SCORES
WSH 20 BOS 24 Boston D contains Craig James and Eason hits Franz for game winner.
NJ 10 PHI 29 Bryant rushes for 166 as Stars cruise past struggling Generals.
TBY 37 BIR 24 Jimmie Jordan relieves injured Reaves and blows past the Stallions.
MEM 28 JAX 31 Huge game from Walter Lewis is not enough as Bulls edge Showboats.
HOU 10 CHI 27 Surprising Chicago wins its second behind impressive Vince Evans day.
PIT 24 MGN 38 Hebert throws for 5 scores to move the Panthers to 2-0.
DEN 21 LA 28 Young connects with Townsell for 3 scores to fend off the Gold.
GAME OF THE WEEK
OAKLAND INVADERS 31 ARIZONA WRANGLERS 28
The “new look” Invaders did what last year’s edition could not, pull out a tough win against a division foe. Chalk this one up to the new acquisitions in Oakland as both transplants, Brian Sipe and Albert Bentley come up big in Arizona. Sipe threw for 256 and 2 scores, including the game winner to Henry Ellard with 1:19 left in the game, while Bentley, playing for the still rehabbing Arthur Whittington, ran 18 times for 124 against the beleaguered Wrangler D.
Arizona was game throughout, as Rick Neuheisel was efficient and their new transplant, RB Mike Pruitt had a respectable 84 yards on 15 carries, but they just could not shut down the renewed Oakland offense. Trailing 25-13 at half, Oakland owned the 2nd half, outscoring Arizona 17-3 to take the 3 point win. Sipe hit Ellard twice for scores in the half while the Oakland defense harassed and chased Neuheisel out of his comfort zone. While neither team fared well on third down (Oakland 1 of 14 and Arizona 2 of 13) the Invaders made enough big plays, including a Bentley 65 yard scoring run in the 2nd, to win a close one, something they have been hard-pressed to do in their first two seasons. The game pushes both teams to 1-1 in the early stages of the season.
PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
It is rare that the best performance of the week goes to a player on the losing side of the scoreboard, but we have to acknowledge the absolutely jaw-dropping performance of Memphis QB Walter Lewis this week. While Lewis’s passing stats (20-31 for 229 and 2 scores) are solid, they are nothing to write home about, but when you consider that between scrambles and designed QB runs, he added another 130 yards rushing to his day, you have to give it up to the former Crimson Tide star. Memphis had a total of 386 yards of offense in their 31-28 shootout with Jacksonville, and Lewis accounted for 359 of it, as well as all 4 scores.
He sliced through an unprepared Bulls defense for a 25 yard TD run in the 1st and then outdid that in the 2nd quarter with an absolute highlight reel of a run, an 81 yarder on a bootleg left that just left the Jacksonville crowd stunned. Catch the replay if you can, because this was a thing of beauty. Despite these incredible efforts, Memphis was down 31-14 at the end of 3, and Lewis started finding receivers as the Showboats climbed back to within 3 on two Lewis scoring tosses, one to Mel Gray and the other to 2nd year wideout Willie Gault. It was too little, too late for the Showboats, but it was a game for the ages for Lewis.
NEWS & NOTES
As the NFL made its case in defense of the USFL anti-trust suit in a New York courtroom this week, the USFL was still playing offense, signing long-term deals with Champion Athletic for league uniforms and merchandise, and landing Miller Brewery as a major sponsor. The USFL continues to find willing partners in the corporate world, particularly those companies which are locked out of NFL deals by exclusive contracts between the NFL and other partners. While this may be a win in the short term for the USFL, one has to wonder if the ability for the league to sign such big name sponsors actually weakens their case in court, as one of the key aspects of the trial is the need to prove that the NFL’s monopoly on the football market makes such economic windfalls nearly impossible for the new league.
INJURIES
As expected, with more games comes more risk, and week 2 saw a few key injuries that could impact the coming weeks for several USFL teams. Tampa Bay will be without former USFL MVP John Reaves for at least 2 weeks as he sustained an ankle injury early in the game against Birmingham. Tampa will also lose backup wideout Michael Espinoza, possibly for the rest of the season, with what looks to be a significant fracture in his femur. NJ second year wideout Danny Knight will miss several weeks with a knee injury, while Chicago CB Eddie Ray Walker is expected to miss at least a week, perhaps more with a shoulder injury.
LOOKING AHEAD
Back out of division for week 3, but still some interesting matchups in the season’s third week. Two desperate teams meet in the Meadowlands as the 0-2 Generals (whose new QB seems to be struggling with the pro game) face off against the 0-2 Showboats (whose QB is lighting things up). In Philadelphia, the 2-0 Bulls hope to avoid a repeat of last year when a 2-0 start was followed by a long losing streak. Philadelphia has looked very impressive behind the running of Kelvin Bryant, so this could be a tough one for the Bulls.
Birmingham, still smarting after their loss to Tampa Bay, heads up to Boston, who are a surprising 2-0 despite being outgained in both games this year. Washington will try to right themselves after an 0-2 start, but face the dangerous Bandits at home. Arizona heads to Chicago, where the Blitz, and their QB Vince Evans have given the windy city hope for the team’s first winning season. Denver is in Pittsburgh, LA has a tough one in Michigan, and the Invaders hope to win 2 in a row as they head to Houston to face the winless Gamblers.
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