SCORES
BAL 13 MEM 33
Another tough loss for the Blitz as Memphis rolls to a 20-point victory behind the arm of Mike Kelley and 3 TD runs from Buford Jordan. Mel Gray has his best game of the year with 10 catches for 115 yards as Baltimore’s defense simply cannot find an answer.
NJ 12 ORL 17
We expected a tough matchup for the Generals in Orlando, but what we did not expect was that this would largely be a defensive struggle. Walker was held to only 67 yards on the ground, and Flutie threw for only 189. Two Reggie Collier TD tosses were enough as the Renegade defense held the Generals to only 12 total points and 270 total yards on the day.
PHI 16 TBY 6
A rough day in the rain for the Stars, but they still had enough to prevail over the Bandits. Kelvin Bryant’s 105 yards and 1 TD were enough as the Stars defense smothered Oliver Luck and limited Gary Anderson to only 95 yards rushing. 3 David Trout field goals helped clinch the win for Philadelphia.
PIT 23 BIR 26
Alan Risher threw for 3 scores, but a wild 16 point rally in the 4th gave Birmingham the home win. Scott Norwood was the hero as he kicked 3 field goals in the 4th, including the game winner with 19 seconds left on the clock as Birmingham rallies late.
WSH 16 JAX 28
This was a game the Federals needed to win to stay alive in the Eastern Conference Wild Card chase, but they fell flat as the Bulls outgained them 281-371 and George Adams garnered 107 yards and 2 scores. Neil Lomax completed only 56% of his passes and was sacked 3 times by a motivated Bulls defense.
CHI 21 LA 13
Too many teams this year have expected to face off against last year’s sad sack Chicago squad and have been surprised to find that the 1988 edition of the Machine are no pushovers. Chicago kept pace with LA all day and scored the final 10 points in the game to take the win. 4 John Carney field goals, an early safety and a 4th quarter Long to Haynes TD sunk the Express in a game they expected to win.
MGN 30 POR 7
Michigan’s defense again proved to be on its game as they held the punchless Thunder to a total of ony 107 yards in the game. The only points for Portland came late on an 86 yard interception return off of backup Panther QB Ed Luther, in because Michigan held a 30-0 lead.
NOR 24 ARZ 31
Arizona clawed and fought all day and it proved enough to snap the Breaker’s win streak as Robbie Bosco outperformed Matt Robinson. The Breakers would run up 453 yards of offense, but were unable to hold the lead and Arizona earned a much-needed win as they pursue a playoff berth.
TEX 26 DEN 13
The Texans helped to tighten the Western Division race by upsetting the Gold in Denver. Doug Williams found holes in the Gold defense and threw for 3 scores despite facing a tough pass rush all day. The gameday decision not to start a gimpy Harry Sydney hamstrung the Gold offense, as Timmy Smith rushed for only 15 yards on the day.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Houston Gamblers 24 Oakland Invaders 24 Overtime
We knew it had to happen one day, the USFL’s first tie in 6 seasons of football finally occurred as Oakland rallied from a 14 point deficit in the 4th to tie the game on a late Henry Ellard TD catch and a 2pt conversion.
It all looked good for Houston through three as Jim Kelly found both Ricky Sanders and Ernie Jones for scores and the defense held Oakland to 3 field goals as Houston took the 24-9 lead into the 4th, but the Invaders have been giving teams trouble of late, and they gave Houston all they could handle. On Oakland’s first possession of the final quarter, Richard Williams, who would end the day with a stunning 160 yards against the usually stingy Houston D, plunged in from the 2 to get the Invaders back within 8. It was the culmination of Oakland’s best drive of the day, a 67 yard, 11 play drive against a clearly tired Houston defense. But with only 2:56 left in the game, Houston still controlled their own destiny.
Oakland’s D then came up with the series of the game, as they held Houston without a first down, shutting down Thurman Thomas, as they had all day (only 28 yards rushing), and when Houston tried to fake out the D on third and 6 by calling a draw to Todd Fowler, the Invader defenders were all over it, forcing Houston to punt.
Oakland got the ball, only 60 yards away, but with just over 90 seconds left in the game. A quick screen pass to Williams garnered 5, and forced Houston to respect the short game. The Gamblers stayed true to their name and gambled with a safety blitz on 2nd down. Gale Gilbert, who had one of his best days against the tough Houston D, throwing for 329 despite being sacked 5 times, saw that Henry Ellard was in single coverage, and as he rolled to his left, Ellard took off down the sideline and gained a step on the cornerback. Gilbert found him and in just 2 plays the Invaders were in the endzone and within 2 points of a tie.
