Vikings' Peterson leads NFC to Pro Bowl win

HONOLULU -- Adrian Peterson stood in front of the car he'd just won as MVP of the Pro Bowl. He wiggled the keys, leaned against the red roof and soaked in the acclaim.

Quite a way to finish off a rookie season.

Peterson ran for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Terrell Owens made up for early sloppiness with 2 TD receptions in the NFC's 42-30 comeback victory over the AFC on Sunday.

Offensive Rookie of the Year Peterson's performance was the first of more than 100 yards since Marshall Faulk had 180 and Chris Warren added 127 in 1995. The Minnesota running back joined Faulk as the only rookies to be voted MVP of the Pro Bowl.

"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."

And the car?

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

Owens' 6-yard catch from Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia provided the winning points, and Owens knew the new ride could have been sitting in his driveway. Then Peterson added a clinching 6-yard touchdown run to steel the wheels.

"It didn't surprise me," said Owens, who finished with 8 catches for 101 yards in a game that often resembled flag football on the beach. "He'll be in Minnesota his whole life and buying a lot of fur coats."

Peterson grew up in Texas, so the Hawaiian weather was more to his taste than the frigid upper Midwest. He had several highlight runs, particularly a 39-yarder on one TD drive, and a 17-yard jaunt down the left sideline for a 28-27 NFC lead early in the third quarter. Four AFC defenders missed him on that touchdown.

"He's going to wreak havoc in this league for a long time," said Denver safety John Lynch.

After the AFC grabbed its last lead at 30-28, Bears record-setter Devin Hester ran right for 14 yards on the ensuing kickoff, then threw a perfect spiral to his left to Jason Witten. The tight end showed some nice open-field moves in adding 35 yards to the runback.

Hester finished with 5 returns for 165 yards (33.0 average).