PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Pittsburgh has not had much to cheer about this year, but in this week's win over Oklahoma they got a cheer-worthy performance from WR Brian Quick. Quick turned in 120 yards and 3 scores on 6 receptions, meaning 50% of his catches went for 6. That is worth a round of applause for sure. PLAYOFF PICTURE: Two divisions locked up this week as Tampa Bay and Arizona both claim the crown and a playoff spot. They join Chicago in the mix for the 2022 postseason. On the outside, looking in, we add Denver and Philadelphia to the list, now at 6 of the league's 30 teams with 3 games left on the schedule.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Pick your favorite dual threat QB in a Week 13 that had offensive explosions across the schedule. Do you prefer Cam Newton, who threw for 326 on only 11 completions and then added 128 rushing, with 4 total TDs (1 passing, 3 rushing)? Or would you go with Lamar Jackson, who destroyed Michigan with 173 yards passing, and 20 carries for 210 yards, putting 3 total TDs on the board? We could not decide, so we are giving these two amazing QBs a shared POTW honor. PLAYOFF PICTURE: Chicago becomes the first team to lock in a playoff spot, thanks to a 5-game lead over the cluster of 6-6 teams battling for the 6 spot. With 4 weeks to go, Chicago has not yet won the Central, but they are in the postseason and have a 2-game lead over the Wranglers and Skyhawks for the 1 seed. In the East, Tampa Bay is close at 10-2, but with 3 teams at 7-5, only 3 games back, they have not yet locked up anything. We do have 2 more teams locked out of the postseason, as both the Atlanta Fire and Philadelphia Stars are now too far back to do anything but tie the 3 clubs at 7-5, and with only 2 conference wins each, the Stars and Fire would lose on the 2nd tiebreaker, so they have no mathematical path to a Wild Card, which really is not surprising for teams that have 9 losses with 4 games left to play.

The theme of Week 13 was without a doubt the intensity of rivalry games. Even when the two teams in question were on two different ends of the success spectrum in 2022 we still got an intense game with a lot of passion and a competitive result. We had some classic rivalry games like the Turnpike Classic between the Generals and Stars, our Game of the Week, and the Beltway Brawl, between the Blitz and Federals. We had some regional rivalries that have had some history to them, like the “Piedmont War” between Charlotte and Atlanta, or the two as-of-yet nameless Central Division rivalry games between Michigan and St. Louis, and between Ohio and Chicago. We even had two new rivalries, just starting to ramp up in intensity, the “Red River Rivalry” between Dallas and Oklahoma, or the “Desert Duel” between Arizona and Las Vegas. All in all we saw 8 different higher-intensity matchups this week, some with surprising results, but all 8 with great effort and great energy. We will focus on those games, but, as always, will bring you all the news of the week, including an injury that seems to be the nail in the coffin for a club that is nowhere near meeting expectations for the season. All that, plus two absolute legends of the USFL are added to our Top 40 players, and we have the 2022 Hall of Fame class, with even more legends of the game being honored. Houston Hobbled Again as Landry Jones Latest to Fall Fans in SE Texas may want to hire a shaman to cleanse NRG Stadium and smudge some sage around Houston Gambler facilities, because this year is beginning to feel like someone put a voodoo curse on the city’s favorite team. The Gamblers have lost 5 of their last 6, still have Carlos Hyde on the injury list, have Colt McCoy on IR, and now appear to have lost their 2nd string QB to a season-ending injury as well. If that is not the sign of an evil eye curse, then what is? Landry Jones, getting his first start after the loss of Colt McCoy to a fractured tibia, survived the entire game, but was clearly limping through the entire 4th quarter. His drop back was affected, his ability to deliver the ball or adjust to pressure, and while Ted Cottrell did not bring in Kellen Clemons, to the surprise of the game’s announcers, it was clear that Jones was struggling. It was not until Monday morning that we found out why, Late in the 3rd quarter Jones suffered a partial tear in the quad muscle of his right thigh. While no one can speculate whether it began as a strain and became a tear with Jones continuing to play, what is now known is that the tear is significant and will require surgery. That surgery, scheduled for this weekend, means that Jones will be joining McCoy on the injured reserve, leaving Houston with only their 3rd string QB, Kellen Clemons, and recently signed journeyman Jeff Driskel at QB. It also, by any assessment, means the end of any hopes for a rebound for the struggling Gamblers. Houston, which had been the favorite to win the division during the preseason, now sits at 5-7, sharing the basement of the division with the New Orleans Breakers. Down to a 3rd string QB and with no solid word on when Carlos Hyde will be able to return, the prospects seem very good that the Gamblers will finish the year in 5th place in the division. They have 4 games left, including a matchup with the Breakers this week, with the winner crawling out of the basement. They then face the 9-3 Stallions in Birmingham, host the 8-4 Dragons, and finish the year in Washington to face the Federals. It should be expected that the Gamblers will be the underdog in each of those games, and with 4 consecutive losses already, it would be no shock to see them finish the year at 5-11. That is a long way from where the Gamblers, and Gambler Nation, expected this team to finish in 2022. Call it a curse, a whammy, a series of unfortunate injuries, or just bad luck, the 2022 Gamblers are not getting the season they planned for, and Coach Cotrell’s first year at the helm is not the introduction to the top job that any coach wants. TAMPA BAY BANDITS 35 NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 32 OVERTIME With so many great divisional rivalry games this week, it may seem a bit odd that our chosen GOTW is not a battle of long-time rivals. Not to say that these two teams do not have a long history, since it was the Boston Breakers visiting Tampa Bay for the first game in Bandit history back in 1983, but the two have not exactly been an annual grudge match, facing each other only 20 times in 40 years of USFL football. Being in different divisions, and even different conferences for a short stint, will do that. But, even two teams not very familiar with each other can still put together a great game, and that is exactly what happened in this matchup of two of the league’s most dangerous offenses. The Friday night game on ESPN pitted two of the league’s best receiver groups as Breakers Jordy Nelson, Justin Jefferson, Coby Fleener and Dawson Knox hosted Bandits Dez Bryant, Ryan Grant, Jordan Cameron, and Deebo Samuel. With those kinds of targets, it is no surprise that the two passing games put up a combined 817 passing yards, and that both QBs finished the week 2nd and 3rd in the league in passing yards (both trailing only Cam Newton). Dak Prescott finished 23 of 29 for 392 yards and 3 touchdowns. His rival, Geno Smith of New Orleans, went 18 of 30 for 425 yards and 3 scores of his own. The game saw a 32-yard strike, a 55-yarder, and, to top them all, a 75-yarder. Yet, with all the fireworks and an ever-changing scoreboard, this game would not be decided in regulation, a late field goal sent it to overtime, where a winner was finally decided. Believe it or not, this game, which saw the two teams combine for 67 total points, started with a scoreless first quarter, though not one without drama. After a slow initial start, New Orleans was driving late in the quarter, but a deep shot to Jordy Nelson found the hands of Jalen Ramsey instead, producing the first turnover of the game and a kickstart to what would become a scoring festival. Tampa Bay took the turnover, drove 64 yards in 7 plays and capped off their drive with a short Prescott to Bryant TD to open scoring in the game. New Orleans would need only 55 seconds to respond. After getting the ball at their own 19 after the kickoff, they ran DeMarco Murray into the Bandit line twice, producing a 3rd and 4 on the 25. Rather than throw the ball underneath to Fleener on the 3rd down play, Smith pumped, then turned to the sideline and found Justin Jefferson behind the Bandit coverage. Smith connected with the speedy receiver and Jefferson was off to the races, 75 yards downfield for the equalizer. The two offenses were off and running. The 2nd quarter would not see another TD, but the Bandits managed to put up 3 more field goals, thanks in part to a second Geno Smith turnover, this time a tipped ball at the line that was brought in for a 2nd pick. That allowed the Bandits to take a 9-point lead into the half at 16-7, but there was no doubt in the stadium that the lead would not hold. When the Breakers received the 2nd half kickoff, they wasted no time getting the ball into Bandit territory. A 38-yard completion from Smith to Fleener, paired with a nice run from Murray got them down to the Tampa Bay 10, but they would advance no further and were forced to settle for a Bullock field goal to drop the Bandit lead to 6. After forcing a punt with an Ezekiel Ansah sack of Prescott on 3rd and 7, the Breakers got the ball back and again made short work of the Bandit defense. New Orleans marched 66 yards in 11 plays, using Murray frequently (he would finish with 93 yards on the day) and giving him the honor of returning the lead to the Breakers with a TD run from short range. The PAT made it 17-16 Breakers, but with 1:39 left in the quarter, the scoring was not finished. It would take only 2 plays for the Bandits to reclaim the lead. After a very nice kickoff return from HB Matt Breida, put the ball on the Bandit 40, they got 5 yards from Dalvin Cook on 1st down and then went for it all, with Ryan Grant beating CB Xavier Crawford with a double move before hauling in the Prescott deep ball, producing a 55-yard touchdown that had Tampa Bay on top once again. The 2-point try failed, so the Bandits led 22-17 when the quarter wound down and the teams switched sides. Again, the quick strike would be the story, with New Orleans needing only 2:25 to move the ball 80 yards and into the endzone once again. Geno Smith would go only 2 for 5 on the drive, but the two both mattered, the first a 49-yard swing pass to Murray, and the second an 18-yard touchdown throw to TE Coby Fleener. The Breaker 2-pointer was good, giving New Orleans a 25-22 lead with 12:35 remaining in the game. That Breaker score inspired the club, who shut down Tampa Bay for a rare 3-and-out on the Bandits’ next possession. Now, with the full voice of the Super Dome crowd behind them, the Breakers again made short work of the Bandit defensive backfield, with Smith connecting with Dawson Knox, Fleener, and Jordy Nelson on the drive. The Nelson catch was a deep post pattern that initially was ruled down at the 1, but when replay showed that the talented Breaker receiver “surfed” across the body of his tackler before going to the turf in the endzone, the ref raised his arms and the TD was called. The Breakers had a 10-point lead, 32-22, with 9:47 left to play. But you don’t win back-to-back titles by letting close games slip away, and the Bandits were not giving up on this game. They opened their next drive with 3 consecutive Prescott completions, moving the ball from their own 20 to the Breaker 49. Five plays later, they had cut the Breaker lead to 3, with Prescott finding TE Jordan Cameron for a red zone touchdown to make the score 32-29. With 4:29 left on the clock, they needed a stop on defense. The Bandits would get exactly what they wanted when, on a simple 1st and 10 run from their own 33, the Breakers nearly gave the ball away. On an outside run, DE Brian Burns caught the left arm of DeMarco Murray, popping the ball out around the hashmark. Players scrambled to recover it but a misstep by LB Devon Kennard caused him to boot the ball towards the sideline, it bounced off a Breaker player and out of bounds. The play was a loss of 7, but not a turnover. New Orleans would have 2 more plays to kill some clock, but after a 3rd and 11 run went for only 2 yards, they had to punt the ball back to the Bandits with 1:17 left on the clock. Dak Prescott and the Bandits knew that to score a winning TD would be tough, with no timeouts and 66 yards to go, but getting the ball in range for Harrison Butker was possible. They used the sideline, forcing the Breaker defenders to play outside, then Prescott found Murray over the middle for a 17-yard gain that had them in field goal range. After spiking the ball, Tampa Bay advanced it with two quick throws to the sideline, giving Butker a very makeable 37-yard attempt to tie the game as time expired. Butker’s kick was good and the Bandits prepared for overtime. The extra period would produce 3 drives, the first by both teams stymied by dropped passes, both makeable but not easy catches on third down. When Tampa Bay got the ball back for a 2nd time, they focused on making 3rd down as easy as possible. On their game-winning drive, they faced third and 3, third and 1, and 3rd and 4, with the first two made, and the final one producing an inside run to place the ball for Butker to come out again. The Bandit kicker had a straight shot at the goalposts and put the ball through to extend Tampa Bay’s win streak to 6 games and send New Orleans 2 games below .500. For neutral observers it was a fun game to watch, full of big plays and big moments. For the Bandits it was a test, and one they passed by fighting until the last minute and never doubting their ability to pull the game out. That is the type of mental toughness that helped Tampa Bay win 2 titles, and helped to set them up for a run at a 3rd. NEW JERSEY 37 PHILADELPHIA 35 We love a good rivalry game, and this one was a beaut. We had Carson Wentz throwing for 4 scores, Victor Cruz and Muhamed Sanu both over 100 yards, with Teddy B. throwing for 398, and we had a game that was not decided until the clock struck double zeroes. It was a back-and-forth affair that saw each team score at least once in every quarter. New Jersey went ahead early in the 3rd and held their lead, but it was never easy as every time they put up points, Philadelphia replied, The final difference between the two teams was a 1st quarter safety when Yetur Gross-Matos sacked Wentz in the Philly endzone. Without that score, this would have been overtime. POTG: Generals’ QB Teddy Bridgewater: 24/38, 398 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int BALTIMORE 24 WASHINGTON 34 Another NE Division clash of longstanding rivals as the Feds knock Baltimore out of first with a big win at home. Washington got 97 yards and a TD from Travis Etienne, 3 Keenan Allen TD receptions, and 2 picks of Jake Locker to pull this one out despite 113 yards from Josh Jacobs. Allen, in particular, was deadly in this game, nabbing 3 touchdowns all from within the 10-yard line. The lose ties Baltimore with the Generals, who take over 1st on a tiebreaker, while Washington pulls within 1 game of .500. POTG: Feds’ WR Keenan Allen: 6 Rec, 61 Yds, 3 TD ORLANDO 24 PITTSBURGH 21 The Renegades thought they had this one won, leading 24-3 at the half, but a furious 2nd half from the Maulers almost pulled them all the way back. They got a Pickett to Gronkowski TD with 2:18 to go, held Orlando and got the ball back with 39 seconds, but just could not get in range for Brandon Aubrey. The star for Orlando was, MLB Clay Matthews, who finished with 10 tackles in the game, including a huge one on Pittsburgh’s final drive, preventing the Maulers from reaching field goal range. POTG: Renegade MLB Clay Matthews: 10 Tck, 1 TFL HOUSTON 3 LOS ANGELES 10 Landry Jones made it through the game but was clearly not 100%, diagnosed post-game with a season-ending tear to his left quad. Hobbled, he went 10 of 20, and got little help from his run game as Houston put up only 47 yards rushing. The Gamblers blitzed Andy Dalton relentlessly, producing 9 sacks, but Dalton’s 4th quarter TD toss to Hollywood Brown proved enough to win the game for the Express, who now step up to an 8-4 mark. POTG: LA wideout Hollywood Brown: 4 Rec, 92 Yds, 1 TD MEMPHIS 17 OAKLAND 20 Down 17-14 at the half, Oakland’s D stepped up in the 2nd half, shutting out the Showboats. The offense did just enough to get the W, with two Roberto Aguayo field goals to pull out the home win and return Oakland to .500. Bryce Love was the star for the Invader offense, still subbing for Christian McCaffrey, Love rushed for 123 on 24 carries. POTG: Oakland HB Bryce Love: 24 Att, 123 Yds DALLAS 35 OKLAHOMA 28 Jalen Hurts did all he could, rushing for 105 and 2 TDs and throwing for 229 and 2 more, but it proved again to be too little as Justin Herbert threw for 5 scores, connecting with WR Courtland Sutton for 3 as Dallas improves their record to 6-6 with a solid road win in the division. The Roughnecks were helped by 3 Oklahoma turnovers and 5 penalties as they came back from a 21-7 deficit and took the win with 1:04 to play on Sutton’s 3rd TD catch. POTG: Dallas WR Courtland Sutton: 9 Rec, 77 Yds, 3 TD ARIZONA 23 LAS VEGAS 30 A stunning upset at Wynn Arena as Gardner Minshew went 27 of 32, throwing for 3 scores to help Las Vegas shock the Wranglers. The Viper D sacked Ryan Nassib 6 times, held Ka’Deem Carey and Tyler Allgeier to a combined 47 yards rushing, and limited the Wranglers to only 8 first downs on the day in a surprising, but very welcome defensive gem at home. POTG: Viper QB Gardner Minshew: 27/32, 243 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int BIRMINGHAM 35 SAN ANTONIO 28 A classic USFL shootout that turned into a showcase for Birmingham QB Cam Newton. Newton threw for 326 yards and a score, rushed for 128 more, with 3 rushing TDs, and held off a very game Gunslinger squad who saw Raheem Mostert rush for 143 yards on the day. The score was 28-28 in the 4th, with San Antonio looking to go ahead, when Joe Flacco was picked off in the red zone, producing a 14-point swing as Cam Newton burned the San Antonio defense for his third rushing TD of the day, the game winner. POTG: Stallion QB Cam Newton: 11/15, 326 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Int, 9 Att, 128 Yds, 3 TD JACKSONVILLE 14 NEW ENGLAND 31 The Steamrollers got the win they needed, halting their losing streak at 4 games and returning to .500 by thrashing the Jacksonville Bulls. T. J. Yeldon rushed for 2 scores, Doug Baldwin had one through the air, and Junior Galette returned a Trevor Lawrence pick for a score as New England came together and got their first win in a month. POTG: Steamroller DE Tashawn Bower: 5 Tck, 1 TFL, 3 Sck ATLANTA 27 CHARLOTTE 33 OVERTIME We got overtime in Charlotte as the Monarchs got a late field goal to tie the game and send it to extra time, where Calvin Ridley caught the game winner from Paxton Lynch. Lynch went 32 of 43 for 255 yards and 3 Charlotte scores as the Monarchs get their 5th win of the season. Kyler Murray, in defeat, had his best game since coming over from LA, throwing for 315 yards, with 3 TDs, but it was just not enough as Charlotte gets the overtime victory at home. POTG: Charlotte HB Phillip Lindsay: 24 Att, 114 Yds, 3 Rec, 13 Yds, 1 TD DENVER 17 SAN DIEGO 20 Denver seems to live to get close and just barely lose this year, as they drop to 4-8 after another tough loss. This one was all San Diego in the 1st 3 quarters, building up a 20-3 lead before Josh Allen hit on two 4th quarter touchdowns to make it a contest. Allen continues to get beat up behind a porous line, sacked 7 times in this one. San Diego gets their 4th win in a row and is in serious contention for a playoff spot at 6-6. POTG: San Diego HB Charles Sims: 19 Att, 82 Yds, 1 TD, 2 Rec, 63 Yds PORTLAND 29 SEATTLE 34 The Dragons and the Stags put together a really entertaining game at Lumen Field, and in the end the homestanding Dragons pulled out the win with three 4th quarter TDs, including a Quandre Diggs 34-yard pick six. Portland had built up a 23-13 lead over three quarters, thanks to 108 yards from Javonte Willams, but the pick-six, paired TD runs from Moreno and Smallwood, reversed the script and got Seattle the win. POTG: Seattle HB Knowshon Moreno: 22 Att, 67 Yds, 2 TD ST. LOUIS 37 MICHIGAN 27 Lamar Jackson rushed for 210 yards, including a 61-yard TD in the first and another long TD scramble in the 2nd quarter. Michigan was still in it, however, down only 24-20 after three quarters, but after St. Louis added 2 field goals to expand the lead to 30-20, Kirk Cousins pressed, and that led to a pick-six for Deionte Thompson, putting the game away for the Skyhawks. POTG: St. Louis QB Lamar Jackson: 10/21, 173 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Int, 20 Att, 210 Yds, 2 TD CHICAGO 20 OHIO 17 A late field Fields-to-Mitchell TD got Ohio within 3 in the final 2 minutes, but the Glory could not recover the onside kick and Chicago held on to win their 10th and become the first team to clinch a playoff berth. Ohio’s run game was a disaster in this one, with the Chicago D holding them to only 13 yards total. The defense contained Fields, who rushed for only 8 yards and completely shut down Kenneth Walker, who averaged only 0.8 YPC on the day. POTG: Chicago DE Jason Pierre-Paul: 3 Tck, 1 TFL, 1 Sck, 1 FR Newton, Jackson, & Hurts Showing Off in Week 13 If you were still on the fence between a traditional view of the QB position as a pocket passer who leaves the running up to the halfbacks or a new style of play that asks the quarterback position to option between the run and the pass, well, this weekend in the USFL may have just closed down the debate. Performances from some of the league’s best dual-threat quarterbacks made about as convincing a case for the Run-Pass Option as could be made, and while there is always room for a pure passer, it seems undeniable that the QB of the future will be one capable of extending plays, escaping the pocket, and even more importantly, using the run as a legitimate weapon. Using the run as a primary tool of his arsenal is certainly nothing new to Birmingham quarterback Cam Newton. The former Auburn star has been at this for a while, rushing for over 500 yards in 5 of the past 7 seasons, but this year Coach Haley seems to have Newton more comfortable than ever with choosing to use his legs. With 11 rushing touchdowns and a 5.2 YPC average, Newton ranks among the best rushers in the game, but he is also using the threat of the run to open up the passing game, with no better example than this week’s win over division rival San Antonio. Newton shares POTW honors this week because he was both an incredibly devastating runner, rushing the ball 9 times for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a 75-yard monstrosity of a run that proved to be the game winner, while also proving that he could have a deft and dangerous touch passing the ball, throwing for 326 yards against a pretty solid San Antonio defense. Those kinds of numbers are hard to deny when it comes time to look at MVP votes or the value