Sproles plays role as his team wins Pro Bowl

GLENDALE, Ariz. - For one night, the Eagles were forced to play against one another. In the second year of the NFL's new Pro Bowl structure, team captains picked from a pool of players. That meant two Eagles were on the team that Michael Irvin captained and four were on the team that Cris Carter captained.

It created conflicts of interest such as the one presented to Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin in the first quarter, when he needed to make an open-field tackle on running back Darren Sproles, his Eagles teammate. Center Jason Kelce watched from the sideline and joked that he didn't know which player to root for on the play.

"I was just trying to stay high on him and waiting for him to go down," Barwin said. "I was trying to guide him to the sideline, because I didn't really want to hit him that hard, and I didn't want him to make me miss, either."

After the play, Barwin said to Sproles: "Slow down!"

Sproles was the Eagles' top performer in Team Irvin's 32-28 win, which as aided by Sproles' 30-yard rush on the game-winning drive. The exhibition was played in front of a paid attendance of 63,225 at University of Phoenix Stadium, the host of next week's Super Bowl.

Sproles finished with six catches for 79 yards and three carries for 42 yards in his first Pro Bowl after 10 NFL seasons. He said all that was missing from his performance was returning a punt for a touchdown.

"It feels great, this being my first Pro Bowl and being able to do this," Sproles said.

The Eagles had six players who played Sunday, tied for the fourth-highest total of any team. Nine Eagles were invited, the second-highest total.

The game was almost a glorified scrimmage with some of the NFL's biggest stars. The defensive players made sure to harness their aggression on hitting and the schemes were kept basic. Points were scored on seven of 11 first-half drives.

The offensive MVP was Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who went 15 of 25 for 316 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The defensive MVP was Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who had an interception and a fumble recovery.

Giants rookie sensation Odell Beckham Jr. made a diving catch in the second quarter for a 48-yard gain that was the top highlight of the first half. It set up Saints tight end Jimmy Graham's 6-yard touchdown reception, after which Graham dunked the football over the goalpost.

Among the second-half highlights was an interception in the end zone by Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes, a graduate of Northeast High School. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, a Penn Charter product, connected with Graham for a one-yard score to give Team Irvin the lead with 3:10 remaining in the game.

Eagles kicker Cody Parkey connected on the first extra point of the game, a distinction that is significant because it was not a typical extra point. The uprights were moved in 2.3 feet on each side, and the ball was moved to the 15-yard line. So it was actually like a 33-yard field goal on tightened uprights, which is a more difficult kick. In fact, Adam Vinatieri missed two attempts. Parkey converted on two extra points and did not attempt a field goal.

"I only got a few kicks to try them out, but definitely in warm-ups, it made it a lot harder," Parkey said. "Some of the kicks I know I would have made with a real field-goal post, I was missing. It was kind of frustrating. But obviously they wanted to test them out on us."

Barwin sometimes played a position that's new to him - weakside linebacker in a 4-3 defense. It meant he was not used as a pass rusher, even though Barwin tied for fourth in the NFL this season with 141/2 sacks. Barwin was mostly used in pass coverage and in run support. He finished with five tackles.

Kelce and Evan Mathis entered the game as reserves on Team Carter's second possession. The two played in their familiar spots - Kelce at center, Mathis next to him at left guard.

The Eagles' other Pro Bowler was long-snapper Jon Dorenbos, who earned his second bid. Dorenbos was kept busy snapping the ball for Team Irvin. The three Eagles who turned down Pro Bowl invitations were tackle Jason Peters, running back LeSean McCoy, and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin.

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm