The scoring never abated. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught TD throws of 16 yards from Manning and 1 from Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger. The Cincinnati receiver’s second score came after Antonio Cromartie, the league’s interception leader, returned a tipped pass 56 yards to the AFC 29.

Just before that, a comical kickoff runback attempt by Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware resulted in a fumble at the NFC 29 recovered by Baltimore’s Ed Reed. Tennessee’s Rob Bironas kicked a 33-yard field goal.

With the AFC on top 24-7, Romo and Owens got their team back in it. The big play before Owens’ 6-yard TD catch was a fourth-and-13 conversion that Owens broke for 34 yards to the 7.

“Just two teammates making something happen,” Owens said.

After Bironas nailed a 48-yarder, the NFC continued its comeback. Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck was particularly sharp on a 77-yard touchdown drive he capped with a 17-yard pass to Redskins tight end Chris Cooley. Peterson broke two tackles on a 39-yard run to spark the series.

A pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, of all things, against the NFC for illegal defenses allowed Bironas to make his third field goal, a 28-yarder to recapture the lead 30-28.

That prompted more shenanigans on the NFC’s kickoff return. Bears record-setter Devin Hester ran right for 14 yards, then threw a perfect spiral to his left to Jason Witten. The tight end, one of 13 Cowboys in the game, showed some nice open-field moves in adding 35 yards to the runback.

Then Cromartie got his second pick when Rams wideout Torry Holt deflected Garcia’s pass into the Chargers cornerback’s hands. Quite a debut for someone who barely played before the 2007 season.

“I don’t see it like that,” Cromartie said. “I just go out and have fun and do what I’m supposed to.”

But it was Peterson’s debut that was most impressive. He finished off the scoring with 2:43 remaining.

“Can I top this?” Peterson said, repeating a question as he leaned against the Cadillac. “Yeah, you always set your bar high.”

The AFC leads the series 20-18.

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