of a running quarterback. But Newton was not alone this week as a model for how to utilize the dual threat QB. Coach Brian Schottenheimer has Lamar Jackson using the RPO style of offense in ways his predecessors in St. Louis failed to accomplish. The new philosophy and the maturation of Jackson were also evident this week when the Skyhawks took on Michigan. While Jackson is not quite as savvy in the passing game as Newton, with more modest numbers this week (10 of 21 for 173 yards and 1 TD), as a rusher he is proving he can make plays from anywhere on the field, rushing the ball 20 times for 210 yards, including 2 touchdown runs, one of 61-yards. And when needed, he can get the ball down the field as well, evident in a pair of deep balls that included a 62-yard touchdown toss. The focus on the dual threat QB does not end with these two examples. Oklahoma feels they have found their future in OU and Alabama product Jalen Hurts. After rushing for only 4 yards in his rookie campaign, and a modest 225 last year, Coach Stoops has joined in on the RPO wave, evident in Hurts’s 2022 numbers, his 590 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns so far this season showing the change of philosophy. This week was another showcase of Hurts’s skills, though once again Oklahoma failed to back up their QB and fell to Dallas 38-35. Hurts went 19 of 31 for 229 yards and 2 TDs as a passer, but it was his 105 yards and 2 touchdowns as a rusher that got the Outlaw faithful excited and helped keep the Outlaws in this game. While the USFL has always produced dual-threat quarterbacks, from Doug Flutie, Reggie Collier and Walt Lewis in the early years through Jake Plummer and now Newton, Jackson, Hurts, and others, there has been no era where the dual threat was as threatening. The RPO Offense is here, and if this week’s results are any indication, it is not going away any time soon. Big Numbers from Unexpected Sources The huge offensive numbers put up by RPO quarterbacks were not the only big numbers this week. Over 15 games the defenses were definitely on their back heels all week as the USFL turned outright offensive in this week’s actions. And what is more fascinating is that it was not always the usual suspects, the league leaders or superstar players who had huge games. This was a week for the undervalued and unheralded to step up and make huge contributions, and there were many. Let’s start with 100-yard rushers. How about 123 yards on 24 carries from Christian McCaffrey’s stand in, Bryce Love. Love’s contribution was a huge factor in Oakland’s 20-17 victory over visiting Memphis. With McCaffrey nearing a return, the Invaders are now feeling like they have a 1-2 punch that could help them make a run at a playoff spot. Up the coast in Portland 2nd year back Javonte Williams went for 108 and 2 touchdowns, helping the Stags put a scare into the Seattle Dragons, that is until a 21-point 4th quarter gave Seattle the win. Williams has been improving slowly over his first two years, but is now beginning to show signs that he could be a true lead back in this league. In San Antonio it was backup Raheem Mostert , a true speedster who has had limited opportunities this year behind Melvin Gordon, who stepped up with a huge game, rushing for 143 yards after Gordon tweaked his ankle. It is Mostert’s best game by far, and one that may well force Coach Landry to consider giving the speedy back more opportunities. Finally, Charlotte is finding in former Denver Gold back Phillip Lindsay , just the kind of effort and production they were hoping for, with the 5th year back putting up 114 yards and helping the Monarchs upend Atlanta to move to 5-7. Since coming to Charlotte in Week 7, Lindsay has rushed for 520 yards, averaging nearly 90 yards per game, a far cry from his early season results with the Gold. This week’s performance marked his first 100-yard game of the season and his first as a Monarch. But it was not all about backs this week, this is the USFL after all, and that means we also got some surprisingly strong receiving games from the wideouts and a few tight ends as well, and not exclusively the big name receivers we all expect to put up 100 yards per outing. In Jacksonville, NFL import Christian Kirk recorded his first 100-yard outing of the season, bringing in 4 passes for 112 yards. New Jersey got a huge game from Victor Cruz , who had been struggling in recent weeks with a low point being a 2 reception, 15 yard game against New England. Against the Stars this week the numbers were far better, 5 receptions for 141 yards and a long TD catch and run to help the Generals get the W in a 37-35 shootout. And in Tampa Bay, with Ryan Grant a bit dinged up, it was TE Cameron Jordan coming through in a big way. The Bandit receiver brought in 5 Prescott passes for 134 yards and a score, including a 49-yarder and a 33-yarder along with his red zone score. It was a week of big scores, high octane offense, and some surprisingly big performances across the league, the kind of week that reaffirms the USFL as a wide open game where at any time a player can get hot, make plays, and rack up big numbers, the kind of game fans love. Congratulations to the Chicago Machine, the first USFL team to clinch a playoff spot in 2022. The Machine are not done yet, with both the division title and the 1 seed still in play, but they sit at 11-1 and are in the catbird seat in the west, hoping to make the Western Conference playoffs run through Soldier Field. And while a playoff road game in the Windy City is perhaps not as intimidating in June or July as it would be for NFL teams showing up in January, it will be no easy task to get past the Machine in their own stadium if they can win the 1 seed. Tampa Bay sits at 10-2 after their exciting overtime win in New Orleans, but they are only 3 games up on the 5th, 6th, and 7th seeded teams, which means that they will need a win and some help next week to wrap up their playoff bid, and, if they can get an Orlando loss, possibly a division title as well. Arizona is also in a position to possibly wrap up the division this weekend, if they can get a win over Washington, and get some help from Chicago, who host Dallas, they too can lock up a division crown in Week 14. For others it will not come this week, with Seatle and LA both locked up at 8-4, new Jersey and Baltimore even at 7-5, and Birmingham holding only a 1-game advantage over upstart San Antonio, with Memphis still in the mix as well. As for the lower end of the standings, we saw two more teams officially eliminated from contention this week. Both Philadelphia and Atlanta could reach 7 wins with a 4-game win streak, but even in 2 of the 3 current 7-5 teams lost all 4 games, the tiebreakers would still break in favor of any one of them (Memphis, Orlando or Baltimore), which means that the Stars and Fire are mathematically eliminated even if they did reach 7-9 and form a cluster with current 7-win teams. So, we now have 4 teams out, 1 in, and 25 still in play with 4 games left on the schedule. Houston will be without not only QB Landry Jones, but DT Nick Fairley for the foreseeable future. And while not nearly as severe, Chicago has to be worried about this week’s game, with 3 starting defenders likely sidelined, CB Josh Norman with a shoulder injury, LB Kevin Minter with a nerve issue in his neck, and DE Ifeadi Odenigbo with a concussion. That is three starters from the league’s best defense, meaning that this is a week when Chicago may be vulnerable. One last injury to highlight, Tampa Bay is not going to put center Frank Ragnow on IR, but he is not likely to return until at least the 2nd round of the playoffs, so clearly the Bandits are hoping they are well on their way to another Summer Bowl and will be having their center rejoin them deep in the playoffs. OUT QB Landry Jones HOU Torn Quad IR DT Levi Onwuzurike BAL Groin Tear IR WR Geronimo Allison MEM Back IR DT Nick Fairley HOU Broken Wrist IR C Frank Ragnow TBY Stress Fracture 4-6 Weeks CB Josh Norman CHI Shoulder 1-2 Weeks LB Kevin Minter CHI Neck 1-2 Weeks DOUBTFUL DT Quinnen Williams WSH Back G Connor McGovern BAL Ribs DE Ifeadi Odenigbo CHI Concussion DT Vincent Taylor OKL Wrist CB Rashaan Gaulden HOU Concussion LB Bobby Wagner OAK Knee QUESTIONABLE WR Golden Tate DEN Miniscus WR Austin Proehl CHA Knee DE Vinny Curry OAK Concussion FS Tyree Gillespie STL Scratched cornea DT Raekwon Davis POR Tendinitis Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Announced The expanded Hall of Fame Class, in recognition of the USFL’s 40th season gives us not 6 new inductees, but 8, including the new Contributor category and a long overdue introduction of a special teamer to the Hall. The Class of 2025 includes 2 wideouts, one in his first year of eligibility, two pass rushers, two offensive lineman, only the 2nd league owner to join the hall, and the first USFL punter to make the Hall. It is a group that spans the full length of USFL history, from the league’s first season to the retiree class of 2017. It is also a group that may produce one of the most engaging enshrinement speeches ever, as Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, ever the showman, is sure to entertain as he takes his place in Canton. Here, along with the exhuberant 85 is the class of 2022, the 28th USFL Hall of Fame Class in the USFL’s 40th Season. WR Chad Johnson (OHIO 2000-02, BOS 2003-11, LV/SD 2012-17) The only 1st Year nominee to the Hall this year, Chad Johnson played 17 seasons, for 3 teams, with 2 different names (who could forget his ‘Chad Ochocinco” phase). He was more than an outstanding player, he was a phenomenon, known as much for his off-field and on-field antics as for his outstanding play. The record books demonstrate his skill--1,128 catches, 21,047 yards, 157 touchdowns, and 12 All-USFL appearances--they only tell half the story. Yes, Johnson retired as a Top 5 receiver in yardage (2nd only to Joey Galloway) and TDs (3rd behind Galloway and Truvillion), what we remember most is the extreme extrovert, the stunts and gimmicks, and the sheer joy of how he played the game. Who can forget the time he gave CPR to the football after a score? Or the time he donned a sombrero and sarape after another? How about the famous River Dance jig after his 3rd touchdown on an opening weekend on St. Patrick’s Day? Or, late in his career, when he scored once again, walked to the sideline and donned a Hall of Fame jacket, as if to say “this is already mine”. Well, now it is, officially. C Jeff Faine (MGN 2003-16) Perhaps the exact opposite of “Ochocinco” in personality, Jeff Faine was the ultimate team player, never wanting to take credit for the success of his line or his team, Faine played 14 seasons with the Michigan Panthers, locking down the pivot on the O-line and helping the Panthers make 8 playoff appearances, 3 division titles and a league championship in 2008. Faine enters the Hall in his 2nd year of eligibility, becoming only the 3rd center to don the yellow jacket from the USFL’s 40 seasons. Faine joins Mike Baab and Jeff Saturday in the Hall, representing the Panthers as their 13th Hall of Famer, standing proudly along Panther legends like Anthony Carter, John Corker, Bobby Hebert, and Hines Ward. DE Reynaldo Wynn (NJ 2008, TEX/OKL 2009-16) Ask Wynn what drove his insatiable hunger on the field and he will tell you that it was the trade from New Jersey to Texas after only 1 season in the pros. Wynn felt that the Generals had given up on him despite an 11-sack rookie year. The reality is more complex than that, but the result was a motivated, some would say angry, Reynaldo Wynn playing 8 seasons with the Outlaws, racking up double digit sacks every season, and becoming perhaps the best dual-use edge rusher of his generation. Wynn’s 9-season career means he is not going to be among the all-time greats in sack totals, but his average of 15.2 sacks per season is impressive, and when you consider how he played the run as well, with every 1 of 5 tackles he made being a Tackle For Loss, and you can understand why the one-time General, and lifelong Outlaw has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his 2nd year of eligibility. DE Justin Smith (LA 2001-04, TEX 2005, OAK 2006-15) Another edge rusher, undervalued by fans, but not by his coaches and not by opposing tackles, Justin Smith racked up 208 sacks, 609 tackles, 128 TFL, and 34 forced fumbles in his 14-year career. Smith played for 3 teams, but had his best years in Oakland, where he had a run of 9 consecutive 10-sack seasons, including his career peak of 22 in 2012. Smith was named All-USFL in his rookie campaign in LA, after racking up 14 sacks for the Express, and would win the honor twice with the Invaders. Smith waited 3 years to hear his name called and his spot in Canton assured, but he now joins a murderer’s row of edge rushers that stretch all the way back to the Class of 1995, the Hall’s first USFL Class, and sack specialist Junior Ah-You. WR Donald Driver (ORL 1999-2002, CHI 2003-12, NFL 2013-2015) Never the loudest player on the field, or the flashiest, but always a threat and always a target who would find his way open, Donald Driver enters the Hall in his 4th year of eligibility. Ranked 7th all-time with 1,186 receptions, Driver had 14,165 yards receiving and 88 touchdowns for the Renegades and Chicago Machine before finishing his career in the NFL. Driver was only recognized for All-USFL honors twice, but he shares with many Hall of Famers a championship ring, having won a title in 2001 with Orlando. G Duval Love (JAX 1985-98): Legacy The first of two legacy selections in the expanded 40th Year Class, Duval Love should not have had to wait this long to be recognized. But, when you play for a team that has a history of struggles and no league championship in 38 seasons, it is possible to be overlooked unfairly. Love certainly falls into that category. A devastating run blocker and one of the best pass protectors to ever don a USFL jersey, Duval Love was a 4-time All USFL player at guard and now becomes only the 2nd full-time offensive guard after Gary Zimmerman to make the Hall from the USFL. P Sean Landeta (PHI 1983-91): Legacy We had a feeling that the legacy committee would realize that having absolutely no punters in the Hall was a bad look. They used their additional pick this year to remedy that situation, adding the obvious choice to become the first punter to join the Hall and the second across both pro leagues behind former Raider Ray Guy. Sean Landeta actually could be a dual-league selection, playing 10 USFL seasons (beginning with the league’s founding in 1983) and another 14 in the NFL with 8 different teams. But despite his NFL wanderings, Landeta will always be remembered as a member of the Philadelphia Stars and their 1985 and 1987 title teams. Myles Tannenbaum (PHI 1983-2010): Contributor We cannot mention the Philadelphia Stars without recognizing the career of Stars’ owner Myles Tannenbaum. An early believer not only in the USFL, but in the City of Philadelphia as a community that would embrace the USFL, Tannenbaum was right on both accounts. His early Stars teams were among the early success stories of the USFL, not only on the field, but in the box office and the public perception game. His first Stars team, filled with former Penn Staters and an undervalued HB out of North Carolina, went 12-4. Two years later, that team, and Kelvin Bryant, would win their first league title. They would appear in the title game in both of the next 2 years, winning a 2nd title in 1987. In 1994 they would earn their 3rd and by the time he stepped away from team leadership in 2010, they would make 2 more Summer Bowls. Tannenbaum was an influential leader in the debate about a spring vs. fall schedule, in the NFL suit that helped buoy the league in the 1980’s, and in the eventual expansion of the USFL’s profile to become the nation’s 2nd most successful sports league, proving that the country’s love of football as a year-round sport. With the league’s new Contributor category, there is no doubt that the selection of Tannenbaum to become the 2nd owner enshrined as a USFL giant, behind only Bandit owner John Bassett, is a well-earned honor. Top 40 Players in USFL’s 40 Seasons: 5-6 We are getting close to the end of our 40 Greatest ranking, with only 2 more weeks to go after today. So it is a bit obvious to say that this week’s new entrants are legendary players. Everyone in the Top 10 is a household name and a highly decorated USFL star. What we can say is that both of our new reveals today are the greatest at their position in USFL history, two defenders who terrorized opponents for well over a decade, and both Hall of Famers with no shortage of records and recognition. 6) LB Brian Urlacher (2000-2016) The all-time leading tackler in USFL history, with 1,904 tackles in 17 seasons, Brian Urlacher was a college safety who bulked up and became the epitome of a USFL middle linebacker. Able to stuff the run but also hold his own in coverage against speedy inside receivers and box-out tight ends, Urlacher never came off the field. He started 242 of 244 games on the roster for the Chicago Machine, averaging 112 tackles per season, had 36 sacks, 18 picks, and 51 forced fumbles. But perhaps the biggest impact of Urlacher was in the evolution of the MLB position because it was Urlacher’s versatility and ability to stay with receivers that made 2-deep safety man-under coverage a staple in USFL defenses. A 10-time All-USFL player who won Defensive Player of the Year 3 times in a 4-year span (2005, 2007, and 2008), while also leading the league in tackles five times in the 2000’s, Urlacher holds the career record, but was never able to hold aloft the John Bassett Trophy, his Machine teams appearing in two Summer Bowls during his tenure, but losing out to upstart Seattle and the Memphis Showboats in those two title games. Despite the lack of team titles, there is no doubt that Urlacher represents the very best of the USFL, a fearless player who was a natural team leader, an outstanding player, and a legendary figure in his franchise’s rich history. 5) DT Jerome Brown (1987-2002) Known lovingly as “Big Jerome”, “Big J”, and “The Big Man” by Federals players and fans, Jerome Brown was known by other names among opposing teams and their offensive line coaches. Names like “game wrecker”, “human wrecking ball”, and “TNT at the NT” all seem appropriate. A 12-time All-USFL performer for the Washington Federals, Jerome Brown was the centerpiece of some of the best defenses ever to take a USFL field. At defensive tackle, Brown could shut down even the best run games, closed down the middle of the field, and force double and triple teams, making life easier for edge rushers who benefitted from his interior dominance. With Brown, like most interior D-linemen, most of the numbers don’t scream at you. 767 tackles, 80 for a loss, those are solid but not eye popping. But how about this one, 119 sacks from the interior line. That is not normal. That is barely human. Brown was a disruptive force inside and a huge reason for the success of the Federals teams of the 90’s including title runs in both 1990 and 1997. For both seasons, Brown was a force to reckon with, and a leader who helped his defensive teammates become a dominant squad. Brown sadly passed far too early, succumbing to injuries from an automobile accident only 2 years after his retirement in 2002. A legend on the field, and a legendary figure of the USFL, Brown is very deservedly the highest ranked DT on our list, and one of the 5 greatest players in USFL history. Four games left, no time for missteps, mistakes, or missed opportunities. Nearly every game will be a high-pressure game, nearly every matchup a chance for someone to move towards post-season football, or a chance to fall out of the race, but, hey, no pressure. It is also a weekend with a lot of games that look like mismatches, which means a chance for a truly shocking result if an underdog can put the pieces together in just the right combination to pull off a huge upset. It starts on Friday night, when Atlanta hosts the 10-2 Tampa Bay Bandits and 1-11 Michigan, already well outside the playoff race, has the Ohio Glory visiting. Can either hard-luck team find the right formula to surprise everyone and upset their division rival? Saturday has more of the same with Orlando heading to Charlotte, where the Monarchs are amazingly still in the mix after showing steady improvement this season. We also have San Diego, a surprising 6-6, hoping to take another step towards national recognition by knocking off Seattle in Seattle. We have Philadelphia headed to Baltimore in a NE Division clash, and we have Oakland in LA for what could be a very high stakes edition of the California Derby. Sunday has 3 divisional games (San Antonio @ Memphis, New Orleans @ Houston, and Denver @ Las Vegas), but perhaps the most intriguing game is in Chicago, where the Machine, having locked up the first USFL playoff spot, have to worry about a letdown as a 6-6 Dallas team comes to town. The Roughnecks are right in the mix with fellow 6-6 clubs in the West, with very possibly only 1 Wild Card spot available for the team that can close out the season with the strongest showing. So, Week 14 is a week where we look for the upset, but we also look at those Wild Card spots and just who is in form to claim one. Fri. 7pm ET Tampa Bay (10-2) @ Atlanta (3-9) NBC Fri. 7pm ET Ohio (6-6) @ Michigan (1-11) ESPN/EFN Sat. 12pm ET New Jersey (7-5) @ Jacksonville (2-10) ABC Sat. 12pm ET Orlando (7-5) @ Charlotte (5-7) FOX Sat. 4pm ET Washington (5-6-1) @ Arizona (9-3) ABC Sat. 4pm ET San Diego (6-6) @ Seattle (8-4) FOX Sat. 8pm ET Philadelphia (3-9) @ Baltimore (7-5) NBC Sat. 8pm ET Oakland (6-6) @ Los Angeles (8-4) ESPN/EFN Sun 12pm ET Birmingham (9-3) @ New England (6-6) ABC Regional Sun 12pm ET Oklahoma (5-6-1) @ Pittsburgh (3-9) ABC Regional Sun 12pm ET San Antonio (8-4) @ Memphis (7-5) FOX Sun 4pm ET Dallas (6-6) @ Chicago (11-1) ABC Sun 4pm ET St. Louis (9-3) @ Portland (3-9) FOX Regional Sun 4pm ET New Orleans (5-7) @ Houston (5-7) FOX Regional Sun 8pm ET Denver (4-8) @ Las Vegas (5-7) EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: As tempting as it is to recognize Calais Campbell one more time, in what most expect is his swan song season, or to give kudos to the one bright spot on the Michigan roster, rookie DE Aiden Hutchinson, this week's POTW is going to the offense, and to Chicago WR Odell Beckham Jr. OBJ came over from the Generals this offseason and has helped turn Chicago into one of the most diversified offenses in the league. Not always getting the spotlight, OBJ has been a solid team player, and this week he got the focus we know he loves. Targeted 8 times by Sam Bradford, he brought in 6 passes for 125 yards and 2 scores. PLAYOFF PICTURE: It is still too soon for us to have any teams with a playoff berth in hand, though Chicago certainly is drawing close with 5 games left to play. A win this week could do it for the Machine. What we do have is the first eliminated team, and for Panther fans it is an embarrassing realization. They have dropped from a perennial contender to the first club out of postseason consideration and the only 1-win team in the league after 12 weeks.

