BAL 17 WSH 20
The Blitz and the Federals battled down to the last second before a Ray Wersching field goal with 22 seconds left gave Washington the win. It was Mike Hohensee who led the Feds on their game-winning drive after Don Majkowski was knocked out by a possible concussion late in the 4th.
NJ 14 PIT 20
The battle for first in the Atlantic went into overtime at 14 apiece, but a Louis Lipps TD catch gave the Maulers the win in the extra period. Pittsburgh’s defense was outstanding, intercepting Doug Flutie 3 times and holding Herschel Walker to only 1.9 yards per carry, a monumental feat. Mike Rozier and Lydell Carr combined for 145 yards rushing to power the Mauler offense.
JAX 33 ORL 17
Jacksonville took the road win and tightened up the Southern Division with a strong offensive and defensive performance. Rookie Edgar Bennett got his first TD of the year and Jamie Morris another as the two compensated for the injured James Wilder. The Bulls D also came to play, picking off Reggie Collier twice as Jacksonville evened both teams’ records at 2-2.
MGN 13 CHI 20
The Machine got their first win of the year and gave Michigan their first defeat as Chicago built up a 20-3 lead and then held on against a late Panther rally. Chicago’s D held Jack Trudeau to only 56% completion rate and sacked the Michigan QB 5 times on the day, while 2nd year HB Ricky Watters gained 71 yards rushing and another 11 receiving to help Chicago to the early lead in Chuck Long’s return to action.
HOU 41 TEX 31
In another classic Gambler-Outlaw shootout, Texas held a 31-28 lead after 3 but Houston ran roughshod over the tired Outlaw defense in the 4th quarter, scoring 13 unanswered to take a 10 point win. Jim Kelly had a monster day, throwing for 403 yards and 5 scores, including 2 to league TD leader Ricky Proehl, and a beauty of a screen to Thomas that went 62 yards as Houston denies their in-state rival a home win.
OAK 10 ARZ 14
Arizona’s rebound season is for real as the Wranglers knock off the defending champs at home in Tempe. Touchdown tosses to Trumaine Johnson and Bruce Hill proved to be enough as the Wrangler D held Oakland to only 269 total yards and shut down rookie HB Siran Stacy, 4 carries for only 16 yards.
STL 27 DEN 29
The Gold get their first victory of the year as they edge the visiting St. Louis Knights. Dave Krieg threw for 2 scores and the RB group of Tate, Smith, and Travis rushed or a combined 132 to keep the Knights at bay, despite 118 rushing from the duo of Jordan and Thompson.
PHI 23 NOR 41
Bob Gagliano threw for 439 and 2 scores, but the Stars were simply unable to keep pace with the Breakers. Marcus Dupree had a huge game, carrying the ball 17 times for 165 yards and 3 TD’s against a Philly D that clearly had no answers for his slashing style and breakaway speed. Add in a Frederick Wilder Pick-6 and a Herman Fontenot 104 yard kickoff return and you have a decisive win for the home team.
MEM 23 POR 12
Surprising Memphis moves to 4-0 with a road win in Portland. Two TD’s from Greg Boone and another from Tommy Agie and once again it seems Portland’s run D is their downfall. It also did not help that Kerwin Bell was knocked out of the game in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luck went 25 for 38 playing catchup, but was unable to get the Thunder into the endzone.
Birmingham Stallions 31 Tampa Bay Bandits 34
Two teams sitting at 1-2 and not wanting to fall to 1-3 fought tooth and nail for a win in this classic by the bay. Surprisingly Tampa was able to outrush Birmingham as the combo of Harmon and Bienemy racked up 149 yards to Cribbs and Fullwood’s 107. The Bandits also got 253 yards and 2 scores from Troy Aikman, which helped them overcome a 301 yard, 4 TD day from Birmingham’s new favorite son, Brett Favre.
