Miami ? In its new role as a warmup to the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl became a series of wind sprints.

Long gains were the rule and hard hitting was the exception as the AFC beat the NFC, 41-34, on Sunday night.

Light showers fell for much of the game, stirring memories of a rainy Super Bowl in Miami three years ago. But uniforms remained mostly spotless, with more pushing and shoving than tackling.

“It’s different. It was like 7-on-7,” NFC linebacker Brian Orakpo said. “Everybody came out here trying not to get hurt and give the fans a good show”

Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans threw for 189 yards and two AFC scores and was chosen the most valuable player.

“It’s a game you watch growing up as a kid and wonder if you could ever be in,” Schaub said. “To actually be a part of it is incredible.”

Aaron Rodgers also threw two touchdown passes, and NFC teammate DeSean Jackson had two scoring catches.

From the standpoint of ticket sales, this year’s new venue and slot on the league calendar was a success. The crowd of 70,697 was the largest for a Pro Bowl since 1959 in Los Angeles.

Spectators included Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and other Pro Bowl players from the Super Bowl teams. Manning and the Indianapolis Colts will face Brees and the New Orleans Saints on the same field next Sunday in the biggest game of the season.

The NFL sought to transform the Pro Bowl into a bigger game by playing it before the Super Bowl for the first time. In a one-year experiment, the league also moved the game from Honolulu, its home since 1980.

The stadium was half empty by the third quarter, perhaps partly because of the rain and temperatures in the 60s. It was sunny and 82 in Honolulu at game time.

Did the weather dampen the players’ enthusiasm for Miami?

“It’s beautiful. It’s paradise,” NFC receiver Steve Smith said. “Too bad it’s not Hawaii.”