A week with some really fun rivalry games, like Memphis @ Birmingham, Seattle @ Oakland, Ohio @ St. Louis, and Orlando @ Atlanta. It was also a week that saw the 9-1 Wranglers clipped by a road trip to the Atlantic Coast and Baltimore’s M&T Stadium. We got a great game from San Diego QB Mason Rudolph, and a tough season-ending injury for the 2021 MVP as Colt McCoy went down in the same game. We will break it all down for you, starting with a look at the “Chutes and Ladders” nature of the 2022 season, a recap of this week’s games, an update on Colt McCoy and the Gamblers, and a familiar face making himself a menace to opposing quarterbacks once again. All that plus two legends of the USFL get called up to our Top 40 Greatest USFL Players list. It is a week with a lot to report, so let’s get to it.   2022 Proving a Year of Chutes & Ladders Some seasons seem to protect the status quo, like having a USFL champion repeat, or having 10 of the 12 playoff teams from the year before find themselves in the playoffs again. Other seasons are what we call “Chutes & Ladder” seasons, years in which the standings see huge changes from one year to the next, teams climbing the ladder from irrelevance to contention, while others drop off precipitously. 2022 is absolutely shaking out as a Chutes and Ladder season. Here, in our Big Story this week, we look at 4 teams climbing the ladder to a possible 17 th  game or more, and 4 who have started sliding down the chute towards an early draft pick.   Ladder: St. Louis (5-11 to 8-3) With 3 more wins than all of last year, a position 5 games over .500, and still 5 more games to go, the Skyhawks are in great position to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Coach Brian Schottenheimer has found the formula to make Lamar Jackson’s physical gifts part of an effective offense (6 th  in scoring and surprisingly 8 th in passing), while the defense has taken a huge leap up, now ranked 2 nd in the league by allowing only 17.2 points per game. A. J. Epenesa is perhaps the breakout star of 2022, and WR Deionte Johnson is already over 1,000 yards for the season. It is a new day in the “Battledome” as the Skyhawks are flying once again.   Chute: Michigan (10-6 to 1-10) From Conference Champions to first team out of the playoff picture in 2 seasons. That is not a good look, and for the most part it is one no one saw coming. Last year’s 10-6 season was not the best Panther performance in recent years, but still, compared to their current 1-10 debacle, it was a solid year. So, what is going wrong? Well, the offense is averaging only 14.4 points per game despite not being in the lowest third of the league in any other category, but the defense, wow, even more surprising. Ranked 25 th against the run and giving up 24.9 points per game. Not much is going right for Michigan. Throw in a league worst -10 turnover differential and and a 36 of 137 third down conversion rate (only 26.2%) and you can certainly see how their 10-game losing streak is happening.   Ladder: San Antonio (6-10 to 8-3) This preseason we thought San Antonio had a shot at a significant improvement in their 3 rd  season, and the Gunslingers have certainly had one. They are already 2 wins ahead of their 2021 total, with 5 games to play, are sitting at 5 games over .500 and have a share of 1 st place in the division. Joe Flacco is having a great season, with the Gunslingers ranked 3 rd  in passing, averaging 285.6 yards per game. Melvin Gordon has had a solid year and rookie Garrett Wilson could be a lock for Rookie of the Year. In other words, this year is going about as well as anyone in the Alamo City could have hoped.   Chute: Philadelphia (10-6 to 3-8) We did not see this one coming. Philadelphia was solid last year, with Carson Wentz looking like a very good NFL import call and Derrick Henry emerging as one of the league’s best backs. Henry is still getting it done, with 898 yards so far, but little else is working for the Stars this year. They are 27 th  in scoring defense and 22 nd  in scoring offense, and have had losses by 22, 10, 14, and 22 again, which means they are not even staying close in their 8 losses. Even with a perfect 5-game run, they will finish .500 and out of the playoffs, so this is absolutely an unwanted setback for a team that surprised many with a division title last year.   Ladder: Los Angeles (7-8-1 to 7-4) The Express may have finally found themselves an offense to go with their outstanding defense. It took a while, and the 3-team trade that brought Andy Dalton to town, but in their last 3 games they have scored 27, 26, and 27, all well above their average over the first 8 weeks. Combine that with a defense that averages 18 points allowed each week and LA could well be on their way to the division title and a return to the playoffs.   Chute: Pittsburgh (8-8 to 3-8) After an 0-5 start to the year, the Maulers have clearly moved into full-on rebuild mode. They traded away their veteran QB, are going the rest of the way with a rookie at the helm, and are trying to build pieces for a defense that can win them some games. It won’t happen this year, as their 30 th  ranked offense, scoring barely 13 points a game, is not going to produce many wins. They have the worst run game in the USFL and will need to address not only the HB position but the O-line as well this offseason. From playoff hopeful to blowing it all up in less than 8 weeks, that may be a record.   Ladder: Memphis (6-10 to 7-4) This may be more of a rebound than a ladder situation. Memphis was 13-3 in 2020 and last year’s drop to 6-10 was unexpected. We think their current standing, competing for the Southern Division title is right about where they should be. The offense is still not great, 12 th  in scoring, 14 th  in yards per game, but the Rex Ryan defense is keeping them in games and helping them get some short fields to work with.   Chute: Houston (10-6 to 5-6) At 5-6, we would not normally rule out Houston for a late run, but now, with Carlos Hyde still out, with Colt McCoy lost for the season and still trying to sort out one of the league’s worst defenses there is not a lot of hope that Houston can avoid their first losing season since 2013, and maybe their first 10-loss season in over a decade.   MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS 26  BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS 22 Another Southern Division classic in perhaps the best rivalry in spring football (don’t tell folks between Philly and NYC). The Showboat-Stallion game kicked off at 7:12 on Friday night, but there were fans camped out in the parking lot since about 10am, with every imaginable shape and size of grill and smoker ready to go. When kickoff finally arrived, it was standing room only in the 52,000 seat Protective Stadium, with a large Memphis contingent on the NE corner and a lot of scarlet and gold everywhere else.   The fans got what they came for, a nip and tuck game that 4 lead changes in the 2 nd half alone and a last minute touchdown for the win, though a win that did not make the home crowd happy. Stallion Nation watched their man, QB Cam Newton, playing like a true MVP candidate, throwing for 382 yards and 3 touchdowns while also scrambling 5 times for 32 additional yards. Former Crimson Tide standout Henry Ruggs was huge in the game, catching all 3 Newton TD tosses and gaining 124 yards on 6 receptions. They also saw a handful of solid tailback runs, with starter Najee Harris gaining 67 yards on only 6 carries. All in all a very good outing for the Stallion offense against a traditionally tough Rex Ryan defense.   But, the Memphis contingent in the stands had to be happy with their offense as well. Blake Bortles played within himself, made good decisions and threw for 2 scores and 274 yards on 27 of 35 passing. Jameson Crowder had only 2 catches, but both were scores, while Robert Woods put up 98 yards on 9 catches. The run game was also working for the Showboats, with Todd Gurley rushing for 51 on 13 attempts and David Williams adding 24 more on 6 touches.   So, a more offensive-minded game than either coach prefers, but certainly an entertaining one for the rowdy Protective Stadium crowd. And a game that heated up as it progressed into the Alabama night. The showdown started off slowly, as rivalry games often do, with both teams struggling to find the formula to string together first downs. But on Memphis’s 2 nd  possession, they found some plays that worked, a 12-yard Gurley run, a key 3 rd  down toss to Dallas Goedert, and, at the end of a 10-play drive, a short slant to Crowder that went the final 9 yards for the score.   Memphis added another 3 points early in the 2 nd  quarter to take a 10-point lead, but that finally got the Stallion offense sparked. Birmingham had its longest drive of the day in the 2 nd  half of the 2 nd quarter, a 15-play, seven and a half minute drive that produced a Newton to Ruggs 5-yard TD toss on a beautiful short corner route. The Stallions went into the half trailing by 3, but feeling momentum was on their side.   The opening drive of the 2 nd  half would prove them right, with Harris and Isaiah Pead doing just enough to force Memphis into a standard alignment instead of nickel coverage, they got the matchup they wanted, Henry Ruggs in man coverage against Memphis corner Josh Jackson. It was an immediate mismatch and Newton exploited it for a 40-yard strike that put Birmingham up 4 and was the first official lead change of the game. Memphis drew the game back to 1 point with a second Lewis Ward field goal, but as the 4 th  quarter began, Birmingham retained their lead.   Memphis got a break on Birmingham’s first possession of the final period when a catchable ball glanced off the hands of Devonta Smith, allowing Josh Jackson to make amends for his poor coverage of Ruggs earlier. Johnson brought down the “tip drill” ball and gave Memphis possession on the Birmingham 33. It would take 7 plays for Memphis to cash in on the turnover, but they did when David Williams plunged over the line from the 1 to change the lead to 19-14 Memphis. The Showboats went for 2, but failed, giving them a precarious 5-point advantage with 7:54 left to play.   Birmingham responded quickly, with Newton hitting his two tight ends, Hunter Henry and Tre McBride on 3 consecutive plays (Henry, McBride, and Henry) to move from their own 24 to the Memphis 47. After a Harris run of 9 yards and a Newton scramble on 2 nd  and 1, they had a new first down on the 35, then another on the 20. And, on 1 st  and 10 from the 20, they found paydirt, Newton again hitting Ruggs on a corner route, this time against double coverage. The Stallion tandem’s 3 rd  touchdown connection of the day, and a successful 2-point PAT throw to McBride gave Birmingham a 3-point lead with 4:26 on the clock.   But, as we all know, 4 minutes is certainly enough time for a good offense to put together a drive, and on this day Memphis’s offense was playing well. The Showboats started off slowly, using Gurley to push the ball and finding short passes to Goedert and Geronimo Allison, but their pace lulled Birmingham into a rut, a comfort zone of defending short to long instead of cutting off the deep ball first. The Showboats recognized this, and on a 2 nd  and 6 from the Birmingham 45, they used it to their advantage. Jameson Crowder started what looked like a standard slant, but when he drew in the safety, he turned it to a slant-and-go and got the advantage. Bortles hit him in stride and with only open field in front of him. Crowder cruised to the endzone. This time the Showboats went for 1, and when Lewis Ward’s kick went up and through the uprights, the Showboats had a 4-point advantage with 1:54 to play.   Again, 1:54 is certainly enough time to mount a drive, but unlike the Showboats, Birmingham knew that a field goal would not cut it. They needed a 7-point score, and that meant picking up yards in chunks. Memphis knew that too, and that meant bringing pressure. J. J. Watt and Sam Acho would both get to Cam Newton on the drive. Cornerback Mike Williams would deflect away two passes, and suddenly, with 33 seconds left, the Stallions were down to 1 time out and faced a 4 th  and 5. They needed a big play. The call came in, a zone-beating multi-level route combo for Ruggs, Henry, and HB Najee Harris. The choice for Newton was clear, with Henry getting position 7 yards down field, but the throw was not ideal, coming in too low and forcing Henry to try to crouch and roll to the turf to bring it in. The ball bounced off his forearms, up into the air, and down to the turf. Turnover on downs and time for the Memphis section of the stadium to cheer. Birmingham, winners of 7 in a row, had gone down, and Memphis, had picked up a win, putting them 3 games over .500 and only 1 game back of the co-leaders in the South (San Antonio and Birmingham). What is more, with a 4-1 record in the division, Memphis, if they could make up that game, could find themselves in 1 st  place over both the Gunslingers and the Stallions. A huge win for the road team and a tough loss for the full house of Stallion fans on Friday night.   SEATTLE 13  OAKLAND 6 An ugly win for the Dragons, but they will take it, especially in a tough place to play like Oakland (Well, Santa Clara, really). Despite both teams racking up 15 first downs apiece, this was very much a defensive battle. The only TD of the game was a 1-yard run by Moreno set up by a defensive penalty. Trevor Siemian got the win, with 177 yards passing, but it was Richard Sherman, Khalil Mack, and Kamal Martin that gave this win to the visiting Dragons. POTG:  Seattle LB Kamal Martin: 5 Tck, 2 TFL, 1 PDef   ARIZONA 19   BALTIMORE 21 Arizona eked out a win in Denver last week but could not find the same magic this week in Baltimore as Jake Locker hit rookie Christian Watson with 2 TDs and found TE Mike Gesecki for a third. That was barely enough to get the W, but Baltimore will take it. Arizona was down 21-12 until the final 2 minutes, when Ryan Nassib found Robert Tonyan for a score, but the onside kick was recovered by Baltimore and they ended the game with the ball in their hands. POTG:  Blitz QB Jake Locker: 25/34, 245 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int   ORLANDO 16  ATLANTA 14 Another close game, but another win for the Renegades, who now stand above .500 at 6-5, solidly in the playoff mix. This one was all Chris Carson, who averaged 7.2 YPC against the Fire defense, rushing for a season high 130 on the day. Throw in another 2 sacks from Montez Sweat and an 8-tackle, 1-Int game from CB Michael Jackson and you get Orlando victorious once again. POTG:  Renegades’ HB Chris Carson: 18 Att, 130 Yds   MICHIGAN 24  LOS ANGELES 27 The Panthers finally cross the 20-point margin, but it is not enough as they drop their 10 th  in a row. LA gave up Cousins to Bennett TDs on back-to-back drives in the 4 th  but still held on for the home win. QB Andy Dalton could become a very popular figure in the City of Angels if he plays like this every week, throwing for 3 scores with no picks. Behind Dalton, LA built up a 24-3 lead, which was challenged in the 2 nd  half, but with just one more field goal they had enough to improve to 7-4 and hold on to 1 st  place in the division. POTG:  LA quarterback Andy Dalton: 14/27, 210 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   NEW ORLEANS 31   SAN ANTONIO 34 The Breakers cannot catch a break as once again they lose out in a close battle. Geno Smith hit Jordy Nelson for the pair’s 2 nd  TD combo of the day in the 4 th , but that only equalized the score and San Antonio did what it had to, putting up a chip shot field goal with 1:37 left to play, to avoid overtime. Garrett Wilson continues to impress, with 6 catches for 64 yards and a TD while Melvin Gordon rushed for 71 yards on 14 carries for the Gunslingers. With the win, San Antonio is looking solid at 8-3 on the year. POTG:  Gunslinger CB Jaquan Johnson: 7 Tck, 2 PDef, 1 Int   OHIO 7  ST. LOUIS 27 The Skyhawks firmly establish themselves as the 2 nd  team in the Central by thoroughly outperforming the Ohio Glory. It was 24-0 at the half and Ohio did not put any points on the board until the final 30 seconds of action in a thoroughly one-sided game. Lamar Jackson threw for 262 and 3 scores and the defense came close to the shutout but gave up 7 late in garbage time. POTG:  Skyhawk QB Lamar Jackson: 13/15, 262 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int   TAMPA BAY 37  PHILADLEPHIA 15 The Bandits had this one in hand all game long, despite two turnovers, thanks to a defense that sacked Carson Wentz 5 times and held Philadelphia to 249 total yards. Dak Prescott threw for 295 with 2 TDs, and both Deebo Samuel and Dez Bryant went over 100 yards as the Bandits improve to 9-2 and retain their hold on the 1 seed in the East. POTG:  Bandit WR Dez Bryant: 6 Rec, 148 Yds, 1 TD   PORTLAND 7  PITTSBURGH 16 Signs of life in the Steel City as the Mauler defense held the Stags to only 21 yards rushing and 4 of 13 on third down. The Mauler offense still struggled, rushing for only 32 yards themselves, but Kenny Pickett found Brian Quick on a deep 61-yard throw and the D did the rest, giving the Maulers their 3 rd win on the season, sending Portland to an identical 3-8 record. POTG:  Mauler QB Kenny Pickett: 18/29, 196 Yds, 1 TD, 0 Int   JACKSONVILLE 24   CHARLOTTE 25 The Bulls thought they had this one, up 24-9 at the end of 3, and they should have, but Charlotte put up an unanswered 17 points in the 4 th  to steal away the win. Touchdowns from K. J. Hill and Ben Mason got Charlotte to within 2, and a perfectly executed 2-minute drill from Paxton Lynch got the Monarchs in range for a 36-yard game winner at the buzzer. POTG:  Charlotte LT Penei Sewell: 12 Pancake Blocks, 0 Sacks Allowed   OKLAHOMA 17   NEW JERSEY 28 Teddy Bridgewater threw 4 touchdowns to account for New Jersey’s 28 points, hitting 4 different receivers and helping the Generals build a 21-7 and later a 28-10 lead over visiting Oklahoma. Jalen Hurts passed for 230 and rushed for another 67, but he also threw 3 picks, two to MLB Matt Milano as he tried to force the ball to Mark Andrews. It was too much for the Outlaws to overcome on the road. POTG:  General LB Matt Milano: 8 Tck, 2 PDef, 2 Int   DALLAS 24  NEW ENGLAND 21 The Steamrollers seemed to have their act together as both T. J. Yeldon and Breece Hall scored on 3 rd  Quarter TD runs to give New England a 21-17 lead at the end of the 3 rd , but the offense fizzled in the 4 th and Dallas got what they needed when Ryan Tannehill threw a ball right to LB Samson Ebukam, who rumbled to the endzone with a Roughneck caravan for the game winner. Dallas was outgained 345-250 and only converted 3 of 13 third downs, but the big defensive play gave them the road win and sent New England to defeat for the 4 th  straight week. POTG:  Dallas LB Samson Ebukam: 2 PDef, 1 Int, 1 DefTD   HOUSTON 15   SAN DIEGO 24 Any hope Gambler Nation had for a late season surge may have just flown out the window as the Gamblers not only lost to San Diego but lost Colt McCoy for the remainder of the season as their star QB suffered a fractured tibia in the late 1 st  quarter. Landry Jones finished out the game and will now have to finish out the season for the 5-6 Gambles. For San Diego, the win moves them to 5-6, but with a far more positive vibe as Mason Rudolph went 13 of 21 for 244 and threw 3 TDs. POTG:  Thunder WR Chris Givens: 3 Rec, 111 Yds, 1 Td   WASHINGTON 28  LAS VEGAS 25 The Feds get a nice 3-TD game from Jacoby Brissett and a solid defensive performance to edge past the Vipers in Las Vegas. The game was not quite as close as the final score indicates as Washington built up a 28-10 lead before Las Vegas finally started making plays on offense. A late Minshew-to-Dobson TD made it a 3-point game, but the onside kick attempt failed and that was all she wrote for the Viper comeback. POTG:  Washington LB Patrick Queen: 11 Tck, 5 TFL, 1 Sck, 1 FF   CHICAGO 28  DENVER 13  The Gold are getting sick of playing 1-loss teams as the Machine knock them off at Empower Field one week after Arizona did the same. This one was not quite as close as last week, with Chicago scoring 28 unanswered between the 2 nd and 3 rd  quarters, including 2 Bradford-to-Beckham TDs to put Denver out of range. Denver’s shorthanded line had no luck slowing down the Chicago pass rush, with QB Josh Allen sacked 9 times in the game, including 2 each for Arik Armstead and Jason Pierre-Paul. POTG:  Machine WR Odell Beckham Jr: 6 Rec, 123 Yds, 2 TD   Campbell Still Kicking He is 36 years old, in his 15 th  USFL season, and he is not ready to go gently into that good night. Calais Campbell, after 12 consecutive seasons as the USFL sack leader, had to share the title last year, when he ended the season tied atop the leaderboard with his replacement in Orlando, Montez Sweat. This year, with J. J. Watt and A. J. Epenesa getting off to very fast starts, we have not spoken much about Campbell and his performance in Baltimore. But this week, after putting up 4 sacks against a pretty solid Arizona line, we probably should send a bit of attention his way. The 4-sack outburst marks the first time Campbell has recorded more than 2 sacks in any game this season, and yet, despite a drop off in multi-sack games, the big man, the future first-ballot Hall of Famer, is only 4 sacks behind the league leaders, sitting in 6 th  position with 15 sacks. Are we saying he will once again surge to the top of the leaderboard by season’s end? No, not really, but we are also not saying he can’t.   Roughnecks Pour Fuel on the Fire for New England Last week we reported about the sideline scuffle and locker room divisiveness that had been ignited by a 3-game losing streak. This week, as the tally rose to 4 losses in a row, the Dallas Roughnecks simply added fuel to the self-destructive fires within the Steamroller locker room. Playing without both WR Davante Parker and CB Benjamine St. Juste, both sitting out the first game of their 2-week suspension, the Steamrollers were in the game through three quarters, holding a 21-17 lead, but in the final 15 minutes New England fizzled and faded, while Dallas not only took the lead on a pick six of embattled Steamroller QB Ryan Tannehill, but held the Steamroller offense in check time and again. It was the kind of loss that again pushes emotions to the surface, and it was clearly not a happy team heading into the locker room after the final whistle blew. We did not get sideline hysterics this week, but what we all saw was a team that just does not believe in itself. The Steamrollers have a chance to bring back at least a portion of their early season mojo as they face the 2-9 Jacksonville Bulls this week, but if they drop this game, we could again see a lot of finger pointing and back stabbing in what is beginning to look like a roster at war with itself in Foxboro.   Three Man Race for ROTY With 5 games left for all 30 USFL clubs, the race for the Rookie of the Year seems to be down to three men, and, in part, could come down to how their teams perform overall. The men in question are San Antonio receiver Garrett Wilson , Baltimore wideout Christian Watson , and Michigan DE Aiden Hutchinson . Hutchinson’s numbers are impressive, sitting in 5 th  place on the USFL sack board, only 2 sacks behind the league leader. His 17 sacks as a rookie are impressive, and with a shot at 20+ this season, he certainly will be a contender, and yet, with Michigan now in a 10-game losing streak and already eliminated from postseason play, it seems unlikely that even a 20-sack season would bring Hutchinson the ROTY trophy. While it is not an indictment of Hutchinson’s play, the fact that his individual achievements have not helped Michigan escape the worst record in the league will, almost certainly, be a factor in the voting this season.   That reality leaves us with two wideouts. In raw numbers, Wilson seems to have the edge. The San Antonio wideout has 70 receptions to Watson’s 56, he has 274 yards on Watson (975-701) and has produced only 1 fewer touchdowns than his counterpart with the Blitz. But, of course, we need to also watch as both teams battle down the stretch for their overall record and their playoff seeding. Currently, Baltimore sits in 1 st  place in the NE Division with a 7-4 record. San Antonio has a game on the Blitz, sitting at 8-3, and they are also in their divisional race, tied with Birmingham atop the South, bumped only by a difference in conference record. While we think the edge in the ROTY race has to go to Garrett Wilson, based primarily on statistical achievement, a late run from Watson and the Blitz could make this race very tight very quickly.   McCoy Fractures Tibia, Could Miss Final Month A season of struggles for the Houston Gamblers just got a lot tougher as they lose their starting QB, and the 2021 MVP, to a season-ending injury. QB Colt McCoy went down in Saturday’s loss to San Diego, taken down by DE Malik Jackson, with an awkward twisting of his right leg. That twisting produced a fracture in McCoy’s tibia, not a full break, but a bad enough crack that the defending MVP will have to be put on IR and kept off the field for the rest of the season. It is another blow in a season that has already seen HB Carlos Hyde miss 6 games to an MCL injury, with more likely as he remains on the team’s injury list as “Out” for Week 13. Houston, in Hyde’s absence, has lost 4 of 5 and now finds themselves under .500 and looking up at the playoff contenders without their field general available to help them pull out of the downward spiral.   Houston has already made a move to add another QB, bringing back former Gambler Jeff Driskel, who last played a game in 2017, but has been off and on rosters the past 4 seasons. He will be third on the depth chart behind new starter Landry Jones and veteran backup Kellen Clemons. Jones, who has seen action in every game this year due to the fatigue-inducing syndrome that McCoy revealed only weeks ago, will now take over as the starter and will be tasked with trying to reverse the direction of the club, not easy considering Houston has a very tough outing at LA this week, followed by 3 more very tough games against the Breakers, Stallions, and Dragons. Without Hyde, and now, without McCoy, what started out as a very positive year, with Houston opening 3-0 and 4-1 out of the gate, now looks like a season that will be remembered as one of the team’s toughest in recent memory.   Twelve weeks and 11 games in for each team and we still have 29 teams active in the playoff hunt, with none locked in yet and only 1, the 1-10 Panthers, eliminated. Michigan received the dubious honor of being the first team removed from mathematical possibility for a playoff spot with their 10 th consecutive loss this week. Everyone else, including 2-9 Jacksonville, is still mathematically alive, but we expect some will not be able to say the same next week. As far as clinching goes, with 5 games left, the frontrunners to clinch soon have to be 10-1 Chicago, who have a 4.5 game lead over 7 th  place Oklahoma. A win this week and they will lock up no worse than a Wild Card. Arizona has a 3.5 game lead, so they would need a win and an Oklahoma loss to lock up a spot. With only a 3-game lead over 7 th  place New Jersey, as well as 6-5 Orlando within the division, the Bandits will need 2 good weeks to claim a playoff spot. Teams on the edge of elimination start with Jacksonville (4 games behind 6 th  place Orlando) and the 4 teams at 3-8 (Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Portland). A rough week all over, with 5 more players now added to the Injured Reserve, including Colt McCoy. Washington loses 2 to IR in the same week and Memphis’s defense takes a blow with Rakeem Nunes-Roches out for the rest of the year. Tampa Bay could be weakened this week if both Ryan Grant and Jalen Ramsey are not able to go, while Chicago will be without Manti Te’o at least this week, but possibly longer.   