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Peterson becomes only second rookie MVP at Pro Bowl

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, of the NFC team, smiles after he was presented the MVP trophy after the Pro Bowl football game in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Sunday. PHOTO: AP

Adrian Peterson's second touchdown capped the NFC's wild 42-30 comeback victory over the AFC in the Pro Bowl on Sunday and made him the game's first rookie MVP in 13 years.

Peterson, the NFL offensive rookie of the year, rushed for 129 yards, the first performance of more than 100 yards since Marshall Faulk had 180 and Chris Warren added 127 in 1995. The Minnesota Vikings running back helped the NFC rally from a 24-7 deficit, and joined Faulk as the only rookies to be voted MVP.

"Good company," Peterson said. "We didn't get into the playoffs, so for me to come here and do this at the Pro Bowl means a lot."

"I came with a goal: Win the game and be MVP," he said.

And the car that came with the award?

"I'm going to keep it," Peterson said, smiling.

Neither side held back the tricks, to the delight of the sellout crowd of 50,044 at Aloha Stadium. There was a fake punt, a throwback kickoff return, and a handful of fourth-down gambles.

After the AFC went on top 24-7, the NFC nipped ahead 28-27 early in the third quarter when Peterson avoided four defenders on a 17-yard jaunt down the left sideline.

"He's like lightning in a bottle," Denver safety John Lynch said.

"There's probably a handful of guys that you could say that has it all. And he's got that. He's got a little attitude to him," he said.

A pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, uncommon in the exhibition all-star game, against the NFC for illegal defenses allowed Tennessee's Rob Bironas to make his third field goal, a 28-yarder to recapture the lead for the AFC.
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