This is one the Washington Federals had to have, but one few expected them to get. After losing Dan Majkowski for over a month to injury, the Federals had lost 4 of 5 games, and now they would face Brett Favre and the defending league champion Stallions. The Vegas oddsmakers had Birmingham as an 8 point favorite on the road, but the Federals stepped up and got a win that could define their season just as Majkowski seems ready to return.
Mike Hohensee would be the rallying figure for the Federals. After several rough performances, he stepped up, completing 74% of his passes despite a ferocious Birmingham pass rush designed to fluster him. He found Herman Moore for 135 yards on 7 catches, found Joey Walters 6 times, and distributed the ball to 10 different receivers over the course of the day, even hitting FB Sam Gash a couple of times for rare touches. The defense would also do their part, picking off Favre twice and disrupting a passing game that had been bullying teams for a year and a half. Yes, Favre would end up throwing for 323 and 2 scores, but he threw the ball 50 times, completing 30 and he missed on some key plays that helped Washington stay in the game.
Washington owned the first quarter, scoring twice to take a 10-0 lead. Birmingham would even things up in the 2nd, but a TD toss from Hohensee to Moore and a half-ending FG from Doug Pelfrey gave Washington a 10-point halftime advantage, 20-10. They would add two field goals in the 3rd, equalizing the lone TD from Birmingham, a 6-yard James Joseph run. In the 4th, Birmingham would pull back to within 2 points on a Danny Knight TD reception from Favre, but when Doug Pelfry connected on his 5th field goal of the day, the lead was back to 5 and would force Birmingham to go for a touchdown on their final drive.
The final drive was a testament to Washington’s tenacity. After taking the kickoff from Pelfry to the 32 yard line, Favre came out poised to march the Stallions down the field, but on 1st down Richmond Webb was called for a chop block on LB Winston Moss, creating a 1st and 25 right off the bat. Moss would make things even tougher on the repeat of 1st down as he easily avoided a chip by Joseph and found Favre for a 6-yard loss on his first sack of the day. Faced with 2nd and 31, Favre tried to hit Givens on an out route, but the ball was just outside and Givens could not bring his feet down. Third and 31, and Favre completed to Sharpe for 14, leaving a 4th and 17 with the game on the line. With several deep receivers covered well by the Feds secondary, and with pressure coming from both Moss and Manley, Favre had to dump the ball to Sharpe on a shorter route, and the Federals defense converged, keeping Sharpe well short of the 1st down. Turnover on downs and a key victory for the Federals, who even their record at 4-4 as they prepare to welcome Majkowski back next week. For Birmingham, they too find themselves at 4-4, a record that baffles USFL pundits and fans alike.
JAX 30 BAL 31
Another great South v. Atlantic matchup saw Baltimore edge the Bulls by 1 as Blitz HB Reggie Brooks had a career day against the Bulls defense. The 2nd year back rushed 13 times for 139 yards, including an electric 41 yard TD run. Chris Miller also fared well against a beleaguered Bulls D, completing 19 of 29 and tossing 3 TDs on the day. Add in a Leslie Frazier pick-6 and you have enough for Baltimore to even their record at 4-4, sending Jacksonville to the same record.
MEM 24 NJ 14
The Generals could have taken command of the division with a win, but Memphis was also fighting to stay in the Southern dogfight, and with Greg Boone back from injury, the Showboats had the added firepower they needed to take out new Jersey. In a game that saw 6 interceptions (3 each), it was the ground game that proved essential. Memphis’s Boone returned with a big game, 123 yards and a TD on the day, while the Memphis D held Herschel Walker to only 64 yards.
ORL 16 PHI 10
Philly got caught looking ahead at future games in a classic trap. They came out flat, and Orlando took advantage. They held Philadelphia to only 3 points in the first half, and when Todd Fowler caught a 3rd quarter TD from Collier, the 16-3 lead pushed the Stars out of their usually conservative playcalling. Philly would draw closer thanks to a late Gerard Phelan TD catch, but it was too little too late against an Orlando squad trying to gain respect.
TBY 3 PIT 17
Pittsburgh put together a brilliant defensive scheme to both contain HB Errict Rhett and frustrate QB John Fourcade on their way to a 14 point win. Despite being outgained 362-242, the Maulers kept Tampa out of the red zone most of the day, and forced Tampa into long 3rd downs repeatedly, leading to a 5 of 15 conversion rate. The win, paired with a New Jersey loss, gives Pittsburgh a solid 2 game lead over the division and the best record in the league at 6-2.
ARZ 17 TEX 14
Arizona’s defense once again proved capable and Robbie Bosco connected with both Richie Anderson and Courtney Hawkins as the Wranglers edged the Outlaws on a late Mick Luckhurst field goal. The loss drops Texas to 4-4 (along with most of the league it seems) while allowing Arizona to keep pace in the Pacific.
DEN 24 CHI 10
Scott Zolak struggled with Denver’s complex zone scheme, and containing the Gold run game, which used 3 backs and QB Dave Krieg to rack up 128 yards rushing. Krieg was a bit rusty as a passer, throwing 4 picks, but the Gold still managed to overcome the turnovers by forcing Zolak into a lot of incomplete passes, hitting only 15 of 38 pass attempts.
OAK 14 HOU 29
The Gamblers are a tough out in the Astrodome, especially when Thurman Thomas is on his game. He was, rushing for 83 yards and playing a big role in the pass game as well. Kelly connected with 3 different receivers for scores, and the Houston D sacked Bobby Hebert 5 times on the day as Houston improved to 5-3 and forced Oakland into a 3-way tie atop the Pacific.