OUT FS       Adrian Amos                    WSH     Torn PCL             IR DT          Rakeem Nunes-Roches  MEM     Neck                     IR G            Kenyon Green               LV           Shoulder             IR LB           Anthony Walker Jr       WSH     Torn ACL             IR QB         Colt McCoy                     HOU     Leg Fracture     IR DT          Vincent Taylor             OKL       Wrist                     1-2 Weeks WR         Austin Proehl                  CHA      Knee                     1-2 Weeks LB           Manti Te’o                     CHI        Shoulder             1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL CB          Asante Samuel Jr.           TBY        Pinched Nerve DT          Sheldon Richardson        OHI       Knee LB           Vince Biegel                PIT         Bruised Jaw   QUESTIONABLE DE          Dante Fowler           BIR         Groin WR         Russell Gage                  NOR      Hip G            Dan Feeney                    BAL        Hand HB         Travis Etienne                  WSH     Concussion WR         Nick Toon                         OKL       Concussion WR         Ryan Grant                      TBY        Shoulder                   Third Quarter Power Rankings As we look at our third quarter 1-30 ranking of the USFL clubs, let’s take a moment to celebrate a pretty solid rookie class by highlighting each team’s top 1 st  year performer.   1—Chicago Machine (10-1) HB Rachaad White is leading the team with 515 yards rushing and a 3.8 YPC average.   2—Tampa Bay Bandits (9-2) P Matt Azaiza is averaging 45.7 yards per kick and has placed 14 inside the 20.   3—Arizona Wranglers (9-2) HB Tyler Allgeier has slowed down a bit after a fast start, but is still averaging 4.0 yards per carry and has a team-best 7 rushing touchdowns.   4—Birmingham Stallions (8-3) TE Tre McBride is 4 th  on the team with 30 receptions, good for 304 yards and a lone TD.   5—San Antonio Gunslingers (8-3) WR Garrett Wilson is leading the pack for ROTY with 70 receptions, 975 yards, and 5 TDs for the 3 rd  year Gunslinger franchise.   6—St. Louis Skyhawks (8-3) LB Micah McFadden is 3 rd  on the team with 51 tackles, 5 for a loss.   7—Baltimore Blitz (7-4) WR Christian Watson has to be another ROTY contender with 56 catches, 701 yards, and 6 TDs, all team best for the resurgent Blitz offense.   8—Seattle Dragons (7-4) DT Jordan Davis has seen more snaps in rotation lately and has 2 sacks in the past 4 games.   9—Los Angeles Express (7-4) DT Zachary Carter is still playing behind Chris Jones and Linval Joseph, but is seeing more snaps on 1 st  and 2 nd  down in the past month.   10—Memphis Showboats (7-4) CB Alonte Taylor has played sparingly but has picked up his first pro pick and pro sack in recent weeks.   11—Orlando Renegades (6-5) C Luke Fonner has no starts at center, but is seeing some plays in relief for Ethan Pocic.   12—New Jersey Generals (6-5) HB Kyren Williams has not had the huge impact many expected, but has 4 TDs rushing and a 5 th  from the passing game.   13—Ohio Glory (6-5) LB David Ojabo has 30 tackles and a pick as a rotational player in the Ohio LB group.   14—Oakland Invaders (5-6) OT Trevor Penning has started 4 games and has looked solid in rotation as well.   15—San Diego Thunder (5-6) G Sean Rhyann started from Week 1 and has 39 pancakes in his rookie campaign.   16—Oklahoma Outlaws (5-5-1) DT Perrion Winfrey got 1 start in Week 7, recording his first sack and a forced fumble.   17—Dallas Roughnecks (5-6) CB Ja’Sir Taylor struggled early, but has com eon in the past month, with 17 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and a fumble return for TD in the last 3 games.   18—New Orleans Breakers (5-6) OT Charles Cross has been solid all year, with a whopping 75 pancakes in his first 12 games as a pro.   19—Houston Gamblers (5-6) DE Kingsley Enagbare has been a starter all season and has racked up 5 sacks and 18 tackles.   20—New England Steamrollers (5-6) HB Breece Hall is leading the team with 663 yards, but has seen T. J. Yeldon cut into his touches, especially in the red zone, where Yeldon has 6 TDs to Hall’s 3.   21—Washington Federals (4-6-1) CB Sauce Gardner is 3 rd  on the team with 61 tackles, but his lone interception is less than what Feds’ fans had hoped for form the highly touted corner.   22— Denver Gold (4-7) OT Evan Neal has struggled at left tackle, giving up 7 sacks and missing 2 games to injury.   23—Las Vegas Vipers (4-7) OG Kenyon Green has played well for the Vipers, particularly in pass protection, where he has 45 pancake blocks and has given up only 2 sacks.   24— Charlotte Monarchs (4-7) WR Drake London leads the Monarchs with 57 catches, 652 yards, and 4 TDs   25—Atlanta Fire (3-8) DT Devante Wyatt has been a revelation as an interior run stuffer. He has 53 tackles, second only to Luke Kuechley on the Fire defense.   26—Philadelphia Stars (3-8) OG Logan Bruss has seen spot action with 3 starts due to injuries as he continues to play the swing guard position.   27—Pittsburgh Maulers (3-8) QB Kenny Pickett was thrust into action early, and while wins have been hard to come by, Pickett’s play has been solid, especially for a rookie: 2,173 yards, 9 TD, 6 Int, and a 75.2 QB rating after 10 starts.   28--Portland Stags (3-8) K Cameron Dicker has hit on all 21 PAT attempts and on 78.3% of his kicks, which, in soggy Portland, is no small feat.   29—Jacksonville Bulls (2-9) HB James Cook leads the Bulls with 453 yards and 4 TDs. His 3.9 YPC average is solid, but with only 9 receptions, Bulls fans are hoping to see more in the passing game.   30—Michigan Panthers (1-10) DE Aiden Hutchinson is a bright spot in a dark season for Michigan. The former Wolverine is 5 th  in the league with 17 sacks and very well could hit the coveted 20-sack total by season’s end.    40 Greatest USFL Players in 40 Years: Numbers 8 & 7 We are getting down to the true legends of the USFL and this week we have two of the very best to ever play the game, including a 3-time league champion at QB and the USFL’s all time career leader in rushing yards. Now it is not about merit, it is about those debates over who is the USFL GOAT. With both a QB and a HB ahead of our two players today, we are saying that they are both so close, but not quite the player we would list as the GOAT at their position. Feel free to disagree with us on that.   8) QB Jim Kelly (1984-1996) One of the league’s brightest stars during its formative years, Kelly not only brought 3 titles to the Gamblers, starting in 1988, but was voted MVP three times, Playoff MVP 3 times, and All-USFL 10 times. He still ranks in the Top 10 in Attempts, Completions, Yards, and TDs, his 412 scoring throws only trailing Brett Favre. The original Run & Shoot gunslinger retired with 5 seasons of over 4,000 yards and 8 seasons with 30 or more TDs. When you think of the USFL as a passing league, designed around QBs who were willing to go deep at any time, you are seeing the influence of Kelly and the early Gamblers.   7) HB Deuce McCallister (2001-2017) In 17 pro seasons, a ludicrously long career at the HB position, Deuce McCallister put up 15 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, rushed for over 19,000 yards, and earned 11 All-USFL awards. And yet, despite all his individual accolades, his Federals teams never won a title during a career that spanned nearly 2 decades. But, when it comes to those individual stats, McCallister is unparalleled, with all-time career records for carries and rushing yards, retiring 5 th  in career touchdowns as well.   Fans will, of course, debate between McCallister, Rozier, Walker, Bryant and Eddie George. Each had their own style, their own impact on the game, and their own strengths as running backs. McCallister was not the receiver that George was and was not the inside grinder that Walker or Bryant could be. He was a classic slasher, making one cut and leaving defenders leaning the wrong way. He did retire with 495 receptions and 4,207 yards through the air, so he was certainly not a one-dimensional back. And he could block as well, so in “The Deuce” you got a well-rounded and very productive back, technically the most productive in USFL history. More rivalry games to spark excitement this week, starting with the Turnpike Classic in Philly as the Generals come to town. This one may not have the drama of a season where both are at the top of the standings, but you still know it will be intense at the Linc on Friday night. The other Friday game includes a matchup of two teams who first faced off in Week 1 of the league’s inaugural season.   Saturday also gives us some great rivalry games, with Baltimore at Washington to renew the Beltway Battle, Dallas and Oklahoma engaged in their own Red River matchup, and the Wranglers headed on their shortest road trip of the year, only 300 miles separating Phoenix from Las Vegas and the Vipers. We also have 2 highly important inter-divisional games on Saturday afternoon, when 5-6 Houston limps into LA to play the 7-4 Express and with 7-4 Memphis hoping to escape the tough home environment in Santa Clara for the 5-6 Oakland Invaders, who need this win to get back in the playoff hunt once again.   Sunday has 4 divisional games, including Charlotte and Atlanta’s budding rivalry, a Cascade Clash between the Stags and Dragons, and two Central Division grudge matches. It is Michigan heading into St. Louis and hoping to knock the rising Skyhawks back down to earth. Then, in the nightcap, it is 10-1 Chicago hoping to put the Ohio Glory in their rear view mirror. A win by the Machine would give them a 5-game lead over Ohio, removing the Glory as a contender for the division title.   Fri. 7pm ET       New Jersey (6-5) @ Philadelphia (3-8)       NBC Fri. 7pm ET         Tampa Bay (9-2) @ New Orleans (5-6)            ESPN/EFN   Sat. 12pm ET   Baltimore (7-4) @ Washington (4-6-1)           ABC Sat. 12pm ET     Orlando (6-5) @ Pittsburgh (3-8)                     FOX Sat. 4pm ET       Houston (5-6) @ Los Angeles (7-4)                 ABC Sat. 4pm ET       Memphis (7-4) @ Oakland (5-6)                      FOX Sat. 8pm ET      Dallas (5-6) @ Oklahoma (5-5-1)                    NBC Sat. 8pm ET      Arizona (9-2) @ Las Vegas (4-7)                       ESPN/EFN   Sun 12pm ET   Birmingham (8-3) @ San Antonio (8-3)         ABC Sun 12pm ET     Jacksonville (2-9) @ New England (5-6)         FOX Regional Sun 12pm ET   Atlanta (3-8) @ Charlotte (4-7)                        FOX Regional Sun 4pm ET       Denver (4-7) @ San Diego (5-6)                       ABC Regional Sun 4pm ET      Portland (3-8) @ Seattle (7-4)                           ABC Regional Sun 4pm ET      St. Louis (8-3) @ Michigan (1-10)                    FOX Sun 8pm ET      Chicago (10-1) @ Ohio (6-5)                            EFN

Week 11 brought us some nicely contested games but few true surprises. LA’s defense, as Dragon fans feared, had no issue controlling the Seattle offense with Brett Hundley unable to play. Denver gave Arizona a fight but could not get the W in the end. Birmingham and Houston had a shootout decided by a 17-point Stallion 4 th  quarter. And both the Gunslingers and Skyhawks continued their solid 2022 campaigns, each earning an 8-3 record. Perhaps the highest drama was in Las Vegas, and not so much on the field as on the sideline, where two New England players got into it with each other, producing suspensions on Tuesday, our Big Story for the week. We will lead off with that oddity, then run through the week, break down the first of our weekly Playoff Picture updates, reveal the 10 th  and 9 th players on our Top 40 All Time list, and take a look at the weekend’s upcoming action. All that, plus our Game of the Week, a close one between two teams hoping to make a late playoff run. Is Coach Fox Losing His Team?: Sideline Scuffle Leads to Suspensions The New England Steamrollers, one of the early season’s positive stories, may well be headed in a very different narrative direction. Following their 5-2 start, New England has now lost 3 in a row, scoring less than 15 points in all three games and dropping 2 divisional games along the way. This week, with a trip to Las Vegas and a respite from divisional play, Coach Fox had hoped to reboot his team’s attitude and fortunes, but that was far from the final result.   New England went into the road game at Wynn Arena a 3-point favorite over the 3-6 Vipers, but trailed 17-10 at the half and 2-13 after 3 quarters. When Las Vegas put up another score to take a 27-13 lead at the 13:26 mark of the 4 th , things got a little crazy, not in the game, but on the Steamroller sideline. After appearing to only half-heartedly trying to stop Viper HB Kareem hunt on an outside run that produced the Viper score, cornerback Benjamin St. Juste headed to the sideline, where Steamroller WR Davante Parker confronted him. The broadcast cut the audio pretty quickly, but it was clear that what Parker had to say did not go over well with St. Juste. It seems that Parker started to question not only St. Juste’s effort, but his toughness as well. Within seconds, words turned into shoves, and soon after into some wild haymakers swung between the two teammates.   Coaches stepped in, but not before each player landed at least one solid blow on the other. As the two were pulled apart, both thrashing to get free of teammates and coaches alike, the war of words continued. Both would end up sitting at opposite ends of the bench, glaring down the field at each other and talking trash to any of their teammates that would approach them. Questioned about the incident in the post-game presser, Coach Fox expressed disappointment and frustration with the encounter, as well as with the team’s efforts in the 30-13 loss.   By Tuesday, more had come down, now from the team itself, with management announcing on Tuesday morning that the Steamrollers were suspending both players for 2 games after the incident, and that they expected the league would also be imposing fines on both players for their unsportsmanlike conduct. Again Coach Fox spoke to the media, laying out his disappointment in the two players and his support for the suspension. But the unanswered question in the room still stood: Was Coach Fox losing grip on his team?   That is the discussion all over the sports blogosphere and on pretty much every ESPN and EFN talking heads show. A team that started off the year looking so promising seems to be devolving into an also-ran with serious culture issues. And while there are plenty out there who agree with Davante Parker that it appeared St. Juste gave up on the play before Kareem Hunt crossed into the endzone, there are plenty of others who believe that the frustration about St. Juste’s efforts should have stayed within the team and outside of view of the broadcast cameras. There are also several prominent USFL pundits who are pointing out that Parker’s own performance left a lot to be desired, with 2 drops and a couple of quick jumps out of bounds when contact was coming.   What Coach Fox is now facing is a team pointing fingers and laying blame, when what the 5-5 Steamrollers need is a team coming together, refocusing their attention, and devising a way to halt their 3-game losing streak and getting back into the mix in what is still a wide-open Northeast Division race. If Fox cannot get the team’s combined minds right, then the odds that the Steamroller season reaches the goals they had in the preseason or the hopes that seemed to be coming to fruition in the early season may well be getting slimmer and slimmer. New England has what should be a pair of bounce back games in the next two weeks, home against both Dallas and Jacksonville, but right now we are not sure they are ready to win either.   NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS 21   ORLANDO RENEGADES 22 There are one-point games and then there are one-point games, and the one we got this week may be the wildest kind, the kind where you are absolutely sure you are headed for overtime only to have the unthinkable occur. It was the 5-4 Breakers headed to Orlando to face the 4-5 Renegades in a game that had “bubble watch” all over it. It would end as a game that had both sets of fans with their hands on their faces, both in disbelief, but one fanbase a lot happier than the other.   The game started quite quickly, with Orlando taking the opening kickoff and using only 6 plays to move from their 29 to the endzone. Five of those plays were needed to get the ball over the 50, but only 1 play was needed to finish the drive with 48 yards coming in one fell swoop. On a 1 st  and 10 from the Breaker 48, Russell Wilson faked the handoff to lead back Chris Carson and found TE David Njoku all alone up the seam. He hit his interior target and Njoku brought the ball in, shrugged off a tackle attempt and happily strode into the endzone to put Orlando up 7-0.   Following a short New Orleans drive that stalled at the Orlando 44, the Renegades got the ball back on a touchback punt. This time they needed nearly 7 minutes and 14 plays to get the ball back to the promised land, but when Wilson hit Nelson Agholor on a short crosser, the homestanding Renegades were up 14-0. The Breakers would get a field goal to put themselves on the board at 14-3, but the rest of the first half absolutely did not belong to them.   On New Orleans’s first possession of the 2 nd quarter, a nice coffin-corner kick had them starting the drive on their own 4. After DeMarco Murray was stuffed behind the line by DE Bruce Irvin, New Orleans tried to throw themselves out of trouble, but Montes Sweat, on his way to a 3-sack game, would not have it. He wrapped up Geno Smith in the endzone, giving Orlando another 2 points and a free kick at midfield. The homestanding Renegades would turn that free kick into 3 points, with Mason Crosby connecting from 42 yards out.   New Orleans again struggled to put together a drive, with Orlando keying on WR Justin Jefferson and keeping a spy on HB DeMarco Murray, they held Murray to only 30 yards rushing on the day and held Jefferson without a catch in the first half. Even Jordy Nelson’s 3 catches for 54 yards were not enough to help the Breakers close the gap, and when Orlando added another field goal at the end of the half, they were up 22-3 and looking very solid.   But strange things happen in the locker room at halftime. One team, totally in control, can get complacent, another, against the ropes, can find the answers to completely shift the action of the second half. And that is exactly what happened, though not immediately. New Orleans managed only 3 first downs in the 3 rd  quarter, but their defense held Orlando out of scoring range as well, so a second Breaker touchdown was the quarter’s only score, producing a 22-6 advantage for Orlando as the4th quarter opened.   The Breakers would finally find themselves in the endzone on their first possession of the final period. Geno Smith found Olamide Zaccheaeous from 24 yards out, but with the 2-point try failing, the Breakers pulled only within 10 at 22-12. But New Orleans would catch a break only 44 seconds later, when Russell Wilson’s attempt to hit Agholor on the sideline turned into a pick for CB Xavier Crawford. That pick gave New Orleans the ball in Orlando territory, and while the offense could only advance it another 4 yards in 3 downs, they did manage to add a 43-yard field goal and pull the game to within 7 at 22-15.   Orlando felt the game slipping away. They had been too cautious in the 2 nd  half and now New Orleans had momentum. They tried to stem the tide by shifting back to a more ambitious offensive scheme, but sometimes you just cannot turn that on at will. For a second time in the game, and now with only 4:24 left to play, Xavier Crawford found the ball instead of the intended Orlando receiver. New Orleans was 7 points down, had over 4 minutes and 2 timeouts to work with. They would have a chance to tie, send the game to overtime, or go for 2 and win the game in regulation.   The Breakers were in no hurry to score. The last thing they wanted was to leave Orlando with time to get in range for Mason Crosby and lose on a late field goal. So there was no “hurry up” offense. Instead there was a steady string of short passes, with Geno Smith hitting on 5 of 7 throws on the drive and scrambling for a first down just as the Breakers crossed into Orlando territory. With just over one minute left to play, they took a shot into the endzone and while they did not get the touchdown, they got the defensive pass interference call. CB Shaquille Richardson basically mugged Justin Jefferson in the endzone, and the call placed the ball on the 1 yard line, only 3 feet from a possible equalizer or go ahead score.   New Orleans wasted no time. Rather than try the dive on 1 st  and goal, they faked the obvious run call, sending Justin Jefferson across the field on a shallow crosser, with Geno Smith rolling out and throwing a low ball where only Jefferson could scoop it up. The talented wideout did just that, and with 1:02 left on the clock New Orleans was down 22-21 with a decision to make. Would Coach Lathon go for 2 and the win, or would he count on his 2 nd  half momentum to continue, go for the PAT kick and send the game to a likely overtime scenario. Lathon made the conservative call, having already failed on an earlier 2-point play. He sent out Randy Bullock for the chipshot PAT and all 41,272 fans in Orlando got ready for overtime. When the Bullock kick clanged against the left upright and the refs motioned “no good”, there was a momentary pause, a moment of silence in the stands, as if everyone was trying to identify if what just happened really happened at all. That was followed by an eruption of cheers as the Renegade faithful realized that the doink meant that their team still held a 1-point lead and could kill the clock instead of trying to mount a desperate field goal drive at the end of regulation.   With New Orleans left with only 1 timeout, Orlando was able to kneel the ball down 3 times, run out the clock, and savor a very close call, but a victory that brought them back to .500. For Breaker fans, including the approximately 5,000 who made the trip to central Florida, it was an agonizing way to lose a game, a missed PAT being one of the rarest situations in the game, and certainly one at the end of a contest that gave the other team the W. The Breakers drop to 5-5 and now find themselves back in the basement of a very tough Central Division, while Orlando sits with the same record but finds itself solidly in 2 nd  place in the less well-balanced Southeast Division.   CHICAGO 21   OAKLAND 27 In last week’s preview of the Week 11 schedule, we said that Oakland had to leave it all on the field at home against Chicago. At 4-5 in a tough division, they could not risk falling 2 games under .500. Well, it appears they were on the same page as they put together a complete game against the unbeaten Chicago Machine. They were behind 14-7 at the half, but you could feel that they were still in this one, and they came out on fire in the 2 nd  half, scoring 20 unanswered points to take a 13-point lead with 4:54 left in the game. Davis Mills found Taylor Gabriel for the game-tying score, then they cashed in on a huge mistake as Jaylen Watkins returned a Bradford pick 28 yards for a score. The defense held throughout the 2 nd half and the Invaders walked away with a huge home win, handing Chicago their 1 st loss of the year and dropping them to 2 nd  in the conference behind Arizona. POTG:  Oakland CB Jaylen Watkins: 9 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   SAN ANTONIO 38  JACKSONVILLE 24 It was all working for the Gunslinger offense as new DC Pepper Johnson struggled to contain the San Antonio attack. Joe Flacco threw for 342 and 3 scores, Melvin Gordon and Raheem Mostert combine for 136 yards rushing, while fullback Rod Benjamin punched the ball in from the 1 on two separate occasions. Add in 128 yards and a TD on six catches by possible ROTY Garrett Wilson and you get a 14 point margin of victory and a very nice 7-3 record for the 3 rd  year franchise. POTG:  San Antonio WR Garrett Wilson: 6 Rec, 128 Yds, 1 TD   MEMPHIS 23  ATLANTA 20 Memphis found their run game against a struggling Atlanta squad, with Todd Gurley rushing for 95 yards and backup David Williams adding another 62. That attack made life easier for Blake Bortles, who went 20 for 31 on the day. Good thing, too, because Memphis’ normally solid D did not look its best, especially against the Fire run game, with Nick Chubb rushing for 90 and Rex Burkhead with 33 more. Atlanta could at one point pulled within 3 but immediately saw the lead expand to 10 again when JuJuan Jennings returned the kickoff 97 yards for a Memphis score. That moment ended any challenge from the Fire and helped Memphis improve to 6-4. POTG:  Memphis DE J. J. Watt: 5 tck 1 TFL, 2 Sck   NEW ENGLAND 13   LAS VEGAS 30 Things are getting downright ugly for the Steamrollers as they lose again, dropping to 5-5, with tensions boiling over, as we reported above. The Vipers had their way with New England’s run defense, rushing for 209 yards, with Matt Jones going for 135 and Kareem Hunt rushing for 76 and two scores as the Vipers built up a lead steadily throughout the game, with New England unable to respond. POTG:  Viper HB Matt Jones: 18 Att, 135 Yds   OKLAHOMA 24   DALLAS 26 Jalen Hurts was a one man show for the Outlaws, but it was just not enough against a motivated Roughneck team. Hurts threw for 222 yards and 2 scores while also taking off 12 times, rushing for 99 yards and a 3 rd  touchdown. That helped keep Oklahoma in the game, but Dallas had enough, including a 97-yard punt return from Jordan Shipley, and 4 Chandler Catanzaro field goals as they took a 26-17 lead late. Hurts hit Nick Toon with 13 seconds to play, but was still down 2, which is how the game ended. POTG:  Dallas DE Taylor Hart: 6 Tck, 2 Sck, 2 FF, 1 FR   OHIO 35  PITTSBURGH 10 A new OC in Pittsburgh, but all the same problems were still evident. The Maulers’ leading rusher was Rico Dowdele, with only 21 yards on 10 carries. Kenny Pickett was sacked 6 times and picked off twice, and Ohio cruised to a 25-point win on the road. Justin Fields threw for 2 scores and ran for 2 more as Ohio was never challenged in this one-sided divisional game. POTG:  Ohio QB Justin Fields: 21/34, 213 Yds, 2 TD, 1 Int, 7 Att, 29 Yds, 2 TD   ST. LOUIS 24  CHARLOTTE 14 St. Louis moves to 7-3 with a solid win over the Monarchs. Lamar Jackson passed for 254 and 3 TDs and ran for another 53 yards as Charlotte just did not have any answers. Deionte Johnson caught 4 of 5 targets, including a 63-yard TD as he finished with 140 yards receiving. A. J. Epenesa was held without a sack, but Charlotte’s offense could only muster 83 yards of offense in the 2 nd  half as the Skyhawks kept the comeback from taking shape. POTG:  Skyhawk QB Lamar Jackson: 15/27, 254 Yds, 3 TD, 1 Int, 15 Att, 53 Yds   MICHIGAN 14  TAMPA BAY 30 Dalvin Cook rushed for 98 yards, Dak Prescott threw TDs to both Bryant and Grant, and the Bandit defense sacked Kirk Cousins 6 times in this one-sided affair. The Bandits broke a 7-7 tie in the 2 nd quarter, going on a 23-0 run that put the game out of reach for the Panthers. With LeVeon Bell held to only 67 yards rushing, the route was on and the Bandits never looked back. POTG:  Bandit QB Jalen Ramsey: 11 Tck, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   BIRMINGHAM 41  HOUSTON 34 A true shootout that saw Birmingham put up a 17-0 lead in the first quarter only for Houston to score 20 unanswered to take the lead early in the 3 rd . From there it was a back-and-forth affair, with neither defense able to do much. In the end, Birmingham got the better of their division foes, putting up a total of 507 yards and 41 points. HB Isaiah Pead and WR Henry Ruggs shared POTW honors as each went over 100 yards and put a score on the board for the victorious Stallions. POTG:  Birmingham WR Henry Ruggs: 3 Rec, 121 Yds (40.3 YPC average) and 1 TD   ARIZONA 17  DENVER 15 The Gold came into this one with a good defensive game plan, building up a 12-0 lead on 4 Greg Zeurlein field goals, but they needed to turn at least one of those into 7 points as Arizona got two 2 nd  half TDs to come all the way back and take a 17-12 lead. Denver managed one more 4 th  quarter field goal but failed to get into range for a game winner as time expired, giving Arizona their 9 th  win, while Denver slipped to 4-6. POTG:  Arizona DT Jason Hargrave: 8 Tck, 2 Sck   SEATTLE 3   LOS ANGELES 26 This one was a wild QB shuffle as neither Brett Hundley nor Andy Dalton could go and their backups, Trevor Siemian and Nick Foles failed to finish the game. Foles was knocked out early for LA, suffering a concussion in the early 2 nd  quarter. Trevor Siemien went most of the way for Seattle but was pulled in the 4 th  after his 2 nd pick. So, it was Kyle Lauletta vs. Stephen Tyler by game’s end. Lauletta got the better of that deal, throwing for 249 yards and a TD while neither Siemien nor Tyler could do much against the LA defense. The Express victory pulls them into a tie with Seattle and gives them the head-to-head tiebreaker as well. POTG:  Express DE Nick Bosa: 2 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF   Montez Sweat in the Mix after 3-Sacks vs. Breakers Orlando got a much-needed win over New Orleans this week, thanks in large part to their defense, and the star of that defense, DE Montez Sweat, also got a win, securing 3 sacks in the game to pull into a 3-way tie with J. J. Watt and A. J. Epenesa, each with 17 sacks on the season. After a somewhat slow start, by Sweat’s standards, the big man has racked up 10 sacks in the past 4 games, with this week’s 3-sack performance his 4 th  multi-sack game this year. For Orlando to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot, and even to consider chasing down the Bandits, they need exactly this kind of game from Sweat each and every week. The Renegades now have 3 straight games against teams with 3 wins or fewer, a possible chance to string together some wins and for Sweat to string together more big outings as he hopes to repeat as the league’s Sack Champion.   