Tampa actually seemed to be in control after 3, with a 27-14 lead, but two early 4th quarter TD’s from Birmingham, both TD tosses from Favre, one to Ernest Givens, and one to Danny Knight, brought the Stallions back. They added a field goal with about 3 minutes left to take a 31-27 lead, but were unable to hold off a Tampa 2-minute drill. Troy Aikman took the ball on his own 23 yard line and took Tampa all the way back, needing a TD to win the game. They got it in the form of a swing pass from Aikman to Bienemy from the 6 yard line as the fans in Tampa Stadium erupted.
The win moves Tampa into a tie for second with Jacksonville and Orlando, all three chasing the undefeated Memphis Showboats. The loss knocks Birmingham to 1-3, with Favre earning his third loss despite putting up gaudy numbers for the Stallions.
Jim Kelly pretty much gave us no choice with the 4th quarter he put on against Texas. His 403 yards on the day marks the first time he surpassed the 400-yard mark since a route against the then Oklahoma Outlaws back in their expansion season of 1987. His only other 5 TD day was a year earlier than that, in 1986 against the Invaders.
The veteran Gambler found 8 different receivers on the day, including a rare TD catch for 3rd string HB Patrick Egu and two more scores for league leader Ricky Proehl. With this stellar game, Kelly lept over several fellow QB’s to move into 1st place in the QB Rating rankings this week. With interception issues in past seasons, this is a position Kelly has rarely approached, much less attained. But this year Kelly has been able to limit his errant throws, while increasing his effectiveness in play action. He will still gamble on the long ball or the tight double coverage, but he has so far avoided the reckless throws which so often cost him in past seasons. Against Texas, Kelly was effective and ruthless, helping the Gamblers even their record at 2-2 and get into the hunt, chasing 4-0 New Orleans.
A very very early look at the league award races has the usual QB-heavy list for MVP already in play, with Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, and Troy Aikman putting up excellent early season numbers. They will also likely contend for offensive POY as well. On defense the top candidates right now include 1991 Rookie of the Year Phil Hansen, already with 7 sacks this season, St. Louis LB Chip Banks, Memphis LB Eddie Simmons, and a newcomer, Houston CB Reggie Sutton, who leads the league with 3 interceptions, one run back for a score. The Rookie of the Year Race is tough to call, with Michigan HB Rodney Culver at 235 yards after 4 weeks and Oakland’s Siran Stacy trailing at 192 yards. This year, it may go to defense again, as Birmingham’s Darryl Williams already has 20 tackles and 2 sacks. Mark D’Onofrio of Pittsburgh is a darkhorse candidate if the Maulers keep winning. For Coach of the year, it has to be first year man Buddy Ryan in Memphis so far. He has the Showboats defense roaring and the offense is returning to a run-first mentality which seems to be working well for the ‘Boats. If Memphis falters, there may be room for Arizona’s Ted Tollner as his team rebounds from a poor 1991 season.
A few significant injuries to report this week as Oakland DT Mike Ruth could be out for the season with a torn ACL, while St. Louis DT Milton Lerner faces at least 6 weeks on the injured list after fracturing a bone in his forearm. Baltimore will be without wideout Anthony Miller for 2-4 weeks with a torn bicep and Portland may be looking at as much as a month with Oliver Luck at the helm after Kerwin Bell was diagnosed with a rotator cuff injury. Players expected to be out at least a week with minor injuries include New Orleans WR Charlie Smith, St. Louis TE Todd Christiansen, Jacksonville WR Hassan Jones, Pittsburgh TE Mike Shaw, and Chicago CB Robert Massey. Philadelphia is expecting Browning Nagle to return to action this week, and despite solid performances from backup Bob Gagliano, Nagle is expected to resume the starting position.
It is the Central vs. the Atlantic and the Pacific visiting the South as we see our first of only 2 full weeks of inter-conference play this season. Chicago will be in New Jersey after their first win of the year. Houston goes to Philly, Michigan to Pittsburgh, and New Orleans visits Washington. Texas and Baltimore, both with only 1 win, round out the Central-Atlantic slate. In Pacific-South games surprising Arizona will be in Jacksonville, Denver heads to Memphis to face the undefeated Showboats, Oakland tries to regroup in Orlando, and Portland’s Oliver Luck returns to Tampa. The week rounds out with a banged-up Knights squad heading to Legion Field to face the Stallions.