Coach Vermeil called his offense over to the sideline before the 2-point play, using his last time out, and called for a misdirection play that would fake the ball to Williams and hopefully lead to backup TE Frank Moreno being uncovered. The play worked to perfection as the aggressive Houston D bit on the fake and Moreno delayed his route just enough to sell the run before bleeding out to the flat for an easy completion and a tie game.
In overtime both teams struggled to muster much offense as the extra period saw 5 punts before the clock ran out. Oakland was happy to take the tie against a tough Houston squad, while the Gamblers had to feel that they let one slip away, a game they could not afford to lose as they tried to keep pace with the Breakers in the Central Division.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
Clay Matthews helped Chicago to its best defensive performance of the year and pulled off a play that no one saw coming to earn Defensive POTW honors and our attention. Matthews, who signed with Chicago after a strong career with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, has largely toiled in anonymity with the struggling Machine, but on this day he reminded everyone that he is not a player to be ignored. He led the Machine with 9 tackles, helping to rein in the Express offense, and he turned in one of the best one-on-one tackles of the season, earning a safety after standing up and bringing down the usually bruising Christian Okoye.
With the Express backed up to their own 2 yard line after a brilliant special teams play by CB James Washington, LA did the expected thing and called an off-tackle run for their thundering Nigerian halfback. Matthews read the play immediately, flew into the gap and gained lower position against Okoye. He timed his hit perfectly, crashing into Okoye just as the back tried to shift his weight to get outside, and the hit stood up the imposing back 2 yards deep in the endzone. Okoye lost all momentum and by then it was too late as 3 other Machine defenders joined Matthews and brought Okoye down for the safety. It was a textbook tackle against a nearly unstoppable back, and a highlight that epitomized Matthew’s game.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Not a lot of clarity gained this week as races remain tight across the league. Houston’s tie with Oakland means that there is unlikely to be a 2-team tie in the Central Division, as that tie will likely either keep Houston a half game back, or allow them to go a half game up on New Orleans by season’s end. In the Atlantic, all 5 teams are within 1 game of .500, with Philly taking a slight edge as New Jersey has lost 4 in a row to fall back to the pack. In the Pacific, Arizona’s win brings them within 2 games of division-leading Denver, while the Central looks to be another nail-biter as Birmingham is trying to hold off a charge from the Memphis Showboats, with Orlando still in the mix. Three weeks left and we are looking at 15 of 20 teams having a viable path to the playoffs. This is likely going down to the wire, so prepare those tie-breakers and expect that we will see at least one, and likely more 8-8 teams in the postseason this year.
INJURY REPORT
Looking at the final playoff push, there are very few teams without some concerns. Let’s take a look at the top contenders and what they may be facing over the season’s final 3 weeks. Codes include D (Doubtful), Q (Questionable), and players who are out will have weeks listed.
PHI: TE A. Higdon (2-4 wks), T W. Wolford (D), FS E. Gardiner (D)
NJ: DE G. Jeter (Q)
BLT: DE C. Buchanon (4-6 wks)
PIT: C T. Ponder (8-12 wks)
WSH: QB N. Lomax (D), CB L. Lyles (D)
BIR: T E. Yates (Q), WR C. Collins (Q)
MEM: WR A. Miller (4-6 wks), G J. Dukes (1-2 wks), HB G. Boone (Q)
ORL: TE K. Arroyo (2-4 wks), LB T. Green (Q), G. D. Cadigan (Q)
NOR: WR N. Franz (Q), DE J. Reese (Q)
HOU: WR C. Verdin (D), QB J. Kelly (Q), LB D. Peace (Q)
TEX: TE M. Tice (2-4 wks), T L. Sessions (6-8 wks), FS E. Shelley (D)
DEN: WR M. Carrier (4-6 wks), DT L. Short (2-4 wks), TE B. Niziolek (1-2 wks), HB H. Sydney (Q)
LA: T P. Smith (Q), FS J. Skinner (Q)
ARZ: TE T. Orr (Q), QB R. Bosco (Q), LB B. Noble (D), TE K. McKeller (Q)
LOOKING AHEAD
Week 15 brings us some outstanding and likely playoff-determining games. In the east, both games will loom large as Baltimore is in Philly and Pittsburgh is in DC. Birmingham faces Memphis in a vital Southern Division Clash, as Orlando travels down the road to Tampa. In the Central, it could all come down to this as Houston is in New Orleans. Michigan is also in Texas in a game that could have Wild Card implications. In the Pacific Denver travels to Oakland while LA is in Portland. In our inter-division matchups, New Jersey is in Tempe to face the Wranglers, while Jacksonville is in Chicago to play the Machine.