Hurts Excels but Outlaws Fall in Tough Divisional Loss A tough loss for Jalen Hurts and the Outlaws, as they drop a game to division and state-line rival Dallas. For Hurts it has to feel like he had the whole team on his back, throwing for 222 yards and 2 scores while also rushing for 99 more, with the highlight a 40-yard TD run that had Oakland up 14-10 in the 2 nd  quarter. But football is a team sport and the Roughnecks as a team had enough to outlast Hurts and the Outlaws. Hurts is having a solid season, with 2,162 yards passing, an 85.7 QB rating, and an 11:8 TD-Int ratio. He also leads the club with 418 yards rushing, 12 more than former Skyhawk HB Eddie Lacy. That may seem like a kudo for Hurts, but it more likely is a concern for Coach Stoops, who brought in Lacy to try to relieve pressure on his young QB. Having one man so central to everything the Outlaws do on offense is as much a concern as it is a luxury for Oklahoma.   QB Chaos in Dragons-Express Game Don’t ever let them tell you that roster depth is not a great advantage in the USFL. In the Seattle-LA game, a game that would decide who would finish Week 11 atop the division standings, we saw both teams turn to their 3 rd  stringer, one by choice and one by necessity. First off, we had Brett Hundley, the Seattle starter out with a hyper-extended knee, so we knew it would be former Chicago Machine QB Trevor Siemian getting his 3 rd  start of the season in relief. On the other side, LA had made Andy Dalton, their recently acquired signal caller, a game-time decision as he was dealing with swelling in his throwing hand after cracking it against a helmet in last week’s game. Well, the swelling was still an issue at gametime, so it was former General Nick Foles into the game as the starter.   Had that been it, we would not be making a case for roster depth. Yes, having a good 2 nd  in command at the QB position is essential, but in this game, it turned out that the key figure would be a 3 rd  stringer. Early in the encounter, Nick Foles was hit by a stray elbow and was wobbly as he left the field, with concussion being the obvious diagnosis. That meant that for nearly 3 full quarters it would be LA’s third string QB, Kyle Lauletta, who would lead the offense. Lauletta did himself proud, throwing for 249 yards and a TD as LA built up a 23-3 lead, thanks in large part to a smothering defense. That defense sacked Siemian 5 times, and after producing their 2 nd  interception of the game (the first being a pick-six), they drove Siemian from the field, with Coach Riley opting to go with his 3 rd  stringer for the Dragon’s 2 remaining drives. That did not exactly work out, with Stephen Tyler unable to convert on two third down throws or on a desperation 4 th  and 12. Lauletta got the win and LA breathed a sigh of relief, moving into first place and feeling good that both Foles and Andy Dalton will be ready to go next week.   Houston D Gives up 500 Yards in Stallion Shootout Another nightmare showing for a rattled and ramshackle Houston defense as the Birmingham Stallions laid 500+ on the Gamblers in their 41-34 shootout win. If not for some offensive fireworks from the Gamblers, this could have been a disastrous game. As it is, it is Houston’s 3 rd  loss in 4 games since the injury to Carlos Hyde, but what is more troubling is that they have now given up 31, 34, 38, and 41 points in those recent 4 games. Even their win was a 37-34 shootout against a Philadelphia team that has not exactly been lighting up the scoreboard in their other games. So, what exactly is the issue for Coach Ted Cotrell and the Gambler D? After all, Cotrell was the DC for the Gamblers for a long successful run under Wade Phillips, so why is the D falling apart now that he has been promoted to the head coaching position? Well, when we look at the stats, what we see is giving up nearly 290 passing yards per game, only slightly behind Jacksonville for the worst pass defense in the league. The Gamblers are not getting pressure with their D-line, evident in that they are tied for 3 rd  worst in the league with only 21 team sacks, and the fact that only 8 have come from the DT and DE positions. That means they have to blitz to get any pressure, and those blitzes are leaving their secondary vulnerable. With only 5 team picks, the secondary is not succeeding in making teams pay for any mistakes their QB makes. In other words, you have opposing QBs safely protected in the pocket, able to read the defense and convert those key passing plays. With this week’s loss, Houston now drops to 5-5 and would be out of the postseason if this week’s playoff standings were final. They have time, but they need to find an identity and some success on defense or the Gamblers could miss the postseason for the first time since 2013, not a good look for Cotrell’s first year at the helm.   We kicked off our dedicated playoff coverage a year later than in past years and it is still too early to say anything definitive. Certainly, we can say that Arizona, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Birmingham are looking solid, but they may need at least 2 more weeks before anything is locked in. We can also say that Michigan, Jacksonville, and Pittsburgh are not looking like they have any realistic shot, but if by some miracle one were to go 6-0 down the stretch, they are still in range, even if that feels like pure fantasy. As we head into the final 6 games of the year, here are the storylines to follow when it comes to the playoffs:   1. Who gets the 1 seed in the West? Arizona has the tiebreaker at present after Chicago’s first loss, but these two will likely battle it out until the final week.   2. Who gets the 1 seed in the East? The Bandits and Stallions both sit at 8-2, with Tampa Bay currently holding the tiebreaker with 1 fewer conference loss than Birmingham.   3. Who wins the Pacific Division? LA just overtook Seattle and holds the tiebreaker thanks to their win over the Dragons this week. Their 4-1 division record could be the difference unless Seattle can get a game up on them, and we are not ready to count out Oakland either, who are only 1 game back.   Who wins the Northeast Division? Baltimore has a game up on both New Jersey and New England. The Steamrollers have now lost 3 in a row and need to do something to get back to their early season form, while New Jersey has been up and down all season long.   5. Where will the Wild Cards come from? If the playoffs started today, 2 of the 3 Eastern Wild Cards would go to the Southern Division, with Houston and New Orleans also in the mix with 5-5 New Jersey for the last spot. Could the South see 4 of its 5 teams make the postseason? In the West, St. Louis looks good, and behind them we have Ohio and Seattle with 6 wins, but 5-4-1 Oklahoma could leapfrog them thanks to their tie, and Oakland could also get in the mix if either the Glory or Dragons slip again. With Seattle facing Oakland this week, we could see that shift happening right now.   Not a horrible week, though certainly not injury free, as we add 1 more player to the IR list, Breaker fullback Curtis Nelson, and several more to the injury report as absent for at least the next week if not longer. Still, considering the rash of season-ending injuries we saw over the past month, most teams felt pretty good about how they came out of Week 11.   OUT FB          Curtis Nelson                   NOR      MCL Tear            IR LB           Ulysses Gilbert                SAN       Groin                    4-6 Weeks C             Bradley Bozeman           MEM     Hernia                 2-4 Weeks WR         Allen Robinson                STL         Abdomen           2-4 Weeks FS           C. J. Gardner-Johnson  JAX         Hamstring         1-2 Weeks QB         Tom Savage                      ARZ       Concussion       1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL OT          Trevor Penning           OAK      Back CB          Tre Herndon                 PIT         Concussion   QUESTIONABLE WR         Kelvin Benjamin              ATL         Hand WR         Tee Higgins                   JAX         Ankle LB           Darryl Sharpton           ORL       Concussion LB           Reuben Foster                 BIR         Concussion LB           Samson Ebukam            DAL       Hand G            Nick Easton                    NE          Ankle     Old is New Again as Blitz Reveal 2023 Helmet Update The Baltimore Blitz are going retro, at least in part, revealing a new helmet design for the 2023 season. Baltimore’s USFL franchise was the product of relocation, moving from Chicago in 1986, just 4 years into the USFL’s existence and 3 years after the NFL Colts escaped in the night in that famous image of Mayflower moving trucks leaving Memorial Stadium. The Blitz quickly became the city’s new obsession, a way to retain their football passion and stick it to the NFL at the same time. When the Blitz relocated to Baltimore, they swapped their red emphasis look for a dominant blue look, cashing in on a rabid Colts following that was changing allegiance. They retained their basic Chicago look through 2001, including the “blitz” wordmark logo. In 2002, with help from Reebok, they unveiled a new helmet logo, the now-iconic “lightning B” logo that adorns the helmet. They broke away even further from their Chicago history when they dropped red from their color palette 10 years later, with Adidas’s redesign presenting the “lightning B” in blue and silver alone. 2011 also saw the birth of the blue helmet, after nearly 30 years of wearing a silver lid. For those with a nostalgic feeling for the Blitz, the new design, created in conjunction with both Nike, the new uniform partner for the USFL, and Riddell, will certainly bring you back. In a look that combines features of multiple eras, the 2023 Baltimore Blitz helmet will be silver once again, and will feature a return to the “blitz” wordmark, though one that has been tweaked. The new wordmark, shown below, includes the “lightning B” while also bringing back the club’s original logo feature, the block-font “blitz” with the z forming a lightning bolt. The new design will retain the team’s current colors of Chesapeake Bay Blue and Lightning Silver, with a blue facemask and blue and white center stripes. For helmet buffs, you will notice that another common feature of the Blitz helmet is also back with the 2023 look, the “shockwave stripe”, where the striping shifts just above the numbers on the rear of the helmet, producing a shockwave effect (as Riddell likes to call it). So, what we have here is a helmet designed to speak to fans from the 80’s, 90’s, 2000’s, all the way through today, evoking the history of the club, while also creating something new. Baltimore did not reveal if more changes were coming, though we expect that Nike will want their shot at adding some new features to the 2023 uniforms, but as of this week, Baltimore is moving forward with a new look that is also a very familiar one for Blitz fans.   40 Greatest in 40 Seasons of USFL Football: 10-9 As we enter our Top 10 this week, we switch from 3 highlighted players per week to 2, allowing us more room to laud the truly best of the best in USFL history. This week our two players represent two sides of the biggest head-to-head battle in the league, the left tackle and the dedicated edge rusher. These two greats actually never played against each other, the DE retiring in the rookie season of our LT, which feels wrong, because watching these two battle would have been one of the greatest games within the game that we could imagine. Two legendary lineman, one a QB’s nightmare and the other his very best friend in the world.   10) DE Reggie White (1984-1996) The Minister of Defense, a legendary nickname for a legendary man. The Reverend Reggie White played 16 seasons for the Memphis Showboats, racking up 259 career sacks and becoming both loved and feared by fans across the entire USFL fanbase. You could not help but love the big man, who had a gentle spirit and a loving heart, but who was simply a nightmare to block and a constant presence around the QB. White sadly passed away in December of 2004, at the age of only 43, only 5 years after retirement and barely 2 months after being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He remains to this day a saintly presence in the Memphis area, his charities continuing his philanthropic work and the Showboat fanbase revering him like no other former Showboat player. For fans of other teams, the respect offered to Reggie White is equally impressive, with even the heated rivalry with Birmingham not enough to keep Stallion fans from recognizing White as one of the greatest of all time.   9) OT Jonathan Ogden (1996-2009) For the casual fan, placing an offensive lineman here, ahead of a player like Reggie White, or our 11 th   selection, QB Brett Favre, may seem inappropriate or simply wrong. But ask anyone who has ever played the QB position and they will tell you that it is the Left Tackle who holds the most important position on the field. With a good bodyguard allowing any QB time in the pocket, even a mediocre QB can do a lot in this game. Then ask anyone who ever had to rush the passer against Ogden what he meant to the LA Express and they will absolutely tell you he needed to be in our Top 10. Simply the best left tackle to ever wear the USFL patch on his uniform, Ogden played 14 seasons with the LA Express and in that time, he gave up a grand total of 15 sacks. His first sack given up did not come until his 4 th  season in the league, his 54 th game. That is just incredible. Equally shocking is a career total in “pancake” blocks, driving a defender to the ground, of 1,522. Yes, that is right, averaging more than 100 per season. That means that Ogden was not just protecting his QB, he was often dominating and humiliating some of the best edge rushers in USFL history. Yup, that merits the 9 spot in our book, and not just because we don’t want Big Jonathan to pancake us too.   Two huge Friday Night games. How do we choose which to watch? With Memphis facing Birmingham in a key Southern Division battle and Seattle heading to Oakland, where the Invaders want to get back in the mix for the division, we may just need to hit a sports bar to see multiple screens at once. Either that or set up dual screens at home.   Saturday has a nice early game with Arizona headed to Baltimore. The Blitz are limping along after suffering some nasty injuries, but need a win to stay ahead of the pack in their division. At 4pm New Orleans heads to San Antonio. A loss here could make any shot at a Wild Card a lot tougher, while the Gunslingers are itching to gain a game and catch Birmingham atop the division.   Sunday offers a lot of “put up or shut up” games, including 5-4-1 Oklahoma headed to 5-5 New Jersey, 5-5 Houston at 4-6 San Diego, and 4-6 Dallas at 5-5 New England.  The loser of these three matchups could find themselves having to string together 4 or 5 wins to have any shot, while the winner could be setting themselves up for a late run.   Fri. 7pm ET       Memphis (6-4) @ Birmingham (8-2)                NBC Fri. 7pm ET       Seattle (6-4) @ Oakland (5-5)                          ESPN/EFN   Sat. 12pm ET     Arizona (9-1) @ Baltimore (6-4)                      ABC Sat. 12pm ET   Orlando (5-5) @ Atlanta (3-7)                         FOX Sat. 4pm ET       Michigan (1-9) @ Los Angeles (6-4)                ABC Sat. 4pm ET      New Orleans (5-5) @ San Antonio (7-3)          FOX Sat. 8pm ET      Ohio (6-4) @ St. Louis (7-3)                              NBC Sat. 8pm ET       Tampa Bay (8-2) @ Philadelphia (3-7)             ESPN/EFN   Sun 12pm ET     Portland (3-7) @ Pittsburgh (2-8)                     ABC Regional Sun 12pm ET   Jacksonville (2-8) @ Charlotte (3-7)                 ABC Regional Sun 12pm ET     Oklahoma (5-4-1) @ New Jersey (5-5)            FOX Sun 4pm ET       Dallas (4-6) @ New England (5-5)                   ABC Sun 4pm ET       Houston (5-5) @ San Diego (4-6)                    FOX Regional Sun 4pm ET       Washington (3-6-1) @ Las Vegas (4-6)          FOX Regional Sun 8pm ET       Chicago (9-1) @ Denver (4-6)                        EFN

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: We are doubling up this week, recognizing two members of the same offensive squad as both HB Isaiah Pead and WR Henry Ruggs came up big in Birmingham's shootout win over Houston. Pead had only 13 carries but made the most of them, rushing for his first 100-yard game as a member of the Stallions and adding a touchdown. Henry Ruggs only touched the ball 3 times but averaged over 40 yards with those catches, including a 74-yard touchdowns strike as the Stallions improved to 8-2. PLAYOFF PICTURE: No one has clinched a spot yet, though certainly there are some teams looking very good for a playoff spot. With Chicago's first loss, it is Arizona who currently hold the top spot in the West, while Tampa Bay and Birmingham are tied at 8-2 atop the Eastern standings. As far as division races go, most are close, though Arizona does hold a 3.5 game lead over Oklahoma in the Southwest and Tampa Bay has built up a 3-game lead in the Southeast.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: A tough call between 4 very impactful players this week. Mariota's 4-TD day, Derrick Henry's massive 163 yards, Ken Webster's 2-pick, 1 TD day are all outstanding, but what A. J. Epenesa did to the Jacksonville Bulls' offensive line, and poor Trevor Lawrence, just plain painful. Epenesa recorded 5 sacks against the Bulls and in doing so lept to the top of the leaderboard. Jacksonville's pain was Epenesa's gain.

Derrick Henry runs past New England, A. J. Epenesa sacks the Bulls, Mason Rudolph stuns the Showboats, and Daniel Carlson crushes the Panthers. In a week that saw its share of upsets, last-minute scores, and dominant performances, this was also a week of individual accomplishments, including 163 yards from the Stars’ biggest star, and a 5-sack day from one of 2022’s breakout players. It was also a week that led to a purge of coordinators, as struggling teams try to make a change in time to salvage something out of the year. We will lead off with our review of the miniature Black Monday we saw this week, review all 12 of this past weekend’s games, examine the Showboat’s stadium conundrum and add 3 more very well-known names to our list of the 40 Greatest Players in the USFL’s 40 seasons. All that plus a preview of Week 11 just ahead, don’t go anywhere.   Black Monday for Coordinators as 3 Teams Make Moves While this week’s purge of ineffective coordinators does not exactly have the scope or scale of the annual “Black Monday” ritual in which teams drop their coaches following the final regular season game, for the three teams involved, it was a clear sign that they need to make changes, with the hope, of course, being that a late season surge can keep the head coaches from becoming former head coaches during the annual Black Monday bloodletting.   Three teams, each at the bottom of their divisions and each at serious risk of the dreaded 10-loss season, cut ties with one of their coordinators this week, promoting from within to fill the gap and hopefully spark some improvement for their teams. Two OCs and a DC were let go as the Panthers, Maulers, and Bulls all essentially admitted that at least half of their team was not getting the job done. No surprises about which one either, though all three teams could be headed for bigger changes this offseason if their final record follows the pattern of the season’s first 10 weeks.   MICHIGAN PANTHERS With the 29 th ranked scoring offense and having gone 9 games into the 2022 season without topping 20 points even once, it is no surprise that offensive coordinator Mike Shula takes the hit for the 1-8 Panthers. Deep into an 8-game losing streak, and having put up 13, 11, and 13 points in the three games following their Week 7 bye, the Panthers, who still boast one of the league’s premier backs in LeVeon Bell, let Shula go on Monday, announcing that they were going to promote the running game specialist and HB position coach Kelly Skipper to the OC position. Skipper’s challenge is to turn LeVeon Bell’s production into a viable offense capable of putting points on the board. That will mean working with Kirk Cousins to address the league’s 20 th -ranked passing game, and with a receiver group that is underperforming at every position.  PITTSBURGH MAULERS The Maulers are struggling on both sides of the ball, but with their defense still in the Top 10 in both total yards allowed and rushing yards allowed, the most pressing issue was their offense. The Maulers hold the unfortunate distinction of being 30 th  out of 30 teams in rushing the ball (52.2 YPG), overall yards per game (252.9) and points per game (13.1), a trifecta that speaks to the struggles of a rookie QB, one who is getting no help at all from an anemic HB group. On Monday, Pittsburgh joined their Central Division rival in sacking their offensive coordinator, letting Larry Kirksey go and promoting offensive line coach, and former short-term Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone to the OC position. Many expect Marrone’s tenure as the OC to be a short one as Pittsburgh is looking very much like a team ready for a major overhaul, not just of the roster, but of the entire coaching staff as well. Only an impressive turnaround from the Mauler offense would likely stave off Marrone’s departure along with several other coaches, including HC Skip Holtz.   JACKSONVILLE BULLS While Jacksonville’s 26 th  ranked offense over-promised and underproduced this year, there is no doubt that the 30 th  ranked defense is a more immediate concern for Coach Vrabel and the 2-7 Bulls. The defense is not only 30 th  in points allowed, giving up 29.4 points a game, but is also dead last in yardage, the only team in the league to give up over 400 per game (408.8 to be exact). With a run defense ranked 29 th  in the league and the worst-ranked passing defense, there is just nothing working for the Bulls on defense, an embarrassment for a 1 st  year head coach who was himself a defensive standout. So it is no surprise that Jacksonville has parted ways with DC Shane Bowen, letting the first year coordinator go and promoting former NFL linebacker and current Bulls LB coach Pepper Johnson to the DC position. Even with the promotion, expect to see a lot of Mike Vrabel’s influence on the defense as he tries to show some growth over the course of the 2022 season.   CHICAGO MACHINE 15   MICHIGAN PANTHERS 13 For the Chicago Machine, the chance to saunter into Ford Field as the unbeaten leaders of the Central Division, and to face a Michigan Panther squad that had lost 7 in a row and held the worst record in the league, well that had to be a partisan fan’s greatest dream. The hope, of course, would be that Chicago would dominate the Panthers as they had at Soldier Field, a 43-17 drubbing of their rivals back in Week 2. For the Panthers, the rematch was a chance to try to salvage some pride in a season that has gone from bad to worse. Holding their own against Chicago, with hopes of an upset win, would at least show that the Panthers had not given up on the season and still had pride in how they performed against their rivals.   If there are pyrrhic victories in pro football, and many would say there are not, then the Panthers may have nabbed one this week. For 59 minutes they held Chicago in check, holding Sam Bradford without a touchdown, forcing 4 punts, 4 field goal attempts, and keeping Chicago below 20 points for the only the 3 rd  time all season. When they put a touchdown on the board with 1:21 left in regulation to take a slim 1-point lead, they may have even felt that they could come out of this game with a very unexpected victory. That was not to be as Michigan’s uncharacteristically malleable defense gave up a final Chicago drive that led to Daniel Carlson’s game winning kick, but in losing 15-13, the Panthers did avoid the kind of disastrous blowout loss that had befallen them back in Chicago 8 weeks earlier. A Pyrrhic victory if ever there was one.   The Panther strategy was clear from the early moments of the game, play conservative zone defense, making life difficult for Sam Bradford by having 7 defenders in space on nearly every play, pressuring only with their front four. On offense, continue to hand the ball to Bell even when he struggled to make gains, then use play action to try to hit on an occasional deep ball. For Chicago, the plan was to take what the Panthers were willing to give, which in this case meant 119 yards rushing for the duo of Marion Mack and rookie Rachaad White, completing short passes underneath the Panther zones, and stay patient.   Those two strategies produced a game with solid yardage for both teams but few points for either offense. There were only 2 offensive touchdowns in the game, both from the Panthers, as Michigan scored on an Alexander Mattison run in the 2 nd  , helping them go to the half with a modest 7-6 lead. Chicago’s lone TD on the day would not come from Sam Bradford and the offense, but on a pick-six from Chicago corner Josh Norman. Norman’s 3 rd  quarter 66-yard pick-six was the lone score of the quarter, giving Chicago the advantage 12-7 thanks to a botched 2-point conversion attempt.   Michigan did not panic after falling behind, continuing to shorten the game and rely on Bell’s legs as the focal point of their offense. It took more than 15 minutes of game time for the Panthers to respond to Chicago’s 3 rd  quarter score, but when they did it gave them a late lead that well could have put the game to bed. The 4-yard TD from Kirk Cousins to WR Mac Hollins came at the end of a 13-play, 77-yard drive. It gave the Panthers a slim 13-12 lead, with the offense once again failing on the 2-point PAT.   