USFL Summer Bowl 1992: The Men in Black are Back!!

Summer Bowl 1992 was all that was advertised, two evenly matched teams playing their best football at the right time. Two dynamic backs trying to will their teams to victory. Two defenses doing their best to stunt the opposition attack. This was a good one. In the end only one team could come out victorious, but this was a battle between two teams that both deserved to be here and both showed what they were made of. In the end, Houston had just enough in the tank to outlast Pittsburgh and earn their second league title, thanks in large part to a passing game that included the wideouts, tight ends, and backs. Pittsburgh was game, and they got a solid performance all around, but there was just too much Kelly & Co. and the Houston Gamblers would walk away victorious when the clock ran down.

The game began with a 68-yard Houston drive, one helped by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the worst time. Houston had a 3rd and 17 after a Godfrey Miles sack of Kelly, but on an incomplete pass, the flag came out. Illegal hands to the face from DT Tony Siragusa and Houston got the automatic first down. They would cash in 3 plays later when Kelly found HB Thurman Thomas from 11 yards out for the game’s first score.

Pittsburgh immediately responded with their own first drive, again aided by a penalty, this time an encroachment call on blitzing safety Robert Blackmon, who mistimed his jump. Risher found Louis Lipps to get the ball to the 5, and on the very next play he hit backup TE Charles Arbuckle for the score as the entire Houston D followed Mike Rozier on the play.

Pittsburgh would score again on a brutal play from Kelly. Trying to squeeze the ball to Perriman as he rolled left, Kelly’s ball trailed his receiver and was snatched from the air by CB Quintin Jones, who had easy sailing for 52 yards and the go-ahead score. A noticeably upset Kelly roamed the sidelines trying to rally his troops. He would lead the Gamblers on a field goal producing drive later in the quarter, finishing the half with Houston down 14-10.

Things would look worse for Houston on the opening drive of the second half. Starting on their own 32, it only took the Maulers 3 plays to find paydirt. Risher hit TE Mike Shaw on first down, on a play that should have gone for about 8 yards, but ended up going for 45 thanks to a missed tackle. Mike Rozier then took the ball around the left end for another 18, and suddenly, in only 22 seconds, the Maulers were at the Houston 9-yard line. Rozier punched it in from there and now Pittsburgh had an 11-point lead and it was time for Kiki DeAyala to rally the troops.

Houston could do nothing on their next drive, and once again Pittsburgh got the ball, bu ton a 3rd and 10, the Maulers failed to convert and the ball went back to Houston. On this drive Kelly started to hone in on his outside receivers. He found Proehl for 33 on a nice slant & up, then hit Perriman to get into the red zone. From there it was Ron Heller to the 1 and then Thurman Thomas up and over the pile to pull Houston to within 5 at 21-16. Kelly would go for 2, but the ball deflected away from Perriman and the score remained a 5-point Mauler advantage.

The Maulers gained only 3 yards on their next possession and Houston was back in business. The DC crowd could feel the momentum shift as Kelly carved up the Mauler D on his way to a 2nd TD pass. The big play on the drive was a 3rd and 3, which turned into a first and 10 on the Pittsburgh 13 as Brett Perriman found a gap in the zone coverage and split defenders on his way to a 27 yard catch. Two plays later Kelly found Proehl for the 13-yard score. He would complete the 2-pointer to Thomas as well, flipping the score. Houston led 24-21 with under a minute gone in the 4th.

Pittsburgh had some success on their next drive, but a well-timed blitz by Pat Swilling on a 3rd and 6 produced a sack of Risher, and the Maulers would again have to punt. Now Houston was clicking and everything seemed to work. Manoa for a short gain was followed by a perfect play action to Thomas which pulled in the safety and gave Ricky Proehl single coverage. 56 yards later he was tackled for a first down in Mauler territory. Kelly then found Heller, a couple of Thomas runs, and then went back to Proehl once more, this time for a 26-yard TD pass on a skinny post. Houston was up 31-21, the tide had fully turned, and the entire stadium could feel the pressure that the Mauler offense now faced.

Pittsburgh and Alan Risher were up to the task. In only 6 plays the Maulers worked their way back into the game. Risher hit Mike Pritchard on a deep ball, then Mike Shaw and Mike Rozier for short plays on what appeared to be an “all Mike” drive. With a first and goal at the 3, the Maulers gave Rozier a moment to catch his breath, and that moment gave Lydell Carr the chance to get his name on the scoreboard. He took a handoff intended as a counter tre to the right, but seeing nothing, shifted left, found space between the center and the guard, and plunged in for 6. Pittsburgh was within range at 31-28 with 2:16 left in the game.

The Maulers opted not to go for the onside kick, which surprised many in the stands, as well as many of us watching. Houston got the ball at their own 31 after a good return by Rowe. Rather than sit on it, Kelly used play action to fake out the Mauler D, and found Perriman deep, moving the ball all the way to the Pittsburgh 33. From here it was Thomas left, Thomas right, Thomas left again, and eventually John Kasay moved the differential to 6 points with a 31 yarder. More importantly he left Pittsburgh only 30 seconds on the clock.

It was too little for the Maulers as they were unable to move into range to even try a Hail Mary. The clock ran out and the Houston Gamblers celebrated a hard-earned championship title. Coach Willsey was doused in GatorAde. Jim Kelly hoisted first the USFL Trophy and then the Summer Bowl MVP Award, and the streets of Houston filled with rowdy revelers through the night.

For Pittsburgh it was a game well-played. Mike Rozier finished with 102 yards on 16 carries. Alan Risher connected on 74% of his passes and threw two scores with no picks. Mike Shaw was the leading receiver with 76 yards on 16 carries, and the defense managed to get to Kelly 3 times, along with Jones’s pick-6 score. But it was not enough against a Houston team that found momentum in the second half and made the plays when they had to. Kelly would win the MVP award for his 368 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. Thurman Thomas would contribute 79 yards rushing and another 78 as a receiver. Ricky Proehl, who caught two touchdowns, ended the game with 141 receiving, and teammate Brett Perriman also finished the game with 102 after 13 targets and 5 receptions. The defensive stars for Houston were DeAyala, with a workmanlike 8 tackles, Swilling, with his key sack of Risher, and a secondary which kept everything in front of them and made tackles when called upon.

Houston now joins the Panthers and Stars of the 80’s as the only teams to win multiple titles. For Pittsburgh the Summer Bowl was a huge step in the right direction, capping off a season few predicted, but one which Coach Marchibroda has been pointing towards since arriving in the Steel City.

Another great championship game, another great season, the USFL’s 10th. And now it is on to fall and the long USFL offseason before we kick it all off again in March of 1993. On to the 1993 USFL Season!!

See You in The Big Easy for Summer Bowl '93!!!