POR 3 MGN 51
Joe Montana went 24 of 29 and Marcus Allen delivered with 147 yards and 2 scores as Michigan just exploded on offense for the first time all year. 5 rushing touchdowns and 479 total yards created a 30-3 halftime lead, and Portland had nothing all day against the blitzes of the Panthers. Sean Salisbury cleaned up for Michigan, playing most of the 4th quarter once it became clear that no Portland comeback was coming.
STL 38 NOR 19
The St. Louis defense knocked Timm Rosenbach out of the game and took advantage of Brent Pease’s lack of experience to gain their second win of the year. It was a battle of Ismails with the Knights’ Rocket catching 7 balls for 106 while the Breakers’ Qadry had 9 for 90. Steve Israel of the much-maligned Knights defense had himself a POTW game, with a pick-6, a key fumble recovery and solid coverage on Henry Fontenot all day long.
Can we give the award to an entire team? Because what the Panthers did to Portland was both stunningly effective and surprising from a team that has struggled with its identity all year. The Portland D was scattered and mistake-prone all day, but a lot of that was due to an aggressive Michigan gameplan that saw Joe Montana connect twice with Weegie Thompson on deep balls, and which saw Marcus Allen go off for 8.6 yards per carry. If we hadto name one individual as the Player of the Week, it would likely be Allen, who has had some flashy games and some mediocre ones so far this year. This time he was at his best, with 4 different runs over 20 yards, and a shiftiness that often caught the Thunder defenders flat footed. The return of Jim Reynosa on defense also proved huge for the Panthers, as the feisty DE had 2 sacks a forced fumble, and a recovery on the day. In what has to be described as a full team victory, Allen and Reynosa shone, but this was just one of those games where everything worked, and the game was quickly and decisively won.
An interesting tidbit out of the league offices this week as the USFL big wigs announced a new uniform policy. The league office annoucned that beginning in 1995 teams would be allowed to have, in addition to a standard home and away uniform set, an alternate uniform set which could be worn up to 2 times per year. This includes an option for a 2nd helmet, a 3rd jersey and a possible 3rd pant set as well. The league did put limits on the freedom teams had to design this alternate uniform, declaring that the third helmet had to be within the team's color scheme, black or white, and that the alternate jersey had to be a home or dark jersey, with white remaining the primary road jersey (though so many teams where white at home in the late summer games that there really is not a correlation between home and away when it comes to dark v. light jerseys).
While there are several possible reasons why the league (and NIKE) would be interested in allowing for a 3rd option for teams, the inclusion of a 2nd helmet option is intriguing, especially in light of the NFL's plans for a 1994 "retro" uniform celebration of the league's history, but required that teams use their primary helmets, creating some weird designs in which NFL teams use retro logos on helmets which are now a different color than in their history (picture the Namath-era JETS logo on a green helmet, or Buffalo's standing buffalo on a red helmet). It is rumored that several teams have requested the option to create a third jersey, but one unnammed team has also petitioned for an alternate helmet. No one is quite sure who that team is, but the potential is interesting.
The USFL does not have a long history, so the idea of "throwback" or retro uniforms seems unlikely, although it is possible that we might see a team like Washington pull out their founding logo and white helmets for anniversary seasons. More likely we will see teams create a look using a secondary color from their existing palettes. I could imagine a Denver Gold helmet that is actually gold, or a Blue New Jersey Generals jersey. While some teams may be obvious, Baltimore using a red "retro" jersey 2 times a year instead of their usual red one, or Portland developing a navy jersey instead of the electric lime one they usually wear, it will be exciting to see what teams come up with as they take advantage of this rule and the new alternate uniform craze in sports.
It was a good week overall, with few long-term injuries. Pittsburgh Free Safety Pat Terrell’s prognosis has him likely out for the rest of the year with a hip injury and Orlando LB J.D. Fuller could miss 6 weeks with a fractured jaw, but for the most part we saw only short-term issues. The most noteworthy is the injury to Timm Rosenbach’s throwing hand, but with no fractures detected in his thumb, hurt when it awkwardly connected with the helmet of a defender, he is only expected to miss a game, maybe two. Of greater interest are the players expected back next week, with Washington’s Don Majkowski leading the pack. Along with Maj, we have Troy Aikman expected back, NJ Safety Eric McMillian, Birmingham rookie back James Bostic, Chicago safety George Teague, and Arizona guard Todd Kalis. Texas gets back two important pieces in tackle Eugene Chung and DE John Bosa.
The second half of the season kicks off with a second consecutive week of South v. Atlantic and Pacific v. Central. Birmingham, fresh off the loss at Washington, get a chance to equalize things as they host Pittsburgh, while Washington travels to Jacksonville to face the Bulls. New Jersey is hoping to take advantage of their matchup in Orlando, while both Philadelphia and Tampa Bay come into their clash at 4-4. Surprising Baltimore will be in Memphis, with both of those clubs also at 4-4 and hoping to get on the good side of .500 this week. Out west it will be Oakland hosting the Chicago Machine. Houston will be in Portland and Michigan are hoping to make it 2 in a row as they face off with the Knights in St. Louis. New Orleans has a tough matchup in Tempe against the Wranglers while Texas heads to Mile High to face the Denver Gold.