Chicago would get the ball on their own 25 after the kickoff touchback. With only 1 timeout left and needing to get to the Michigan 38 to give kicker Daniel Carlson a fair chance at a 55-yard field goal, they had 1:23 to work with and a sense of purpose, one born out of 8 consecutive wins. The Machine trip down the field was not exactly smooth, interrupted by 2 injuries, a false start, and a defensive holding call, but after 8 plays and 35 yards, there was Daniel Carlson, a bit outside a comfortable range, lining up for a 56-yard attempt. The Machine’s unblemished record was on the line, as well as a lot of pride as Chicago had talked a good game ahead of their rematch with the 1-win Panthers. Now, to save face, their 5 th year kicker would have to match his career high and connect from 56 yards out.   The season has taken two very different paths for the Machine and the Panthers. Chicago seems to snag all the breaks, the fortunate bounces, and the moments of sublime fortune. The Panthers quite the opposite, a season filled with gaffs, missed opportunities and self-inflicted wounds. That disparity of fortune would continue in this game, with Daniel Carlson laying into the ball and sending it on a curved trajectory that initially looked to be too far to the right, only to hook back to the left, clearing the right upright and producing a 2-point win for the Machine, their 9 th , matched with no losses, while Michigan dropped to 1-8, losing their 8 th in a row in a desperate season that no one expected and few could explain.   LOS ANGELES 27  OAKLAND 20 Andy Dalton gets the start for the Express and produces 166 yards and a touchdown before having to sit out the 4 th quarter due to a hand injury suffered when he glanced his throwing hand off a helmet. Nick Foles finished the game, throwing a 59-yard TD to Jeremy Maclin, giving LA a 27-13 lead which would prove large enough to protect the W for the visitors. Davis Mills found Davante Adams in the 4 th  quarter to close the gap, but was unable to add a 2 nd  as the Invaders fall at home to their in-state rivals. POTG : Express WR Jeremy Maclin: 3 Rec, 130 Yds, 1 TD   PITTSBURGH 10  TAMPA BAY 44 Tampa Bay scored on their first 4 possessions, building a 24-0 lead that the Maulers would never challenge in this one-sided affair. The Bandits held Pittsburgh’s anemic offense to 8 first downs, 3 of 17 on third down and only 35 rushing yards. The only downside for the Bandits was that Dak Prescott had to be removed from the game after a blow to the head. The upside is that rookie Matt Coral played well, throwing for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Bandits simply dominated the game. POTG:  Bandit DE Brian Burns: 6 Tck, 2 Sck   WASHINGTON 16   CHARLOTTE 27 The Feds struggle again as Coach Daboll and the Monarchs pick up a 3 rd  win on the season thanks to a 13-0 scoring run in the 4 th  quarter, sparked by a 36-yard pick-six. Phillip Linday had his best game to date for Charlotte, rushing for 96 yards, while Paxton Lynch hit Austin Proehl for a score as well. Jacoby Brissett and the Federals’ offense had them in range at 16-14 after 3 quarters, but the Monarchs owned the final period and claimed the home victory. POTG:  Charlotte LB Rolando McClain: 14 Tck, 1 PDef   PORTLAND 38   HOUSTON 35 Following the same strategy as last week. Colt McCoy went 9 of 16 for 199 yards and 2 scores while Landry Jones went 5 of 7 for another 93 yards and a score. Houston needed both as their defense struggled and Marcus Mariota went 29 of 38 for 379 yards and 4 scores. When Houston scored with 1:01 left to build a 35-31 lead, the game seemed in hand, but Mariota found Brandin Cooks for a 50-yard strike and with 20 seconds left in the game, he hit Mac Knapp for the game-winner to cap off a major upset for the Stags. POTG : Stag QB Marcus Mariota: 29/38, 379 Yds, 4 TD, 1 Int   ATLANTA 3  OHIO 10 An ugly game between two teams that struggled to find offensive coherence. Ohio survived 2 turnovers thanks to their defense while Atlanta simiply could not get much going, failing on 3 different fourth down attempts and limited to a lone field goal. The difference in the game was a single drive late in the 2 nd  quarter that saw Justin Fields find Curtis Samuel for the game’s only touchdown. POTG:  Ohio DE Datone Jones: 5 Tck, 2 TFL, 1 Sck   ORLANDO 23   BIRMINGHAM 35 Josh Gordon caught 6 for 47 yards in his debut for Orlando, but it was not enough as the Birmingham run game (including 79 yards from Cam Newton) put up 3 touchdowns and Newton threw for another. Both Henry Ruggs (105) and TE Hunter Henry (101) went over 100 yards and Najee Harris scored twice as the Stallions improve to 7-2 and send Orlando back under .500 for the season. POTG:  Stallion QB Cam Newton: 8/13, 232 Yds, 1 TD, 1 Int, 12 Att, 79 Yds, 1 TD   NEW ORLEANS 20   SEATTLE 23 A good game between two evenly matched teams, this one looked like it was headed to overtime, but Seattle backup Trevor Siemian, in after Hundley suffered a hyper-extended knee, led the Dragons down the field in the final minute to set up Jeffery Harris for the game winner. Siemian went 8 of 12 in relief, including a key 3 rd  down toss to Kyle Rudolph that helped set up the winning score. POTG:  Seattle WR Devin Funchess: 6 Rec, 132 Yds, 2 TD   PHILADELPHIA 19  NEW ENGLAND 14 The Steamrollers are not rolling, losing a 2 nd consecutive division game, this time at home as Derrick Henry ran wild across Gilette Stadium, gaining 163 yards on 23 carries, two going for scores. Henry had a 21-yard wrecking ball run in the 2 nd  and added a short goalline run in the fourth as the Stars got the win despite Carson Wentz only throwing 9 passes for 73 yards. Philly was helped by a tentative Ryan Tannehill, who was sacked 5 times and threw 2 picks in a poor showing. POTG : Stars’ HB Derrick Henry: 23 Att, 163 Yds, 2 TD   NEW JERSEY 7   BALTIMORE 24 The Generals outgained the Blitz 328-178 and yet lost badly after giving the ball away 4 times. Baltimore opened up the scoring with Ken Webster’s pick-six, one of three picks from Teddy Bridgewater. With Josh Jacobs out of action, the Blitz only managed 33 yards rushing, but with 2 Jake Locker TD passes, they had more than enough to knock off a Generals team that simply did not have any offensive game on the day. POTG:  Blitz CB Ken Webster: 7 Tck, 4 PDef, 2 Int, 1 DefTD   SAN DIEGO 35  MEMPHIS 24 The Thunder improve to 4-6 with their 3 rd win in the past 4 weeks. Mason Rudolph continues to improve, throwing for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns, despite only completing passes to 4 different receivers. Memphis had 24 first downs to San Diego’s 10, but could only produce 2 touchdown drives. Robert Woods caught 13 passes for 145 yards and a TD, but it was not enough as the Thunder pulled away with a late Rudolph to Johnson TD and Memphis could not respond. POTG:  Thunder FS Jordan Fuller: 3 Tck, 1 Int, 1 DefTD   JACKSONVILLE 20  ST. LOUIS 33 Lamar Jackson looked strong, throwing for 333 yards and 3 scores and rushing the ball 12 times as the Skyhawks improved to 6-3 with a solid home win. Trevor Lawrence survived 7 sacks, 5 from A. J. Epenesa, and had some big numbers, throwing for 323 yards and 2 scores, but the run game was not good at all, with rookie James Cook gaining only 15 yards on the day. James Conner fared much better, going for 89 yards on 18 carries. POTG:  St. Louis DE A. J. Epenesa: 7 Tck, 5 Sck   Is San Diego in the Playoff Picture? Don’t look now, but in a season that has already seen a QB change, a 1-5 start, and a Week 9 trade for the future, the San Diego Thunder may actually be in the middle of a playoff chase. Since their 1-5 start and their move from Christian Hackenberg to Mason Rudolph, the Thunder have gone 3-1 and sit at 4-6 for the year as they prepare for their bye week. Now, 4-6 is still 2 games under .500, not a record that evokes playoff confidence, but in a Western Division where the 5 th  and 6 th seeds currently sit with only 5 wins, the Thunder are without a doubt in the mix. When you consider that the Thunder now sit only ½ game behind 4-5 Oakland, with only 1 less win than 2 nd  place Los Angeles, it is not impossible to see how Thunder fans might just rally behind their team and push them to get over the .500 hump and into the Wild Card picture.   The Thunder had an impressive win in Memphis this week, knocking off the 5-3 Showboats by 11 points. They will come out of their bye with 6 games left to play, including 3 division matchups ( at Seattle, LA at home and at Portland to close out the season). Their other 3 foes include the 5-4 Houston Gamblers, likely still without Carlos Hyde, and the up-and-down Denver Gold (4-5). The path won’t be easy, but that there is a path at all for a Thunder team that scored only 3 wins in both 2020 and 2021, there is finally some light between the Thunderclouds.   Mariota Spurs Portland to Road Upset The season has not gone the way the Stag Army would have wanted, with only 3 wins in 10 games, but there is an argument to be made that this season has been among Marcus Mariota’s best in the USFL. The much-maligned Stag QB has managed to stay relatively healthy, missing only 1 game to injury over the first 10 weeks of the season. He has seen his QB rating rebound from 2021, now over 90, and he is completing almost 68% of his passes. This week’s game, a surprising 38-35 shootout victory over Houston, saw Mariota throw for 379 yards, his highest total in nearly 2 years, and pass for 4 touchdowns. In a season that has disappointed fans and spurred discussion of some major roster changes, Mariota’ performance may be making him immune from the usual “blame the QB” tendencies we see so often in the pro game. Coach Harbaugh seems confident in his signal caller, and that, combined with a couple more strong outings, may remove the QB position from the “urgent need” list this offseason.   Torero!! Epenesa Tames the Bulls After nearly a decade in which the Skyhawk defense has been more punchline than punishing, the Skyhawks currently boast a Top 5 squad, allowing only 63.1 yards per game rushing and limiting teams to 18.7 points per game. Improvements across the roster are certainly a factor there, but the most obvious sign that this is a very new Skyhawk defense is the emergence of DE A. J. Epenesa. In his 3 rd  year out of Penn State, Epenesa is on fire, racking up 17 sacks in his first 9 games, a pace that should have him clear the 20-sack threshold by season’s end. Epenesa started the year strong, recording 7 sacks in his first 3 games, but as defenses adjusted, his numbers slowed, only to bounce right back this week against an overmatched Jacksonville Bulls defense. Epenesa was unstoppable in this week’s game, recording 5 of the team’s 7 sacks of Trevor Lawrence. It marks the young end’s highest single game total and could be a sign that the Skyhawks are finding new ways to scheme around Epenesa to give him more options as he seeks the quarterback. With some pretty shaky offensive lines coming up in the next few weeks (Charlotte this week, Michigan in Week13, Portland in 14, and Pittsburgh in 17), there is a lot of hope in St. Louis that they will, for the first time ever, have the league’s sack champion on their roster.   No Trade Deadline Moves as Wrangler Turn Away Carey Deal We reached the Week 10 Trade Deadline without another major deal, but not for a lack of trying apparently. In the final week of the trading period, the Arizona Wranglers were a popular team, getting more interest calls than a Facebook marketplace post for free puppies. The player at the center of all this interest? Wrangler HB Ka’Deem Carey. It seems that the emergence of rookie Tyler Allgeier, with 442 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns on the year, has folks wondering if veteran Ka’Deem Carey is available for trade. Arizona received serious offers from no fewer than 4 teams, including the Generals, Bulls, Skyhawks, and Maulers. Each wanted to talk about Carey, each making offers of draft picks or receivers, but Arizona was not hearing it. With a solid 1-2 halfback duo and an 8-1 record that has the Wranglers still chasing unbeaten Chicago for the Western Conference’s top seed, the Wranglers had no interest in letting their veteran back go. Despite more than ample offers from several teams, the Wranglers stood pat and prepared for the home stretch of the season, hoping to find their way back to the Summer Bowl.   Hundley to Miss More Games with New Injury Concern in Seattle as their starting QB, Brett Hundley, has been diagnosed with a hyper-extended knee, an injury likely to keep him off the field for the next 2-3 weeks. This is the second leg injury for Hundley this season, after suffering an ankle injury in Week 4 that cost him 2 weeks of action, it now appears that it is the knee on the same leg, Hundley’s left, which could cost him 2 to 3 more games. What is worse is that Seattle has a 4-game divisional streak on the horizon, one that could decide if the Dragons can defend their 2021 Division Title with a repeat. With a road trip to LA this week, an equally taxing trip to Oakland the following week and then games vs. Portland and San Diego at Lumen Field, the Dragons do not want to be without their starter at this crucial time of the year, but once again it seems that they are going to have to turn to Trevor Siemian once again and at a time of year when your entire goal is to stay healthy as a team and build momentum towards the postseason.   Baltimore’s hopes to claim the NE Division took not one hit this week, but two, as both DT Levi Onwuzurike and halfback Troymaine Pope were placed on IR after suffering nasty muscle and ligament tears this week. Both will be undergoing reparative surgery in the next week and will have long rehabs that could stretch into the offseason training season. Several other players also suffered injuries that could potentially cost them the remaining regular season games, including San Antonio’s veteran safety, Will Harris. On the QB front, Brett Hundley is out this week and likely Week 12 as well, while Andy Dalton will be a game-time decision for the Express after clocking his throwing hand against one of his lineman’s helmets in this week’s first start in LA.   OUT HB         Troymaine Pope       BAL        ACL Tear                IR DT          Levi Onwuzurike    BAL        Groin Tear             IR CB          Damon Arnette      OHI       Fractured Skull     IR DT          Davion Nixon         JAX         Broken Wrist          6-8 Weeks SS           Will Harris               SAN       Torn MCL               6-8 Weeks C             Phillip Blake          MEM     Groin                     2-4 Weeks DE          Dee Ford                  MGN     Foot                          2-4 Weeks QB         Brett Hundley          SEA        Knee                       1-2 Weeks CB          Isaac Yiadom          CHI        Knee                        1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL C             Max Tuerk             LA          Concussion LB           Jarvis Jones         BAL        Toe   QUESTIONABLE G            Parker Ehinger        PIT         Ankle WR         Muhamed Sanu       NJ           Back G            Damien Lewis         NOR      Knee QB         Andy Dalton          LA          Finger       Amid Relocation Rumors, Memphis Puts Stadium Initiative to Voters Things are getting “interesting”, as my Midwestern in-laws would say, in Memphis’s stadium situation. Despite a series of renovations over the past 2 decades, Memphis’s Liberty Bowl Stadium is still one of the oldest facilities in the league, and the one that still offers its lead tenant far less in amenities than most USFL clubs claim as standard. The venerable staple of Memphis sports broke ground in 1963, and has been the home to the showboats for 39 seasons, but it is not a modern professional stadium, even with attempts to refurbish it.   Simmons Bank Liberty Bowl Stadium, a design whose time has passed. For the better part of 20 years the Showboats have been pushing for a new facility, one with all the tech, concourse space, luxury suites, and team amenities that are found across the league, but unlike so many other USFL teams, Memphis neither shares their stadium with an NFL club or major BCS university, nor has a strong corporate base pushing for a multi-use dome or retractable roof facility. The fact is that the city of Memphis, while not the smallest in total population in the league (Birmingham and post-Katrina New Orleans are smaller) may be the poorest of the USFL cities. Yes, FedEx is a major presence, but compared with many other USFL locations, including newcomers like Oklahoma City and San Diego, Memphis is just not a metropolitan area with either corporate or municipal wealth, and that means that the ability for the city to help fund a huge project like a new stadium facility for its lone tenant is not strong. That is why we have seen the Showboats time and again have to settle for smaller renovation projects, falling further behind other franchises when it comes to revenue potential from their gameday experience.  A rendering of the proposed New Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Once again, Showboat ownership is pushing a ballot initiative to help fund a new facility, backed by a league promise to contribute up to $200M towards a new facility, but once again it looks like a long and hard road to convince local politicians and the public to help fund stadium construction. So, what other options do the Showboats have? Well, there are two cities that are not only willing to consider hosting the Showboats, but are making a push to be taken seriously as a new home for the 39-year old USFL franchise. One is the Showboats’ own state capital, Nashville. Since the departure of the Nashville Knights in 2015, when the club headed west to become the Las Vegas Vipers, Music City has been content to focus their energy on the NFL Tennessee Copperheads and their NHL Predators. But with rapid growth in the Nashville metro area and a push for a new stadium for the Copperheads already in producing dividends, the city and its corporate base are looking to find a 2 nd tenant for the proposed dome to be completed in 2027. The USFL and, considering their situation, the Showboats seem a natural target of Nashville’s attention. Fans jilted by the Knights could certainly gain a measure of revenge by capturing their former team’s arch rival and their state’s other USFL franchise. Many Nashvillians are already Memphis fans (though there are solid Stallion and Fire contingents as well) and having a 2 nd  tenant for the new Nissan Stadium (dome) with the history and monetary impact of the USFL Showboats would be a coup for the state’s burgeoning capital city.  U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis But Nashville is not alone in its interest in acquiring a USFL team. It seems every time there is expansion, as we saw only 2 years ago with the Steamrollers and Gunslingers, there are cities which go unchosen and they often put their efforts into seeking a relocation candidate. Of the markets not chosen in the 2020 expansion process (Indianapolis, Kansas City, Miami and Minnesota), the Twin Cities remains an active lobbyist for USFL recognition. The Twin Cities Football Group remains an active and well-funded endeavor and their interest in the Showboats has been steady over the past 2 years. So, what does this mean for the Showboats? It means that ownership has the one weapon that has proven most effective in getting cities to push for a new stadium, a serious threat of relocation. Memphis has leverage because there are two cities with two ultra-modern stadiums (one in place, one already approved) begging them to consider a move. That reality makes their case to the city of Memphis, the county, and perhaps the state of Tennessee quite convincing. While Nashville certainly would benefit from the Showboats relocating, it would be a huge hit for the economy and national image of Memphis, a hit that no one in Western Tennessee wants to see, and one that likely also would have a negative impact on the state as a whole, even if the Showboats were to stay in-state. Having one city thriving while another appears to be giving off death rattles is not a good look for any state government, and produces far more trouble than funding a stadium would ever create.   And so, Memphis, once again is making their perennial push for the city to step up and provide them with an equivalent to Birmingham’s Protective Stadium, San Diego’s SnapDragon Stadium, or Oklahoma City’s OG&E Energy Stadium, a modern facility that could provide the Showboats with a potential Summer Bowl venue as well as a more lucrative gameday revenue stream. This time, with two different cities, both larger and far wealthier, wooing the club hard, they may well have the leverage they need, and if they don’t we could be looking at yet another USFL relocation in the next 5 years.   40 Greatest Players in 40 USFL Seasons: 13-11 These final picks before we reach the Top 10 are almost certainly going to be among the most debated. Every one of these players is a bona fide first ballot Hall of Famer (though one had to wait a while to get his due). Every one was a dominant player, a legend of the game, and remains an icon for the fanbases of their teams. We have in picks 13-11 one of the league’s greatest edge rushers, a back who helped define his club’s personality and play for over a decade, and one of the most charismatic and prolific quarterbacks in pro football history. None made our Top 10, and you will likely have something to say about that, but all are true USFL legends.   13) DE Phil Hansen (1991-2004) A controversial figure in USFL history whose Hall of Fame induction was delayed nearly a decade after a tell-all memoire revealed significant steroid use, Hansen is still undoubtedly one of the most influential and consequential players in USFL history. Hansen came into the league in 1991 with a bang, recording 23 sacks in his first campaign with the New Jersey Generals. The 1991 Rookie of the Year would go on to top 20 sacks for 8 consecutive years, leading the league in sacks 6 times before retiring with 289 career sacks, at the time a seemingly unmatchable total. The 2001 Defensive Player of the Year was named All-USFL 13 times, but when his autobiography confessed to use of steroids, also naming several other prominent USFL and NFL players doing likewise, it derailed what would have been a fast track to Canton, Ohio. With the league now acknowledging a “steroid era” similar to Major League Baseball, we remove any asterisks from Hansen’s career and recognize him as a player who was at the top of the league’s performers for more than a decade and one of the USFL’s all time greats.   12) HB Mike Rozier (1984-1997) The second Heisman Trophy winner to join the USFL in its early years, following Herschel Walker to the spring, Mike Rozier came to the expansion Pittsburgh Maulers in the league’s second season and the team’s first. Despite Pittsburgh struggling in its early years, without a winning season or playoff appearance until 1991, Rozier became a star for the club and the league from the start. The former Nebraska Cornhusker rushed for 1,550 yards in his rookie campaign and would top 1,000 yards every season until his truncated final year in 1997, amassing a career total of 19,088 yards, a league record for career yards that would stand for over 20 years. Rozier still holds the USFL record with 134 career rushing touchdowns, winning All-USFL accolades 10 times, including a 1992 MVP award to go with his 1984 Rookie of the Year and his 1995 playoff MVP, a year in which Rozier’s 1,475 yards and 17 touchdowns helped the Maulers reach the pinnacle of USFL success, a John Bassett Trophy as league champions.   11) QB Brett Favre (1991-2005, 2007-2009) Two league titles with two different teams, over 67,000 passing yards, 558 career touchdown pases, 11 All-USFL seasons and a 4-time MVP and Brett Favre cannot crack the Top 10. Think about that for a minute. The legendary gunslinger was a perfect fit for the USFL from the get go. Favre played with the enthusiasm and joy of a kid on a sandlot, frustrating coaches with his improvisation but energizing both his teammates and his thousands of fans with his impromptu decisions and daring on-the-fly choices. Brett Favre remains one of the most talked about players in league history and his placement at 11 will likely be one of the most controversial decisions our team of “experts” made. We will let you decide that. For now, we have him solidly here at 11 as we transition to our Top 10, which likely means that every single name from now on is one you are waiting to see.     The final week of USFL byes brings us our last 12-game schedule as we head into the final 6 weeks of the season and the inevitable playoff push. That push starts now for several teams, including the Oakland Invaders, who, at 4-5, cannot afford to lay down to the unbeaten Chicago Machine. They need to get back to .500 and beyond, but this is a tough win to earn in what should be a really intense Friday night weekend kickoff game. Saturday has some other teams who need to start stringing wins together, including Memphis, who head to Atlanta for a game they are favored to win but must pull out. New England has slipped behind Baltimore by a half game, so they too are feeling some pressure as they head out to Las Vegas to face the Vipers on Saturday. In Orlando we have a matchup of two teams that are still alive but need to start making a move upwards in the standings, with 5-4 New Orleans facing off against 4-5 Orlando.   Sunday features three interesting divisional games, with 4-5 Denver needing to get back to .500 but facing a very tough 8-1 Arizona squad at Empower Field. Birmingham at 7-2 is looking very good in the Southern Division, while their foe, Houston, needs to find answers on defense after a rough loss this past weekend. Finally, EFN has a really good Sunday Night Special, with the top two teams in the Pacific going head to head at Farmers Insurance Field. Can Seattle, without Brett Hundley, produce points against that nasty LA defense, and can LA, with Andy Dalton possibly out as well, get a much-needed win to earn a share of 1 st  place? Should be a good one to wrap up Week 11. Fri. 7pm ET      Chicago (9-0 @ Oakland (4-5)                          NBC   Sat. 12pm ET   San Antonio (6-3) @ Jacksonville (2-7)              ABC Sat. 12pm ET  Memphis (5-4) @ Atlanta (3-6)                           FOX Sat. 4pm ET    New England (5-4) @ Las Vegas (3-6)              ABC Sat. 4pm ET    Oklahoma (5-3-1) @ Dallas (3-6)                     FOX Sat. 8pm ET     New Orleans (5-4) @ Orlando (4-5)                NBC Sat. 8pm ET     Ohio (5-4) @ Pittsburgh (2-7)                          ESPN/EFN   Sun 12pm ET   St. Louis (6-3) @ Charlotte (3-6)                       ABC Sun 12pm ET   Michigan (1-8) @ Tampa Bay (7-2)                  FOX Sun 4pm ET    Birmingham (7-2) @ Houston (5-4)                  ABC Sun 4pm ET    Arizona (8-1) @ Denver (4-5)                            FOX Sun 8pm ET    Seattle (6-3) @ Los Angeles (5-4)                     EFN   Byes: Baltimore, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Washington

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Three different players from this week's Bandits-Bulls clash were recognized for our POTW consideration, including both quarterbacks, with Trevor Lawrence throwing for 431 yards and 4 TDs while Dak Prescott went for 349 and 5 TDs, so why, in a 42-35 shootout would we pick a defensive player? Well, when you record 5 sacks in one game, 3 of which ended Jacksonville drives, you deserve some kudos. So, Brian Burns, who jumped all the way to 2nd in the league with his 5-sack day gets the nod in Week 9.

