What is wrong out West? Patterns seem to emerge as the Atlantic and Central Divisions rack up wins while the Pacific flounders, losing all 4 matchups this week.
MGN 13 TBY 21 – The Tampa Bay Bandits come out of week 3 as the only undefeated team in the league, and with another strong performance from QB John Reaves, they have taken an early line as the team, and the player to beat this year. Reaves threw for 333 yards, and while he only accounted for 1 TD against a stout Panther defense, he controlled the second half of the game, with both Bandit TD’s coming in the 4th quarter. Bobby Hebert, on the other side, also had a respectable game, throwing for 239 yards and 2 TD’s, but a missed extra point, and a lack of focus in the 4th quarter doomed their comeback attempt.
ARZ 20 BOS 28—Playing in the smallest stadium in the league, the Boston Breakers had the first sellout of the USFL season for any team. The 22,000 who showed up at Nickerson Field got to watch as Breaker RB Richard Crump held court. He rushed for 148 yards on 25 carries, eating up clock and converting on 3rd down after 3rd down on the way to an 8 point victory. His 3 touchdown runs were all Boston needed to secure the win. In a losing effort Arizona’s Alan Risher played well, completing 70% of his passes, but when it counted most, on 3rd downs, the Wranglers were only 3 of 11. Boston moves to 2-1, keeping pace with the rest of the very competitive Atlantic Division.
Los Angeles 24 Washington 27—It was the LA Express’s best offensive performance of the year, but was still not enough to overtake the Federals on a rainy day at RFK. The star of the day was Federals QB Kim McQuilken who dinked and dunked his way to 220 yards and 3 TD’s. Craig James also had his best USFL outing to date, rushing for 102 yards on 27 carries. LA actually looked like they would take this one, building up a 24-7 lead in the early stages of the 3rd quarter, but then Washington went on a 20-0 run, including 2 TD passes from McQuilken, including a game-winning toss with only 48 seconds left in the game.
BIR 20 CHI 26—The Blitz knocked Birmingham from the ranks of the unbeated with a solid three-phase victory on a windy afternoon at Soldier Field. 28,500 were there to watch as Greg Landry led the Blitz to a 23-10 lead at half, only to watch Landry go down to injury in the 3rd quarter. Without Landry the Blitz offense struggled and Birmingham was able to scratch back to within 1 score, but the Chicago D held and a strong effort from Stallions RB Cornelious Quarles (152 yards on only 18 carries) was for naught. Landry was diagnosed with an ankle sprain and should be back in action within 2-4 weeks.
NJ 37 DEN 26—The woes for the Pacific Division continued as Denver fell to 1-2 with a loss to the Generals. New Jersey’s Hershel Walker ran over the Gold defense for 118 yards and 3 TD’s in the 11 poiint victory. By the end of 3 quarters, the Generals held a commanding 24 point lead (34-10) before softening enough for Denver to score 16 points in the final quarter. The Generals were never really at risk, though the softer zone defenses it used in the 4th quarter allowed Denver QB Ken Johnson to improve a stat line that looked quite dim after 3 quarters. New Jersey now shares a 2-1 record with the three other Atlantic teams while Denver’s 1-2 record keeps them atop the sad sack Pacific division, where they are the only squad to notch a win so far this season.
PHI 24 OAK 10—Oakland fell for the third straight week as their strategy to bottle up Stars RB Kelvin Bryant led to a good day for QB Chuck Fusina.Stars wideout Scott Fitzkee notched 104 yards receiving on 9 catches, while teammate Tom Donovan brought in two short TD passes from the wily Fusina.The Stars held both Fred Besana and Alfred Whittington in check all day, allowing only 256 total yards in offense to the Invaders.While Philadelphia looks like a contender in the Atlantic, Oakland is still clearly trying to find a formula that will bring them more W’s.With 3 divisional play weeks in the next 4,
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