In a game that was all the USFL could have hoped for and more, the Tampa Bay Bandits outdueled the Denver Gold in front of a crowd of over 61,000 in Mile High Stadium to take the league’s first championship title. In what was an unexpectedly close game, the heavily favored Bandits had to fight back from a 12 point deficit in the 4th quarter to win a title most believed they were destined to take. The Denver Gold, the 9-7 Champion of the beleaguered and disrespected Pacific Division entered the game as 12 point underdogs to the 14-2 Bandits, but Denver, as the host city for the title tilt, had enormous fan support to buoy them through the game.
Denver started strong from the opening whistle, scoring three times in the first half as Tampa seemed uncharacteristically gunshy. A Ken Johnson toss to league receptions leader Vic James and a 1 yard Harry Sydney plunge gave Denver a 17-7 halftime lead. Tampa only managed one decent drive in the first half, a 60 yard, 10 play drive that led to a Gary Anderson 16 yard run for the Bandits’ lone score of the half.
Tampa would get the ball first in the second half, an in only 4 plays they pulled within 3. League MVP John Reaves escaped a Francis Murphy sack attempt and found Eric Truvillion for a 35 yard scoring toss just 1:20 into the second half. Denver, unphased, used their next drive to expand the lead back up to 6 with a short Speelman field goal.
It was then that Tampa struck with its usual gunslinger mentality. With the ball on their own 18 yard line, John Reaves handed the ball off to Gary Anderson on 1st and 10, only to have Anderson reach the line, and toss the ball back to Reaves on a flea flicker. Reaves found wideout Willie Gillespie streaking down the sideline and hit him perfectly in stride for what would be an 82 yard TD strike to take their first lead of the day at 21-20.
Denver again showed their moxy, taking the ensuing kickoff to the 30 and then driving to the outer limits of kicker Brian Speelman’s range. Speelman hit what had to be an altitude-aided 53 yard field goal to once again put Denver on top, 23-21 after 3 quarters.
And this is where things started to get fast and furious. After a touchback on the kickoff, Reaves had his first pass bounce out of the hands of TE Kenneth Arroyo and right into the awaiting arms of Denver free safety Delmar Rush. Rush brought the ball back to the Tampa 11 before getting shoved out of bounds. 3 plays later, and after an untimely defensive holding call, Denver was on the one yard line, and big bruiser Harry Sydney plunged over to expand the Gold’s lead to 30-21. After a short Tampa drive, Denver would get the ball back and Speelman would add yet another field goal, this time a 45 yarder, much to the delight of the frenzied Denver crowd.
But it was not to last. Tampa’s offense had been a big game, big play offense all year, and in the second half of the 4th quarter, that explosiveness did in Denver’s hopes of a league title. It was RB Gary Anderson who seemed to find another level in the games final minutes, scoring twice on passes from Reaves. Anderson caught his first, a 20 yarder, with 7:01 left in the game, to pull the score back to 33-28. After Denver missed on a 3rd and 7 throw, Tampa got the ball back, and in less than a minute Gary Anderson caught his second scoring throw, this time from 18 yards out. The missed 2-pt conversion left the game at Tampa 34-Denver 33.
Denver would get the ball back with 3:30 left in the game, and when they failed to convert on a 3rd and 6 pass attempt from their own 31, they had no choice but to go for it on 4th down. Tampa was ready and when LB Paul Plurowski batted down a pass intended for Denver wideout Vic James, Tampa took over deep in Denver territory. They would kick a field goal with only seconds left to reach the final 37-33 score.
It was a game that kept the 60,000 plus fans on the edge of their seats, and those who watched the game on ABC (which received NFL playoff level ratings for the game) also saw a championship game that was much closer, more exciting, and more entertaining than most of the recent NFL Super Bowls. Gary Anderson won the MVP trophy for his combination of rushing and receiving. In addition to 93 yards and a score on the ground, Anderson caught 4 tosses for over 110 yards, and the two late scores. John Reaves proved he was a major star in the making for the young league, and the Denver fans got strong performances from QB Ken Johnson and wideout James.
It was a game that promised much, and delivered. Tampa may be the champion, but the USFL as a whole came out as a big winner this Sunday in Denver.