In a week that saw a lot of blowout wins, this one went down to the wire and then some, with Washington prevailing in overtime. Both teams focused their defensive efforts on shutting down the run and making the other a one-dimensional offense. Both were successful as Kelvin Bryant was only able to gain 22 yards on the day, and Barry Word did only minimally better with 31 yards rushing. It all came down to the QB’s and again the two were evenly matched.
Don Majkowski threw for 288, 2 scores and no picks. Chuck Long threw for 270, 2 scores and no picks in an evenly matched game all around. After 3 Philly held a pretty tentative 10-3 lead in what had been a defensive battle all day. When Chuck Long hit Bryant for a rare TD reception early in the 4th the fans in Veteran’s Stadium had to feel good about their odds. But, the Philly score seemed to rile up the Federals offense, and they came back at a furious pace, aided by a successful onside kick.
Washington’s first TD came with just over 2 minutes to play, as Terry Kirby caught a Majkowski pass and dove across the line at the end of a 7-minute drive to pull the Feds within 7. They went for the onside kick and Ray Wersching got a short hop which clipped a Stars player and fell into the arms of Duane Gunn. Washington needed 5 plays to move the ball 12 yards, and things did not look good, but on a 3rd and 9, the Feds got a huge play from Herman Moore, who lept over double coverage to bring down a Majkowski deep ball and even the score with only 30 seconds left.
In overtime Washington held Philadelphia without a first down and took their first possession down to the Stars’ 11 yard line before Ray Wersching put the ball between the uprights to give the visitors the win. The Washington victory created a cluster atop the Atlantic Division with the Federals, Stars and Maulers all at 3-3 and hoping to build a win streak to gain some ground on the others. Philadelphia, which had come into the game a favorite for the first time all season, came out of it wondering what happened to their vaunted run game and worrying that perhaps the clock was beginning to tick down for their star, Kelvin Bryant, who looked spent throughout the game.
PIT 15 BAL 13
Baltimore got two TD’s, Pittsburgh got nune, but 5 Rafael Septien field goals was enough for the Maulers in this surprising defensive showdown. Despite 2 TD passes from Chris Miller and holding Mike Rozier to only 59 yards rushing, the Blitz could not get enough points on the board to overcome Septien’s right foot.
ORL 20 BIR 24
The Renegades jump out to a 13-0 lead but cannot hold back the Stallions all day. Brett Favre threw for 2 TD’ before having to step away due to injury and Cliff Stoudt came in and threw the winning score, a 10-yarder to Givens, with 1:40 left to give Birmingham the win.
TBY 13 MEM 24
John Fourcade played a conservative game, avoiding turnovers, but also missing out on big plays, while Memphis scored 16 unanswered points in the second half to take the win. TE Keith Jackson caught 5 balls for 108 yards and a score to help power Memphis to a win and a 4-2 record.
NOR 13 CHI 41
Danny McManus got pulled in the 3rd quarter after falling behind 31-10 and completing only 11 of 28 passes, but Timm Rosenbach fared no better against the Chicago defense. Meanwhile, Wendell Davis caught 2 TD passes from Bernie Kosar, who also found Scott Eccles and Wessley Walls for scores. Albert Bentley scored another as the Machine rolled.
TEX 31 MGN 14
Kelly Stouffer got off to a quick start, finding both Quinn Early and Eric Metcalf for first half scores. In the 2nd half Texas turned the ball over to Reggie Cobb, who rushed for 89 yards and 2 scores to put away the Panthers. Michigan was stymied in the red zone despite a combined 198 yards from Derek Holloway and Weegie Thompson.
ARZ 44 POR 17
It was all Wranglers in this one as Arizona built up a 27-10 halftime lead and got two pick-six interceptions to salt away a divisional win. Lionel James and Darryl Clack combined for 179 rushing yards and Robbie Bosco completed 70% of his passes against a Portland defense that simply had no answers.
STL 17 OAK 34
Bobby Hebert had one of his best games in an Invader uniform and Siran Stacy ran for 95 yards and a score in this battle of 1-win teams. Tied at 17 after 3 quarters, Oakland rattled off 17 straight points to pull away in the 4th, thanks to an Ed McCaffrey TD catch and a Fred McAfee run.
HOU 38 NJ 35
Houston’s D struggled to contain Herschel Walker, who rushed for 166 yards on only 11 carries, an 11.9 ypc average, but in the end, Jim Kelly was able to put the Gamblers on top with a late TD to TE Keith McKeller, the fourth on the day for the All-USFL QB. Kelly finished the game with 382 yards and Thurman Thomas had a combined 158 yards and 1 score each on the ground and through the air to help power Houston to a 5-1 record.
