The playoff picture gets a little clearer as the top of the league continues to separate from the bottom. Michigan, Philadelphia, Arizona, Chicago and LA all win to solidify their chances for postseason football.
SCORES
OAK 20 BOS 19 Oakland comes back from 19-7 with furious 4th quarter push.
LA 31 NJ 17 Flutie throws 3 Ints and LA limits Walker to 75 yards in win.
DEN 24 PHI 45 Fusina throws for 4 scores as Philadelphia cruises to Div. Title.
ARZ 35 WSH 28 Feds put up a fight but 14 points in the 4th gives Wranglers the W.
HOU 28 BIR 24 Kelly puts up 359 and 3 scores in his best game of the year.
MGN 38 MEM 21 John Williams rumbles for 134 as Michigan blows past Memphis.
PIT 20 JAX 24 Despite 136 from Rozier, Maulers cannot outlast the Bulls.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Chicago Blitz 27 Tampa Bay Bandits 24
An overtime thriller as Chicago scores 14 in the 4th quarter to even the score and then wins it all on a 50 yard Zendejas field goal. The Bandits will be kicking themselves that they let this one slip away, as they started the game with a 14-0 lead, and held it for 3 quarters at 24-10 before letting Chicago get hot late and take them to overtime.
The game started with two quick scores from the Bandits, a Reaves to Truvillion strike and a weaving 23 yard TD run from Gary Anderson. Chicago used a long drive to position Calvin Murphy for a 1 yard plunge to cut the lead in half, and then the two teams traded field goals for a 17-10 Tampa lead at the half. Reaves found Truvillion again as the Bandits went up by 14 to start the 4th quarter, but from then on it was all Blitz.
Chicago quickly took their next drive 68 yards down the field and another Calvin Murphy score brought them to 24-17. Tampa did their best to run out the clock, but with 8 minutes left it was too much to ask. Chicago got the ball back with just under 2 minutes to play. They found open receivers on the edge and were able to conserve timeouts. Then, from the 14 yard line, on a 2nd and 10, Evans found rookie Reggie Langhorne in a mismatched coverage against a slower safety and with only 8 seconds on the clock Chicago was back in the game 24-24. In overtime the Blitz got the ball first and never looked back, giving Luis Zendejas the chance to win it with a 50 yarder and the young kicker did his job, putting the ball right down the middle to give Chicago an important win and send Tampa to 5-6 and a game behind Jacksonville in the division.
PERFORMER OF THE WEEK
Maybe it was the Houston reshuffling of their offensive line that did the trick, or maybe it was simply that Birmingham came in flat, but for the first time all year Gamblers QB Jim Kelly looked comfortable in the pocket, and that comfort was bad news for the Stallions. Kelly went 20 for 28 for 359 yards, was only sacked twice, and was able to connect on several key 3rd downs to sustain drives. He found three different “Mouseketeers” for scores, Victor Hicks, Ricky Sanders and Clarence Verdin. The final scoring toss, a 37 yarder to Sanders would end up being the deciding score in the close 28-24 win for the Gamblers.
NEWS & NOTES
In a week which has seen several news stories in the Chicago press about the possible sale of the Blitz to one of three ownership groups, all of which would seek to relocate the franchise, the USFL executive committee has stated that a major announcement would be made on Tuesday to address the issue. It is expected that the league will announce the sale of the Blitz, and possible relocation, at this meeting. What impact this will have on attendance and fan support for the 9-2 Blitz is a major concern. For two years the Chicago franchise has floundered near the bottom of attendance numbers, but this year, with a dramatic improvement in the team’s on-field play, fans have begun to follow the team and attendance has seen a sharp rise. If, as the rumors state, relocation is a likely scenario, and if that is announced with several weeks of regular season games yet to play, it almost certainly will impact attendance and support for the team moving forward. This may not be the loss of the Colts from Baltimore, or the Dodgers from Brooklyn, but losing Chicago would have a significant impact on the league and, very likely, on the television revenue it requires, which is tied to the market sizes represented by its franchises.
INJURIES
Not a lot of major injuries around the league this week, but those that were reported could be huge for their teams down the homestretch. Oakland will be without one of their defensive stalwarts, Frank Manumaleuga, as he goes down for at least 4-6 weeks with a neck injury. Michigan will be missing one of their key offensive weapons as Anthony Carter could miss as much as 4 weeks with an abdominal tear. Philly TE Steve Folsom could miss an equal amount of time with a torn meniscus, and Denver rooke wideout Emile Harry is expected to miss one or two games with a hamstring injury. Chicago also is hoping their defensive star, Junior Ah You will be back next week, but with a dislocation of his right shoulder, he may need another week to recoup.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
As predicted, Philadelphia became the first team to punch their playoff ticket as their win, paired with a Boston loss, gave them a 6 game division lead with only 5 games to play. Philadelphia can wrap up the top seed in the East with another win or a Jacksonville loss. Speaking of Jacksonville, they now move a game up on Tampa and remain undefeated in the division. Out West, Michigan and Chicago are still battling for the division, but it seems almost certain that both will make the postseason as they lead the 5th place team (with 4 spots on the line) by 4 games. In the Pacific Division Arizona holds onto a 2 game lead over LA, and both are well ahead of Oakland or Houston for the last playoff spot. While no team is mathematically eliminated yet, but we have to expect that with only 2 wins both Memphis and New Jersey have to be looking towards 1986 at this point.
LOOKING AHEAD
Week 13 of the season could be unlucky for several teams as the battle for position and potential playoff berths gets tight. There are some “cakewalk” games, such as New Jersey vs. Tampa Bay or Philadelphia vs. Birmingham, but there are also a few potential killer matchups. Michigan at 10-1 heads to 9-2 Arizona in a potential Conference Championship preview. LA also has a tough Central matchup with Chicago as both chase the leaders in their divisions. And back in the middle of the pack, both teams will need a win when Boston faces Jacksonville, or when Pittsburgh takes on Oakland.