Welcome to Week 9 and the midway point of the 2022 USFL season. The first half of the season has certainly provided us with a lot of excitement and quite a few surprises. Week 9 continued the trend of close games, big performances, and potential season-impacting trades. We will break it all down, including our Game of the Week which saw Philadelphia and Houston go into overtime before a winner was decided. We start with our Big Story, and in typical midyear fashion, we are focused on the coaches who are beginning to feel some heat, a need to get results quickly or risk finding that pink slip on their desk come Black Monday. We will start there, then recap all the week’s action, break down the news of the week, and preview Week 10 as we start to await the first playoff locks and the mad dash towards the postseason.   Midseason Hotseat for USFL Coaches As we have said, midseason is when coaches really start to feel the pressure of unmet expectations. Whether it is a trend over several years of diminishing returns or a sudden collapse, there is no shortage of reasons why a head coach may start to feel the temperature rising and the pressure building. We have selected 6 such coaches, coaches whose positions may well be determined in the coming weeks, with a change of fortune or a slow march towards the inevitable. Some are looking to prove they can get more out of their teams, others are trying to show that they have a plan and that the plan can start to produce results. We already know that they won’t all be successful, but there may still be time to make a case for another year and another opportunity to prove the job can get done. Here, with no further introduction, are the six coaches we believe are feeling the need to produce change now or risk losing the chance to do so later.  Kliff Kingsbury (DAL) What started as a nice upward climb, from 3-13 in 2018 to 6 wins in 2019, and a possible culture shift with a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance in 2020, has stagnated. With Dallas viewed as an up-and-comer after their 2020 playoff appearance, the Roughnecks slid back to 8-8 last season and now sit at 3-6 at the 2022 season’s midpoint. That is not what most expected from this Dallas club and their young QB Justin Herbert, not after a very solid 2020 campaign.   The issue in Dallas is twofold. The offense has not proven to be as potent as many had predicted, with Herbert seemingly plateauing after an impressive rookie campaign. His 2021 QB Rating was a solid 20 points lower than his rookie year (76.7 vs. 98.6) and 2022 is producing another year in the mid-70’s. The second factor, and perhaps the bigger issue, is that Dallas has simply not improved their defense year to year. The 2022 Roughneck D is ranked 29 th  in points allowed, giving up 27.7 per game. They are dead last against the run, allowing opposing backs an average of 126.3 yards per game, and the pass defense is not much better, sitting 23 rd  in the league. Without rapid improvement in either the offense’s ability to put points on the board or the defense’s ability to stop foes from doing the same, the Roughnecks could finish last in the SW Division, and that kind of backslide is almost certain to end Kingsbury’s run with the club.   Gary Kubiak (OAK) The Invaders sit at 4-4 right now, and are in range of Seattle, so why the negativity about Coach Kubiak? Well, when you consider that Oakland has finished 8-8 each of the past 3 years, you can see how another break-even season is going to be viewed very harshly. Davis Mills is playing well, the run game is among the league’s best, and the defense is the league’s best against the run. So why is this club sitting at .500 instead of leading the division?   That is the question Kubiak is struggling to answer. Losses in Portland and St. Louis are not sitting well with fans and there is a sense that if the Invaders cannot find their way above .500 and into the postseason, Kubiak could take the blame. Oakland could still be a factor in the Pacific Division race, and the game against 4-4 LA this week may be key to that, but if they falter, even at 8-8 once again, we think that will push ownership to make a change.  Dan Quinn (PHI) Do we really think the Stars would fire last year’s Coach of the Year because of one bad season? Ordinarily, no, we wouldn’t, but there is a lot of grumbling coming out of the Stars’ locker room, the kind of grumbling that might indicate that the coach has lost his team. That, more than a poor season, could be trouble for Dan Quinn.   The thing is, when we look at Philadelphia statistically, you could guess that they are atop the division, or at worst in the middle of the pack. They are 10 th  in total yards, including a Top 10 passing game, and they are 9 th  in yards allowed, with a Top 10 pass defense, so why are they 2-7? Well, the obvious answer is that their yards are not turning into points. They rank 19 th in points per game and 28 th  in points allowed. Too many mistakes, too many turnovers, and too many missed opportunities, all of which tend to get laid at the feet of the head coach. Our current thinking is that if the Stars can go 3-4 or better in their final 7 games, then Coach Quinn should weather the storm, but it they continue to fritter away games, the team will not stay together and will not support their coach when the rubber hits the road.  Skip Holtz (PIT) The son of famed Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz was something of an unexpected “left field” selection three years ago, but after going 10-6 in his first year with the Maulers, there was a feeling that Pittsburgh might have caught lightning in a bottle. Two years later and we have an 8-8 sophomore season and a 2-6 mark midway through Holtz’s third season. Add to that the chaos of selecting a high cost rookie QB and then trading away the starter who has led the club for over a decade and there is a lot riding on how the Maulers finish this season. A 10-loss season could be viewed as a sign that Holtz inherited a better team than he has built since. Avoiding that inglorious record means winning 5 of their final 8 games, and we are not sure that is within the realm of the possible for the Mauler squad we have seen this year.  Kevin Gilbride (WSH) If there is anything holding Kevin Gilbride back it is the question of perception vs. reality. After a 6-10 campaign in his first year, one that saw the team switch quarterbacks mid-season, there was a sense this offseason that two things were on the verge of happening in 2022. The first was that the Federals would compete for the NE Division. So far that remains very much in doubt, especially after Washington suffered key losses against New Jersey and New England in their first two games. A win in Baltimore helped, but losing to the Stars in Week 5 was no confidence builder, and a 16-0 embarrassment in New England was just plain deflating.   The second expectation may be the harder one for Gilbride to overcome. He was brought to the Federals with a reputation as an offensive schemer, a coach who could match his gameplan to the talent he had and make their skills effective in putting points on the board. The problem is that the 2022 Federals are not exactly lighting up the scoreboard. After 9 weeks they rank 22 nd  in the league in points at 19.2 per game, and 19 th  in yards. Their run game has not been much to celebrate, ranked 23 rd  of 30 teams, and they just have not proven to be very explosive despite having some very talented receivers. If Gilbride can get more out of his offense, even if the Feds finish out of the playoffs, we think he is back in 2023. If they flounder to a sub-500 record and the offense looks as it has so far this season, we don’t think he escapes Black Monday.  Sean McDermott (MGN) Look, we get it. Under McDermott, the Panthers have made the playoffs for 8 consecutive years, including a Summer Bowl appearance as recently as 2020 and a League Title in 2017. So, how can we have McDermott on the hot seat? Well, have you seen the 2022 Panthers? They are 1-7, are averaging 13.4 points per game and give up almost double that, giving them the worst margin of defeat in the league. They just lost to Pittsburgh in a battle of 1-6 clubs, and in the entire season they have not scored more than 20 points in any game. In other words, they are currently the runaway winner for Worst Team in the League. That is something no one expected to hear about the Panthers, Not with the run they have had over the past decade. So, does management put the blame on their head coach? Maybe, maybe not. They could opt to cut loose QB Kirk Cousins, who has struggled all season. They could point the finger at the GM for some pretty weak draft classes, or they could decide to clean house, make some big deals to trade away aging stars and start fresh. If it is the latter, which is drastic, but sometimes the best way to quickly rebound, then we think McDermott gets caught up in the housecleaning. If not, then he could well be back to guide a very different Panther team in 2023.   PHILADELPHIA STARS 34   HOUSTON GAMBLERS 37  OVERTIME We had a couple of unexpected shootouts this week, and while both were exciting affairs, the added drama of a last-minute field goal to send the Stars-Gamblers clash into overtime, and the drama of that extra period put this game over the top as our Game of the Week. With over 870 yards of combined offense, 31 first downs between the two teams, and 71 combined points, this one was a rip-roaring game that proved to be more than 60 minutes could contain.   Despite being an very high-scoring game, however, this was not truly a back and forth affair. Houston led or was tied for nearly 54 of the original 60 minutes, with Philadelphia only gaining the lead for a short 6-minute stretch crossing from the 3 rd  to the 4 th quarter. And yet, despite seemingly always playing from behind, there was no quit in this Stars team as they came back from being down 14-0, 21-14, 24-17, and 34-27 before finally bowing out with less than 20 seconds left to play in overtime.   The game began with Houston driving 77 yards in only 2 minutes and 4 seconds, with Colt McCoy going 3 of 4 on the opening drive, finding Mike Evans on a 39-yard connection on the game’s first play and then pushing the ball deep into Stars’ territory before recent practice-squad call up, Trayveon Williams scooted into the endzone from the 4. Williams and Clyde Edwards-Helaire would combine for 108 yards on the day, with Edwards-Helaire getting the lion’s share of the touches 26 to Williams’s 4, but on the opening drive Williams would snag his first career USFL touchdown.   After an ineffective first possession for the Stars, Houston was back in action, but in an interesting twist, it was Landry Jones coming out for the 2 nd  drive. Coach Cotrell, working with a new strategy to keep Colt McCoy fresh longer into the game, would have Jones take 1 drive per quarter all game long, a strategy that certainly paid dividends when the game went to overtime. On this 2 nd  drive, it was Landry Jones, not the 2021 MVP McCoy who would connect with JuJu Smith-Schuster to put the Gamblers up 14-0.   Philadelphia’s inauspicious start would turn around quickly on their 2 nd  possession as Carson Wentz started to heat up against a Houston defense that has struggled all year long. Wentz would finish the day going 36 of 52 for 382 yards, and after a miss on his opening drive, he was perfect on the second drive, connecting on all 4 passes, including the 20-yard strike to Randall Cobb which cut Houston’s lead in half. In a game that saw Derrick Henry facing 8- and 9-man fronts, rushing for only 33 yards, it would be Wentz taking advantage of Houston’s run-focused defense for a big game.   That big game continued after a 3-and-out on Houston’s 3 rd  possession (with McCoy back under center) gave Philadelphia a short field, starting at their own 37. Again Wentz found his mark, connecting with Elijah Moore for a 28-yarder before finding K. J. Hamler in the endzone from 15 yards out to even up the score at 15. Twenty-eight points and the first quarter still had 13 seconds left. Houston would use those 13 seconds and only 60 more before they took the lead back, this time McCoy hitting on a deep strike to Smith-Schuster to produce a 64-yard crowd-pleasing bomb. After only 73 seonds, Philadelphia was back in a hole.   The Stars climbed partially out with an Eddie Pineiro field goal on their next drive, but as the half wound down, Landry Jones, in once again, led Houston into range for Younghoe Koo to put up a kick of his own, returning the homestanding Gamblers’ lead to 7 points at the half, a fun half that saw Houston head to the locker room with a 24-17 advantage.   In the third quarter that advantage was wiped away. The Houston Gamblers had 2 punts and a fumble in the quarter while Philadelphia added 10 points to their score to take a 27-24 lead just as the third turned into the 4 th . With 4 seconds left in the 3 rd , Carson Wentz again found Randall Cobb, this time on a goalline crossing route for a 2-yard touchdown, Wentz’s 3 rd  of the day and one that gave Philadelphia their first lead, 27-24.   We entered the 4 th  with the game very much up in the air. Landry Jones again led the Gambler offense and again they were stopped short of the endzone, but the Koo kick brought them back to a tie with the Stars at 8:55 left in the game. Philadelphia would falter on their next drive, a holding penalty negating a key 3 rd  down conversion and producing a 3 rd  and 18 that led to a punt. It was one of 13 penalties for 137 yards that the Stars suffered, penalties that may well have cost them this game.   Houston responded to the defensive stop, McCoy back under center for the rest of the game, and it was Mccoy scoring his 2 nd  TD pass of the game, a 25-yard strike to Josh Reynolds, which put Houston up 7 with 5:46 to play. But, this game was all about Houston’s defense and Carson Wentz finding receivers against it, and he did once again, first connecting with Randall Cobb for 21 yarder, then TE Travis Kelce for 14, and finally back to Elijah Moore for the game tying touchdown with 12 ticks left on the clock. This game was going to overtime.   Houston won the toss and took the ball first, but after marching into Philadelphia territory, a sack of McCoy pushed them back to their own 49 and they were forced to punt. The big play was recorded by Philly DE Danielle Hunter, his 2 nd  sack of the game, but the first against McCoy. On Philadelphia’s possession, the offense got the ball as far as their own 44, but Wentz missed on a 3 rd  and 7 throw to Kelce, with safety Jessie Bates helping to break up a throw that was just behind Philadelphia’s talented tight end.   Houston got the ball back with 5:02 left to play, and they opted to move slowly, with Edwards-Helaire seeing the ball 4 times and McCoy throwing only 3 passes. As the Gamblers moved into Philadelphia territory and into range for Younghoe Koo, they ate up clock, ensuring that if their kicker were to miss, there would not be time for Philadelphia to turn a tie into a Houston loss with a last second field goal. Coach Quinn did not use timeouts to preserve time, so when Koo lined up for a 49-yarder, the result would either be a Houston overtime win or a tie between the two teams. Koo’s kick was true, splitting the uprights with distance to spare and the Gamblers escaped a major upset, Philadelphia had shown the issues in Houston’s defense, but the Gambler offense, with Colt McCoy rested throughout, but able to play the final 25 minutes of action, had prevailed.   DENVER 24   ARIZONA 26 A fun one to be sure at State Farm Stadium, but despite a furious 4 th  quarter comeback, Denver could not get the edge and upend the Wranglers. Two early TDs from Nassib to Brandon Aiyuk set up Arizona with the lead, one they never relinquished despite scores from C. J. Prosise, Jonathan Ward, and Golden Tate. Denver gets close, but close is not enough as they drop to 4-5. POTG:  Wrangler DE Bud DuPree: 4 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 Sfty   TAMPA BAY 42  JACKSONVILLE 35 Talk about fun, this was a shootout from the opening drive, with Dak Prescott hitting Dez Bryant on a 73-yard TD 3 plays into the game. Jacksonville responded, with Trevor Lawrence throwing for 431 yards and 4 TDs, but the Jacksonville QB was also sacked 10 times. TEN TIMES! That included a downright nasty 5 sacks from Bandit DE Brian Burns. Meanwhile Prescott finished with fewer yards (349) but with 5 touchdowns and the W, which is all the Bandits really wanted anyway. POTG:  Bandit DE Brian Burns: 6 Tck, 1 TFL, 5 Sck   NEW ENGLAND 13   NEW JERSEY 31 The Generals tighten up the NE Division race by taking care of the Steamrollers at MetLife Stadium. The New Jersey D picked off Ryan Tannehill twice, including an Aldon Smith rumbling pick-six touchdown, and limited Breece Hall to only 29 yards rushing. Meanwhile, Tony Pollard and rookie Kyren Williams combined for 114 yards and 2 scores as the Generals controlled the game, building up a 31-6 lead until late in the 4 th . POTG:  New Jersey CB Aqib Talib: 7 Tck, 4 PDef, 1 Int   SAN ANTONIO 22  BALTIMORE 21 A nice road win for the Gunslingers as they bounced back from a 21-7 deficit with a 4 th  quarter pick-six from Jaquan Johnson followed by a 2-minute drill that produced a Flacco to Rhamondre Stevenson TD with 37 seconds to play, breaking the hearts of over 45,000 Blitz fans on hand for this one. Jake Locker threw 3 early touchdowns, but the D could not hold as this one slipped away late for the Blitz. POTG:  San Antonio CB Jaquan Johnson: 4 Tck, 2 PDef, 1 Int, 1 Def TD   NEW ORLEANS 13  PORTLAND 3 A muddy field and a wet day meant a low scoring slugfest in Portland as the Breakers sack Marcus Mariota 7 times and pick him off 3 times in a defensive gem. The Breakers also struggled on offense, with only 193 total yards, but hey did get the one big play that gave them the win, a 33-yard strike from Geno Smith to Jordy Nelson. That proved enough as Portland sank into the muck. POTG:  New Orleans CB Tra’Davious White: 8 Tck, 2 PDef, 1 Int   LAS VEGAS 14  DALLAS 27 Two defensive touchdowns saved Dallas from embarrassment as their offense produced only 14 yards rushing. Samson Ebukam returned a poor Gardner Minshew throw 20 yards for the pick six, and Ja’Sir Taylor picked up a Kareem Hunt fumble and ran it back for a score as well. Throw in a Herbert to Pharaoh Brown TD throw and that was enough to upend a sloppy Las Vegas club. POTG:  Dallas CB Ja’Sir Taylor: 7 Tck, 2 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD   CHARLOTTE 14   ORLANDO 17 Orlando put the first 14 points on the board and then withstood as Charlotte tried to claw back into the game. It was hardly an offensive showcase for either team, though Chris Carson’s 98 yards helped Orlando shorten the game and kill clock late. Phillip Lindsay had 99 yards for Charlotte, but with Paxton Lynch only able to put up 187, the Monarchs fall short and drop to 2-6 halfway through their schedule. POTG:  Orlando HB Chris Carson: 22 Att, 98 Yds, 1 TD   OKLAHOMA 26  WASHINGTON 26  OVERTIME We got our first tie of the season as the Outlaws and Federals both put field goals on the board in extra time. After tying the game on a 53-yard field goal with 20 seconds to play, Oklahoma watched as Washington put 3 on the board in the opening drive of overtime. They responded with a drive and another Kai Forbath kick to even the game at 26, and that would be the way it ends as neither team could find a game winner. Travis Etienne had a strong day for the Feds, rushing for 97 yards and a score, but the combo of Lacy and QB Jalen Hurts put 114 yards on the board, along with two Eddie Lacy touchdowns. But, all said, a tie is a tie. POTG:  Outlaw QB Jalen Hurts: 35/50, 326 Yds, 0 TD, 1 Int, 10 Att, 48 Yds   MICHIGAN 11   PITTSBURGH 14 A game between two 1-win teams was bound to be ugly, and this one was. After a scoreless first quarter, Kenny Pickett found Brian Quick for a short TD, with Sony Michel adding a 2 nd  late in the 3 rd  to give Pittsburgh a 14-3 lead. Michigan got a late Ryan Izzo TD and went for 2 to draw within 3, but the Maulers managed to run out the clock without giving Michigan a chance to hit a game-tying kick. POTG:  Pittsburgh MLB Brian Cushing: 9 Tck, 1 FF, 1 FR   OHIO 27   SAN DIEGO 31 Despite 297 yards passing and 91 more on the ground from Justin Fields, the Glory get upended in San Diego by a surprising Thunder offense. Charles Sims was front and center, rushing for 120 yards and 2 TDs, but QB Mason Rudolph played well also, going 15 of 21 for 234 yards and 2 TDs. Ohio had the lead 27-24 with 5:14 to play, but the Thunder rolled down the field, with Rudolph hitting Luke Willson for the game winner just after the 2-minute warning. Needing 4, Ohio had to go for a touchdown and it proved just too far to go in the time remaining as San Diego earns their 3 rd win. POTG:  San Diego HB Charles Sims: 24 Att, 120 Yds, 2 TD   CHICAGO 31  ATLANTA 20 Sam Bradford threw for 3 scores, Rachaad White added another, and the defense held Nick Chubb to 61 yards as Chicago built up a 24-6 lead and held off Kyler Murray in his first action with Atlanta to earn their 8 th  win in 8 tries. Murray came in for an ineffective Rosen, and while his legs helped him against Chicago’s defense, including a nice play where he escaped the pocket and found A. J. Green for a 44-yard TD, it was not enough as Chicago kept the Fire at bay all game. POTG:  Machine QB Sam Bradford: 21/30, 239 Yds, 3 TD, 0 Int   Lawrence & Prescott Put on a Show While the overtime battle between the Stars and the Gamblers was our eventual GOTW, we gave a lot of thought to the 77-point shootout between in-state rivals Tampa Bay and Jacksonville. The Bandits entered the game as 12 point favorites, with the Vegas books showing very little confidence in the Bulls’ ability to keep pace with Coach Trestman and the Bandit Ball offense. But on this day, with the heat index closing in near 100 degrees, the Bulls did not wither. They had their best offensive game of the year, with Trevor Lawrence throwing for 431 yards and 4 touchdowns. Both NFL import Christian Kirk and TE Eric Ebron went well over100 yards on the day, with the big man racking up 145 and a TD on 4 catches, while Kirk brough in 3 for 130 and a TD. And, yes, from those numbers you can tell it was all about the big play. Lawrence’s 4 TD passes were from 3, 7, 59, and 74 yards. Jacksonville also had a 59-yard pick six from Isaiah Oliver, but it still proved to be one score too few.   For their part, the Bandits put up 501 yards of offense, including 118 yards on the ground from Dalvin Cook and 349 through the air for Dak Prescott. Prescott also one-upped Trevor Lawrence, throwing 5 touchdowns to the Bull QB’s 4. Prescott found his tight end, James Cameron, for 2 scores, but also connected with Dez Bryant on a 73-yard scoring throw, and short touchdown throws to Deebo Samuel and Ryan Grant. Prescott may not have put up the yards that Lawrence had, but his 5 TDs, along with a Bobby Rainey scoring run gave the Bandits a 42-21 advantage in the 4 th  quarter, a lead that even two late Lawrence TD throws could not overcome.  Houston Tries New Strategy in Shootout Win When Colt McCoy announced his battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fans worried that there would come a day when an exhausted McCoy would not be able to lead the team in the final minutes of a close game. Apparently Coach Ted Cotrell had also thought of this. This week’s game turned out to be the perfect scenario, a nip and tuck game that went nearly a full additional 15 minutes beyond standard time. Call Coach Cotrell savvy or perhaps clairvoyant, but he picked the right week to try a new strategy, pulling McCoy from the game in each quarter, allowing him extended rest after a long drive and having Landry Jones take over for short stints so that McCoy would be available late in the game.   It was a strategy with a lot of possible flaws, including the loss of momentum with each QB change, and the possibility that either QB could lose focus, come in cold, and produce a turnover at the worst possible time. But that did not happen. Jones proved a capable stand-in, going 4 of 10 for 65 yards and a touchdown, while a rested McCoy went 10 of 17 for 264, two touchdowns, and was able to play the entire overtime period, helping Houston get in position for the game winning field goal. It is a plan we should expect to see moving forward, and while it certainly is not guaranteed to work every time, there is a confidence factor that comes in to play when McCoy is able to finish out games.  Flacco’s Big Day Nets Win & Stat Boost Joe Flacco’s 312-yard, 28 of 39, 2 TD passing day against Baltimore not only helped the Gunslingers earn the road win and improve to 6-3 on the year, but also boosted his yardage total to the top of the list of all USFL quarterbacks. Flacco’s 2,421 yards at midseason is more than 150 yards ahead of 2 nd  place, Birmingham’s Cam Newton (2,286). Flacco still ranks 9 th  among USFL quarterbacks with a 99.2 QB Rating, hurt by 9 picks and only 14 touchdowns on the year, but when your former expansion team is now 6-3 and you are leading the league in yardage, maybe you don’t care as much that you are not pulling in a 120 point QB rating. After all, the league’s best QB rating is Josh Allen’s 122.9 and the Gold are below .500. We think Flacco is happier where he is.  Sims the Difference in Thunder Strike One of the bigger upsets of the week was San Diego’s 31-27 victory over Ohio. The key to that victory was a 24-carry, 120-yard, 2-TD performance from 2021 breakout star Charles Sims. With uncertainty at QB for the Thunder, Sims has been the focus of pretty much every defense the Thunder have played this year, a fact evident in his dip from 4.0 YPC in 2021 to 3.2 midway through this season. But despite the reduced production, Sims has been able break out a couple of times, including a 102-yard game against Seattle that also saw him add 50 more through the air. This week’s performance, was Sims’s 3 rd  100-yard game of the year, and it helps keep alive hopes that the Thunder are improving as a team. After scoring only 3 wins in all of 2021, the Thunder have already matched that total. They have an improved defense, allowing only 18.7 PPG, and with Sims leading the way, the offense is improving.   First Tie of the Season Helps No One Houston avoided a tie with a late Younghoe Kim field goal in overtime, but neither the Federals nor the Outlaws could manage a game winner as the two battled to the season’s first tie. Both teams scored in overtime, but with the two kicking field goals on back-to-back drives, neither got an advantage and the game ended with both stuck at 26 points. The tie keeps Oklahoma in 2 nd  place in the Southwest, but still pushes them another half-game behind Arizona, who now stand 2.5 games up at 8-1. For Washington, sitting at 3-5-1, the tie means they remain in 4 th place, 1.5 games behind division-leading New England, but also behind both 5-4 clubs, Baltimore and New Jersey.   Trades Continue before Friday’s Deadline We are in the final days before Friday’s Trade Deadline, and we are still seeing deals getting done. We had two over the past 5 days which are both signs that teams on the fringe of playoff contention are still working the wires to try to get the pieces in place that can help them make a late season push. Both Orlando and Denver made moves this week to address needs, both securing talent from teams in sell-mode at the midpoint of the season.   For Orlando the goal was to add an outside weapon after the season-ending injury to Brashad Perriman. The found what they were looking for in Portland receiver Josh Gordon . The Stags offered Gordon to Orlando, but at a pretty steep price, acquiring DE Chase Winovich as well as a 3 rd  round pick in this January’s draft. Winovich had 8 sacks for the Memphis Showboats last year, came to Orlando in free agency, but has struggled with the Renegades. He now gets a new start out West as he joins the Stags, who are still hoping to get rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux back from injury before the season concludes. For Orlando, they get themselves a deep threat receiver who already has 49 receptions and 636 yards on the season. Gordon is likely going to take on Perriman’s role as the deep ball threat for Russell Wilson, allowing Braxton Berrios to focus on his slot work and Nelson Agholor to work the mid-level routes.   The other big move was made by the Denver Gold, who gave up two draft picks to get some help in the secondary. San Diego was willing to let their “swing” safety, Landon Collins go to the Mile High City in return for a 4 th  rounder both this January and in 2024. Collins, who has been cycling in behind both SS Marquise Blair and FS Jordan Fuller, will now get a full time starting gig in Denver, taking over for Camryn Bynum, who has struggled for the Gold in the season’s first half. That means that Collins will now be a full-time free safety, leaving the SS position to Nick Cross.   We still have just over 2 full days before the trade window closes, and while we are not hearing any huge news or major rumors, there is no guarantee that the trading block has seen its last deal. Week 10 is a tough deadline with 7 more weeks of action, but there are certainly teams that could use a late infusion of talent in a key position, especially teams like both Orlando and Denver, who are sitting on the outside of the early playoff picture, looking in with envy.   A better week than most, but still several players who will miss action, including a key member of the Orlando defense in LB Darryl Shaprton, and both of Denver’s rookie linemen, with Jergens out up to a month with an ACL sprain, while LT Evan Neal could miss this week after suffering a concussion. Jacksonville has said that their young WR Tee Higgins could be a gameday decision, as could both Josh Jacobs for the Blitz and Samaje Perine for Dallas.   OUT C        Cam Jergens         DEN            ACL               2-4 Weeks DT          Akim McNeill          CHA                Knee               2-4 Weeks G            Logan Bruss           PHI                  Knee                1-2 Weeks G            Daniel Kilgore        OHI                 ACL                  1-2 Weeks LB           Darryl Sharpton      ORL                 Shoulder         1-2 Weeks LB           Jelani Jenkins          HOU                Hand                1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL CB          Jason Verritt           CHI              Groin WR         Tee Higgins             JAX                 Ankle   QUESTIONABLE OT          Evan Neal                DEN              Concussion CB          Amani Oruwarije    PHI                  Toe OT          Ross Burton              TBY                 Hand SS           Delarin Turner-Yell   MEM                Collarbone CB          Keenan  Lewis          JAX                  Groin HB         Josh Jacobs             BAL                  Thigh HB         Samaje Perine         DAL              Pinched Nerve   Divisional Prediction Update We have been doing this long enough, and you have likely been reading our posts long enough to know that we are horrible at predictions. We tend to lean too heavily on the past year’s results, underestimate season-to-season momentum and offseason roster shifts, as well as the impact of aging on players. So, we often get both our season record picks way out of whack with what happens on the field, and our award winners misaligned with how the votes eventually go. This year is no different, though there were some picks that came through, while others now look ridiculous. We offer now our usual mid-season reassessment, complete with a statistical breakdown where we look at each division, the wins and losses, but also the rankings in the 4 major team statistical categories: points per game, yards per game, points allowed, and yards allowed. Those four stats can tell the story as to why some teams are looking like surefire playoff contenders, others are up and down, and some are just down all the time. After our assessment, we will recalibrate our picks for the end of the year, maybe with 9 weeks of results we can be a bit more accurate.                 