DEN 31 JAX 34
In a firecracker of a game, the two teams traded scores all day, with Denver taking a 31-27 lead on an Odessa Turner TD reception with only 1:25 left only to see a blown coverage 2 plays later lead to an Eason to Hassan Jones 50 yarder for the winning score for the Bulls. Eason would finish with 338 yards passing and 4 scores, Dave Krieg 335 and 2 scores for Denver.
There were several impressive games by USFL quarterbacks this week, but we give our Player of the Week honors to Tony Eason, who faced the toughest competition and the closest game but came out on top. Although he is not ranked among the leaders in QBR, Eason has had a strong year to date, throwing for 1617 yards and 12 scores in the season’s opening 6 weeks, with only 4 interceptions against him. Jacksonville is looking solid at 5-1 after finishing 10-6 and making the playoffs last season (after a 4 year drought).
In this week’s game, Eason completed 60.7% of his passes for 338 yards and 4 scores. He spread the ball around as well, hitting Robb Thomas for a TD in the first, Brian Blades for a 36-yard score in the second, and then Hassan Jones twice in the 4th to pull out a tight victory against a very game Denver squad. After being relegated to 2nd string for his first 3 years in Jacksonville, the former Breaker won the starting job over Timm Rosenbach in 1991 with a string of games that would not allow the injured Rosenbach to reclaim his spot. Last year, starting 10 games (with some injury issues) he led the Bulls back to the playoffs for the first time in his tenure with the club, and this year, at 5-1 he has the Bulls only 1 game behind the undefeated Birmingham Stallions and in excellent early playoff position.
As we enter the meaty midseason, we wanted to look at a trend we are noticing and wonder what it might mean for the league as a whole. That trend is a dip in production for the running back position as a whole and the stars of the 1980’s in particular. Despite the fact that Herschel Walker currently leads the league in rushing with 496 yards (largely due to a huge game this week), the biggest stars of the 1980’s seem to be fading. We have already seen Joe Cribbs retire, and this year we are just not seeing the explosive runs or big production from names we have counted on for years. Mike Rozier, Kelvin Bryant, Marcus Dupree, all three are averaging well below 80 yards a game, in fact they are closer to 50 yards per game, which is not a benchmark you expect to be difficult for elite backs.
In some cases this may be due to an increased emphasis on the short-to-medium passing game, or perhaps the tendency to spell starting backs more frequently, but we have to admit that this may also be a natural byproduct of time passing. The backs who have astounded us since 1983 are getting older, losing their burst, living with pain, and dealing with a bevvy of past injuries. At the same time we are seeing new, fresh-faced backs beginning to step up, backs like Siran Stacy, Robert Drummond, Natrone Means, or Reggie Cobb. For “first wave” fans of the USFL it may be time to start preparing for some of our favorite players to call it a career, as Joe Cribbs did last year. While Herschel Walker looks to be very much his old self, we know that neither he nor others like Rozier, Dupree or Bryant can play forever. I expect at least one of those three to hang up the cleats this offseason, perhaps more. It is sad, but it is also a natural part of the passing of time. Let’s just hope the GM’s around the league are also preparing themselves for that possibility.
Two big injuries this week, though fortunately not season-ending. We mentioned earlier that Birmingham QB Brett Favre had to be relieved by Cliff Stoudt, well, it now looks like Favre will need at least 1-2 weeks on the sideline for his knee to recover. Even with a brace, Favre was unable to effectively drop back and plant on his injured knee, so he will sit out at least the next week. In Baltimore, newly acquired WR Mervyn Fernandez could miss as much as a month with a torn bicep. Expect rookie Lamar Thomas and veteran Patrick Rowe to platoon into Fernandez’s spot. Finally, Reggie Collier may also miss this week as he has been suffering with severe migraines and missed Friday’s practice. He is listed as doubtful although it is always possible that the migraines will dissipate in time for Sunday afternoon’s game.
Another good week of divisional matchups, though it is also a week for haves to play have-nots as we see a lot of first v. worst matchups on the docket. For example, 5-1 Jacksonville is at 1-5 Orlando, 6-0 Birmingham is at 1-5 Tampa, 2-4 New Orleans is at 5-1 Houston, and 1-5 St. Louis is at 5-1 Arizona. Any of these could be a brutal beatdown or a major upset. With Brett Favre out, Tampa could be primed to upset Birmingham, for example. Other divisional bouts include Denver hosting Portland in a battle of 3-3 teams, Chicago visiting the Outlaws in San Antonio, and in the most-balanced (most mediocre?) division, the 2-4 Generals are at the 3-3 Maulers and the 2-4 Blitz are at the 3-3 Federals. Out of division we have a matchup that would have been much more hyped 5 years ago as Michigan visits Philadelphia, and we finish up the slate with Oakland at Memphis.