniforms and teammates facing off against each other.  Given the crisply-played nature of the game, the highlight plays and the thrilling ending, the NFL’s all-star game got a nice boost in what could be either the final game in Hawaii or the final game period.

“It was crazy, but we had fun with it.  I loved it and enjoyed it,” Cleveland’s Josh Gordon said of the new format.

Steady rain throughout the game kept the turnovers—eight in all—and the sacks—there were nine of those—present throughout the contest.  With all of the missteps, the only quarterback who avoided an interception, Nick Foles stood out as the game’s MVP.

Foles finished 7 of 10 for 89 yards and a touchdown pass to Jordan Cameron that gave Team Sanders a 21-14 lead with 4:41 remaining.  But former 49er and current Chiefs’ quarterback Alex Smith led Team Rice down the field in the final minutes culminating with a 20-yard swing pass to DeMarco Murray that put his team within an extra point to tie or a 2-point conversion to win.  With travel logistics weighing in to the decision, Team Rice decided to go for two and got it when Tolbert stuck his nose in the middle of the line and snuck the ball across for the game winner.

“Philip (Rivers) told them to give it to me.  My old teammate, he told them to give it to me,” Tolbert said.

Kickoffs were eliminated in this one for safety reasons, but kickers were not.  Baltimore’s Justin Tucker missed a 66-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter, and he got a second chance on a 67-yard attempt to win it on the game’s final play, but Tucker saw it come up a little short.

Recent Pro Bowl’s had been criticized for the less than serious attitude of the players and the lack of physical play that ensured all the players would enter the off-season healthy, but didn’t necessarily entertain the fans.  This time, the players got after it and didn’t mind laying a lick on a regular-season teammate, if necessary.

Cleveland T.J. Ward came up and flipped Browns’ teammate Gordon on an end-around play that both players shaking their heads, but healthy, afterwards.

“I don’t think he knew what he was doing, but I’ll give him the benefit of a doubt on that one,” Gordon joked afterwards.

Running backs didn’t garner major highlights with Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles leading the way with the longest run of the day—17 yards—and five carries.  But big guys gone wild did plenty to replace the ground games as Houston’s J.J. Watt’s did a Hang Ten after his sack, and Kansas City’s 295 lb. Dontari Poe picked off a tipped Philip Rivers’ pass and rambled 42 yards before he was hauled down.

Poe’s interception set up Team Sanders at the 7-yard line and four plays later—on 4^th and goal—Cam Newton ran it in for a Team Sanders’ 14-7 lead.

On the next series, Rivers was picked again by Arizona’s Patrick Peterson and after a return of four yards Peterson did the signature Deion high step to the sideline.

“They know better than to try you!” Sanders could be heard saying to Peterson on his broadcast microphone when the two greeted each other on the sideline.

Smith finished as the game’s leading passer with 116 yards through the air, even as he misfired on 13 of his 22 attempts.  Gordon was the leading receiver with six grabs for 66 yards and the one score.  Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson may have made the game’s most spectacular catch, a 36-yard score between two defenders to open the scoring in the first quarter.