RECORD   DIV           PPG YPG  PPGA  YPGA NE            5-3                  3-2           14            16            10             18 NJ            5-4                   3-0          16            26          23            29 BAL          5-4                  2-2           9               12          19             5 WSH       3-5-1               1-4           22             19          16            27 PHI          2-7                  1-2           19            10          28              9   What stands out in the NE Division is that we don’t have a lot of superlatives. We have odd combinations, like a Philadelphia defense which does not give up yards but is among the league’s worst in giving up points. That is almost certainly a byproduct of their turnover issues. On the positive side, watch out for Baltimore. Their stats should have them atop the division, with a very solid defense and a good offense. They are only ½ game back, so we think they make a run. But we should note that NJ has the division record advantage, not having lost at all in division this season. If they can finish 5-1 or 4-2 in the division, they will likely get the tiebreaker. Something to watch.   As for our picks, we said in the preseason that this division would be a cluster, and it has proven us right. We did not see Philadelphia collapsing entirely but did tip our hats at the job John Fox is doing in New England. So, after looking at 8 or 9 games for each team, and after breaking down the stats, what do we see now? Honestly there is still a cluster, but we think the good money may be on Baltimore to rise up the list. They have a Top 10 scoring offense and their defense is solid. We will change our pick to have them on top by season’s end, but don’t be surprised if at least 1 other team finds a path to the playoffs from the top 4 in the division right now.                     RECORD     DIV         PPG      YPG       PPGA    YPGA TBY        6-2                 5-0           2           2               9             6            ORL          4-4                  2-3           23            24          12             23 ATL       3-5               2-1          24             7            22              3 CHA         2-6                   2-3           27            25          13             24 JAX         2-6                    0-4          17            28          30            30   No shock that the Bandits are light years beyond the 4 other clubs in the SE Division. They are Top 10 in all 4 categories. If you are looking for a late challenger, it would seem Atlanta is in a better position, but they need to figure out how they can be so good in yards allowed and still give up so many points. With only 1 division loss, we think Atlanta could make a run, but we will need to see how the QB battle develops now that Kyler Murray is in town to challenge Josh Rosen. And, as if there was any doubt why Jacksonville is disappointing at 2-6, well, having the worst defense in the league is a pretty good indicator that you won’t win a lot of games.   It was not really hard to pick Tampa Bay to repeat as Division Champs back in February, and after 9 weeks, the Bandits look to be well in control of the division. We were more hopeful about Atlanta, but the loss of Aaron Murray was certainly a huge factor in why they have struggled to reach and stay above .500. We think they still have possibilities, as does Orlando, but there is a good chance that Tampa Bay will just expand their division lead, and every possibility that the Southeast could be swept out of any Wild Card spots by the other two divisions.                  RECORD      DIV          PPG      YPG       PPGA    YPGA BIR         6-2                  2-2            3               1           20             7 SAN       6-3                    2-1          11             3            14            12 MEM     5-3                   3-1        15            23             2           10 HOU     5-3                    2-3          5             4            26             25 NOR      5-3                  1-3           6            11            4            19   A division where every team is over .500 is what you see here, with every team having at least one Top 5 statistical category. Birmingham can take the division if they can figure out how to force teams to kick more field goals and give up fewer TDs. San Antonio needs to get more out of their drives, though their numbers across the board should be playoff-worthy. Memphis is living on their defense, Houston on their offense, and New Orleans. Well, they score a lot, they keep teams from scoring, so that is a nice combo heading into the 2 nd  half of the season. We could see 4 teams from this division qualify if they don’t knock each other off within the division.   Hard to pick against the Stallions the way they are playing, and while San Antonio has surprised us with their offensive production, we think they could fade down the stretch as Memphis, Houston and the Stallions take some shots at them. We see 3 teams coming out of this cluster and into the playoffs, but it could well be 4. The hardest thing to predict at this point is which club will falter and end up in the basement, though very possibly an 8-8 or even 9-7 basement. With Carlos Hyde out for a while to come, it may be Houston, who also seem to have some issues on defense as the numbers above indicate.                                 RECORD     DIV          PPG      YPG       PPGA    YPGA CHI           8-0                 5-0       4              6              1             1 STL       5-3                 2-2       10             13            5            16 OHI          4-4                 2-2          20             20           15            12 PIT            2-6                  2-3         29            30           11            2 MGN        1-7                 0-4           30             18          27             17   Like Tampa Bay, the Chicago Machine don’t exactly mystify us as to why they are winning. You cannot have the top defense in both key stats and have the 4 th  highest scoring team without winning a lot of games. Looking at the others in the division, St. Louis is the clear 2 nd  option. Pittsburgh would be a lot tougher if they had any semblance of an offense, while Michigan is dead last in scoring and near the bottom in points allowed, a combo that does not bode well for the rest of the year in Detroit.   Chicago is much better than we expected, Michigan incredibly worse than anticipated, and Ohio just too inconsistent to trust. We are believers in what St. Louis is doing and overwhelmed to see they have a Top 5 scoring defense. We have not seen that in nearly a decade. It still seems like Chicago is just on a different level, and they should lock up the division in short order, but St. Louis, and perhaps Ohio as well, could be in the Wild Card mix. As for Pittsburgh and Michigan, start working towards 2023.                                    RECORD    DIV          PPG      YPG       PPGA    YPGA ARZ          8-1               5-0         2              5              8             22 OKL     5-3-1               2-1        18            27          17             26 DEN         4-5                  2-2          7              9             25              14 DAL     3-6                  2-3           8              15           29             28 LV          3-6                 0-5            21              8            21            4   Arizona can score, no doubt. And, apparently, they can keep teams from scoring, but why so many yards given up? We think that is the result of playing with a lead so often and letting up on defense late in games. Only way to explain it. If I had to guess who finished 2 nd , these numbers point to Denver over Oklahoma. The Gold offense has options, and they keep making deals to improve the D, so we may see those numbers improve as well. Now, will someone tell Las Vegas that gaining yards and preventing teams from doing the same is great, but the key is to score points and prevent foes from doing so. They seem to have forgotten that.   It appears that we overestimated Arizona’s decline. They do not look like a team whose championship window has closed. Ryan Nassib’s return has worked better than anyone hoped, producing the league’s 2 nd  best offense (we think rookie Tyler Allgeier has also been a huge factor there), and while being 22 nd  in yards allowed is not great, being 8 th  in scoring is certainly a good indicator that Arizona is not going to go down without a fight when the division crown is on the line. We have seen enough from both Oklahoma and Denver to picture them in the postseason, especially if they can string together some wins to build momentum. Dallas and Las Vegas are just not there, not yet at least.                             RECORD       DIV           PPG      YPG       PPGA    YPGA SEA          5-3                   2-2           13            21           17            15 OAK      4-4                  3-1          12            14          18            11 LA          4-4                  2-1          28            29             7             8 SD          3-6                  1-4       26            22            6            21 POR     2-7                 2-2           25             17          24             20   Another relatively balanced division, with Seattle having the best aggregate ratings, LA living on defense, and the Invaders looking like a possible contender, especially if they can improve in their scoring defense. That means more 3 rd  down stops and more field goals vs. TDs. San Diego is an intriguing case as they give up quite a few yards but have learned how to tighten up in the red zone, giving up points like a playoff contender.   Seattle looks solid, if not quite as strong as last year. Oakland is balanced, with no ranking below 18 th , while LA is all about the defense. If Andy Dalton can change that in short order, we could see the Express make a run. Even if they could be mediocre on offense, that could be enough. Portland is a huge disappointment this year, and San Diego still has a lot of questions to answer. Our best bet here is that Seattle hangs on, but LA and Oakland will be in the mix all the way to Week 17.   Award Prediction Update While our preseason divisional picks may have been way off base, or hit and miss to be more accurate, we fared a bit better with our award winner picks. We still think some adjustments might be needed, as a few of the USFL stars we expected to be at the top of their games are not quite there and, as always happens, a few new names have popped up to the top of everyone’s list. Here is our revised look at the five big USFL awards, with our new frontrunners for each.   MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Preseason Favorites:  Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, Colt McCoy, LeVeon Bell Updated Favorites:  While all four of our preseason picks are looking pretty good, with Bell perhaps slipping a bit as his Michigan team has fallen on hard times, we would now have to add a few more names to the mix, starting with Birmingham QB Cam Newton, who has a combined 25 touchdowns (19 passing, 6 rushing) and whose passing yards (2,286) are complemented by his 318 yards rushing. With the Stallions at 6-2 and looking very much like a contender for the 1 seed, Newton will certainly be a popular choice for the MVP title.   OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Preseason Favorites: LeVeon Bell, Josh Jacobs, Knowshon Moreno, Dez Bryant Updated Favorites:  At this point in the year, with LeVeon Bell 2 nd  on the rushing leaderboard, behind only Derrick Henry, he is certainly not out of the running (no pun intended), but both his Panthers and Henry’s Stars are at the bottom of the standings, which does not usually produce award winners. Josh Jacobs and Knowshon Moreno are both in the Top 5 among rushers and their teams are in better shape, but the new frontrunner has to be a Dez Bryant repeat as OPOTY. Bryant leads the league with 974 yards receiving and has 7 touchdowns. A new name in the pool could be Birmingham’s Henry Ruggs. Ruggs is currently 7 th  in the league in yards, but could easily find himself in the top 5 by season’s end. He leads the league with 9 touchdowns in 9 games and, to state it again, Birmingham is looking like a Summer Bowl contender this year.   DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Preseason favorites: Bud DuPree, Jordan Poyer Updated favorites: DuPree sits at 10 sacks, 4 behind Memphis’s J. J. Watt, so unless he has a huge surge (which is possible) we think Watt may be favored, especially if Memphis can keep the pressure on Birmingham in the South. Tampa Bay’s Brian Burns is a darkhorse, coming out of nowhere to rack up 13 sacks (5 in one game) to take 2 nd  in the sack leaderboard. Seattle’s Richard Sherman (5 picks) and Khalil Mack could also be in the running. As for Jordan Poyer, our preseason dark horse, the Machine are still unbeaten, but the defender getting more attention is CB Josh Norman, with 3 picks and 42 tackles to lead the team in both categories. Let’s add him to the list of DPOTY candidates as well.   ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Preseason Favorites: Breece Hall, Christian Watson, Aiden Hutchinson, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Sauce Gardner Updated Favorites: We clearly missed one in our preseason picks, San Antonio WR Garrett Wilson, and now, 9 games in, we have to have Wilson at the top of the list. The Gunslinger wideout has 58 catches, 783 yards and 3 scores and has helped Joe Flacco hang with the best QBs in the league. If Wilson falters as the season wears on, there may be room for Hall (494 Yards, 2 TD), Watson (50 Rec, 625 Yds, 4 TD), or Hutchinson (10 Sacks) to get in the mix, but right now we think Wilson has to be the frontrunner.   COACH OF THE YEAR Preseason Favorites: Kevin Gilbride, Marvin Lewis, any other 1 st year coach Updated Favorites: Picking COTY candidates is always tough because so much depends on the team’s success compared with everyone’s perception of their talent and likelihood for success. Right now, with the standings where they are, we think the two frontrunners are likely the head coaches of the two 2020 expansion teams. John Fox has New England atop the NE Division at 5-3 while Chuck Long has the Gunslingers in the mix in a very tough Southern Division at 6-3. Both could well have their clubs in the postseason in their 3 rd  year in the league, which is certainly an impressive feat. If there is a dark horse in this race it is St. Louis’s Brian Schottenheimer, who has the Skyhawks at 5-3 and looking like a solid Wild Card contender in his second season.   Summer Bowl Prediction Update Looking back to our Season Preview, we went pretty conservatively, picking Tampa Bay and having Seattle as our backup, basically the 2 teams from 2021’s Summer Bowl tilt. Both of those teams are looking solid, with both atop their divisions, but at the midway point of the season we have to add the unbeaten Chicago Machine to the list of favorites, as well as the 8-1 Arizona Wranglers, and the 6-2 Birmingham Stallions. Right now, if we had to make a pick, we would have to go with Chicago out of the West and Birmingham out of the East. We just cannot go against a team that has yet to lose, so we are going for Chicago as the 2022 champion, though all the others we have mentioned, including the Wranglers, could be there as well. In other words, the 2022 postseason should be a good one.   40 Greatest Players in 40 USFL Seasons: 16-14 Let’s face it, every player on our list is amazing, and the names will just keep getting more and more familiar. We kick off our list today with our top-rated safety in league history, a pick that is sure to have detractors as the Polamalu-Blades debate rages on. We then move on to another beloved QB, but one whose resume has one glaring hole in it that keeps him out of the Top 10 on our list. Finally, it is another of the great receivers who have come to be the faces of the USFL and its love of the deep ball.   16) S Troy Polamalu (2003-2018) We know we will get some pushback on this selection, because we know there are tons of Bennie Blades fans out there who cannot believe we are putting Polamalu this far above their guy, with the former Wrangler 10 spots above the former Showboat and Blitz safety. If we look at the numbers, that seems patently unfair. Polamalu’s numbers are impressive: 1,157 tackles, 52 Sacks, and 16 picks. But, Blades simply had more on paper: 1,256 tackles, 54 sacks, 20 picks.   So, why are these two so far apart, and why did we give Polamalu a much higher stop on our list? Well, you could call it recency bias, with Blades out of the USFL since 2003, while Polamalu retired 4 years ago in 2018. But we like to think it is about more than numbers, it is about impact on the game, and when you talk about impact, that has Troy Polamalu written all over it. Blades was an outstanding safety in the traditional mold of what safeties were, deep defenders with occasional run-stuffing or blitz responsibilities. Polamalu was different. He was like a linebacker with cornerback speed. He was as dangerous at the line of scrimmage as he was in centerfield, and the hits, you cannot understate the psychological impact that Troy Polamalu had on slot receivers, backs, tight ends, and wideouts when they dared to come into the middle of the field. Both are outstanding football players, but for our money, the intimidation factor that Polamalu brought for the Wranglers was huge, and worth a big jump up the board.   15) QB Jake Plummer (1997-2014) For every USFL fan who is miffed that Troy Aikman was in our first 10 players announced (33 rd spot), there will be more who are incensed that Jake Plummer is not in our Top 10. Yes, he was practically the prototype for a USFL dual-threat QB (though we would argue that Doug Flutie, Reggie Collier, and even Walter Lewis were there first). Yes, he ranks 1 st  in league history in passing yards with 59,759, is 4 th  in touchdowns, and was a 2-time MVP and 8-time All-USFL selection. All outstanding numbers, good enough to place him above Troy Aikman, but not into our Top 10.   Two things hold Jake the Snake back. First off, the picks. We all loved Jake Plummer, but the man threw 169 picks, including seasons with 8 seasons with 10 or more. He ranks 3 rd all time, behind only Doug Flutie (253, ouch!) and Matt Hasselbeck (172), neither of whom made the 40 Greatest list despite being huge stars in the league. The other reason we have Plummer outside the top 10, and several QBs above him is pretty basic. He never won a title. It’s just that simple. We know it is not entirely fair to say that a QB without a title cannot be superior to one with a title, but when we look at the QB’s ahead of him, they have all the accolades, but they also have a championship ring (or several) as well. We want to celebrate Plummer, just as the NFL celebrates Dan Marino, but like Marino, the absolute elite QBs are judged on titles, and that is just an area where Plummer cannot be in the same conversation as some of the QBs to come.   14) WR Joey Galloway (1995-2012) First all time in yards (24,313), Second in receptions (1,300), and second in touchdowns (167), Joey Galloway is among the absolute elite of USFL receivers. He is, in fact the 2 nd receiver in our ranking, but with so many superstars at other positions, that very enviable position was not enough to put him in our Top 10. We know that seems unbelievable in a league known for passing, but our Top 10 includes 4 defenders, 2 backs, and 2 QBs, along with our top-rated WR in league history, so there just was not a way to move Galloway up. We wish the Top 10 had 20 spots, but that is just not how lists work.   Galloway was about as consistent a receiver as you could hope for, with 14 thousand-yard seasons and a streak of 8 years in which he scored double digit touchdowns. Galloway topped 100 catches in 1996, ’98, ’99, and then again in 2012, his final year in the league. He helped Ohio complete their amazing 2-year run with 2 titles and an unbeaten season, then, in the twilight of his career, helped Tampa Bay win a title in 2011. With 12 All-USFL awards and the 1996 OPOTY award, Galloway is one of the very best at what he did, and one of the names most frequently included in the “Who did it best” conversations about his position. But, we had to put one receiver ahead of him and when you see who it is, you likely will agree.   Week 10 is the fourth of our five 12-game bye week schedules, with Week 11 wrapping up the bye season. This week we have the entire Soutwest Division and the San Antonio Gunslingers all taking their week of rest and recovery. That means some late afternoon games coming out of the Eastern Conference for a rare summer treat (for those who love humidity). But, even with some oddly timed games, we have a good week of action kicking off on Friday night when NBC will broadcast a California Derby between the Express and the Invaders. This one should be a big one for both teams, with each sitting at 5-4 and hoping to get back into the race with 5-3 Seattle.   Seattle is in action on Saturday, hosting the New Orleans Breakers in a battle of 5-win clubs on ESPN’s Saturday night special. The other night game should also be a good one, with 4-4 Orlando headed to Protective Stadium to face the 6-2 Birmingham Stallions. Also, on Saturday it is Atlanta @ Ohio, Portland @ Houston, Pittsburgh @ Charlotte, and the Federals traveling to Charlotte to face the Monarchs.   Sunday opens with two good divisional games out of the Northeast. On ABC it will be Philadelphia headed up to Foxboro to take on the New England Steamrollers. With both the Generals and the Blitz only a half-game back, the Steamrollers cannot afford a slip up against the Stars. Those Generals and Blitz face off in Baltimore, with the winner hoping to snag a share of first place and the loser dropping to .500 after 10 games. Later in the day San Diego travels to Memphis with an upset on their minds, as do the Jacksonville Bulls who will face the 5-3 Skyhawks in St. Louis. The night game looked amazing on paper this winter, when the schedule came out, but now could be an ugly one, with 1-7 Michigan limping into Chicago to face the unbeaten Machine. If ever Chicago was going to get some payback for all their bad losses to Michigan over the years, this is the game where it could happen.   Fri. 7pm ET       Los Angeles (4-4) @ Oakland (4-4)                   NBC   Sat. 12pm ET     Pittsburgh (2-6) @ Tampa Bay 6-2)                   ABC Sat. 12pm ET     Washington (3-5-1) @ Charlotte (2-6)             FOX Sat. 4pm ET       Portland (2-7) @ Houston (5-3)                          ABC Sat. 4pm ET       Atlanta (3-5) @ Ohio (4-4)                                 FOX Sat. 8pm ET       Orlando (4-4) @ Birmingham (6-2)                   NBC Sat. 8pm ET       New Orleans (5-3) @ Seattle (5-3)                 ESPN/EFN   Sun 12pm ET    Philadelphia (2-7) @ New England (5-3)         ABC Sun 12pm ET   New Jersey (5-4) @ Baltimore (5-4)                FOX Sun 4pm ET       San Diego (3-6) @ Memphis (5-3)                    ABC Sun 4pm ET       Jacksonville (2-6) @ St. Louis (5-3)                  FOX Sun 8pm ET      Chicago (8-0) @ Michigan (1-7)                      EFN   Byes: Arizona, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Oklahoma, San Antonio

Week Eight was exciting even before the first kickoff, as a three-way trade shook up the league by sending two starting quarterbacks off to new homes. We will cover the deal that shook up three divisions and may well prove pivotal in at least two division races, our Big Story for the week. We will also review the press conference that gave us an answer to Colt McCoy’s mysterious late-game benchings, cover all the game action from a busy weekend, and offer you our second Power Ranking for the season. All that, plus three more USFL Greats are named This Week in the USFL.   Dalton & Murray Part of 3-Way Deal We told you something was in the works last week, and not 2 days later, on Friday the deal was done. It ended up a 3-team deal between the Maulers, Express, and Fire that included 5 players and a draft pick changing hands. We’ll break it down first and then take a look at who we think may have come out on top in the deal.   The two biggest names in the deal are clearly the quarterbacks, with Andy Dalton moving from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles and Kyler Murray heading from the Express to the Fire. The deal also saw LA sending LB Anfernee Jennings to the Fire as well. Atlanta demanded on a LB as part of the deal since they were giving up two defenders to the Maulers. Atlanta sends LB Zavier Gooden as well as cornerback Desmond King to Pittsburgh, the only club not gaining a new option at QB. Finally, the Maulers provided LA with a 3 rd rounder to sweeten the deal. In the end Pittsburgh gains two defenders while Atlanta gets a QB and a linebacker and LA picks up a QB and a draft pick. But, in the big picture, who actually comes out on top? That is the question, that and how soon we will see either Dalton or Murray on the field with their new teams.   The answer to that 2 nd  question will depend a lot on how each QB adapts to a new system with new nomenclature and new emphases. LA went with Nick Foles this week, which makes sense when you consider Dalton had barely just landed when the Express headed up to Portland. Dalton made the trip, but was not in uniform. With a bye in Week 9, even money says we will see Andy Dalton under center when the Express head to Oakland for a huge Week 10 showdown in the California Derby. As for Kyler Murray, we don’t think he will jump right in. Josh Rosen has had some decent outings, and certainly gives the Fire a better chance to win than to throw Murray to the wolves before he has had a chance to learn the system. Our best guess is that if Rosen struggles this week against Chicago and in Week 10 against Ohio, we may see Murray in Atlanta’ s next home game, a Week 11 matchup with the Memphis Showboats. If Atlanta is going to go with Murray, they will want to get him some action before they have their final divisional swing. The Fire play 5 divisional games in their final 6 for the year (v. ORL, @ CHA, v. TBY, v. JAX and @ TBY). That vital 6-game stretch could well be a mini-season for Kyler Murray.   As for the Maulers, we expect both Gooden and King to be suited up this week when Pittsburgh hosts Michigan in a battle of 1-6 clubs. Gooden could spend time both in the middle and on the strong side, while King is penciled in as a nickel option right now. Overall it may be a few weeks before we see the full impact of the deal, but already there is speculation on who won and who was grasping at straws. Looking at the 3 clubs involved, there are certainly enough question marks to go around.  Los Angeles: The Express get Coach Marvin Lewis a pure drop back passer, one who has been up and down over his career, but one who certainly has the capacity to make plays from the pocket. Will that shift in offensive focus help the Express? Certainly Dalton’s reputation as a team leader and his experience will help the Express feel a bit more in control of their own destiny. But, we should remember that Dalton has already missed several weeks this season due to injury and at age 33, those injuries will likely be more frequent as Dalton’s body has succumbed to the trevails of a pocket QB.   Atlanta: This is an intriguing situation for the Fire. Josh Rosen has played relatively well over the past month, with an 89.9 QB Rating and a 4:2 TD to Int ratio. He is not making a lot of big plays, but he is not producing a lot of gaffs either. Kyler Murray was clearly struggling this year in LA. He comes to the Fire with a 67.3 QBR, 7 picks to 7 touchdowns, and has completed barely 50% of his passes (50.3%). Now, that said, the theory in Atlanta is that the Express simply did not build their offense around Murray’s skills. It seems clear that Coach Elizondo is interested in using more of Murray’s legs, perhaps not as a pure runner, but as a mobile QB who can throw from outside of the pocket. Pairing him with Nick Chubb should create more RPO options than we saw with Aaron Murray or are seeing now with Rosen.  Pittsburgh: The big concern among Mauler Nation is that the trade leaves Pittsburgh almost entirely reliant on their rookie QB, Kenny Pickett. Pickett has been more good than bad over his first 7 games, but the Maulers now don’t really have a fallback plan if things start to go south. Pickett is backed up by Kevin Hogan and undrafted rookie Larry McMillen, moved up from the practice squad. We honestly would not be surprised if Pittsburgh brought in a more veteran backup for Pickett. Two names to consider would be Bryan Kohler and Tyler Thigpen, both awaiting a call after not making final cuts this preseason. On the positive side, the Maulers have just added 2 very solid players to a defense that had already proven to be the backbone of the team. The Maulers may have trouble putting points on the board (they still have the league’s worst rushing attack), but their defense could prove to be even more effective than their current 2 nd  ranking in yardage and 11 th  position ranking in points allowed. Both Desmond King and Zavier King should help the Maulers with depth and athleticism in pass coverage. Gooden is also a solid tackler who could help the Maulers improve their 9 th  rated rush defense. It may not be enough for this year, but if Pittsburgh can find the pieces they need to mount a solid run game in 2023, this could be a very good deal for them long term.   MICHIGAN PANTHERS 13  OHIO GLORY 17 We have had more than ample examples of the Michigan-Ohio Border War providing us with great games, and we are not just talking about “The Game” between the Buckeyes and the Wolverines. The Panthers and Glory have also played their part in the rivalry between the two midwestern states. This week’s clash in Columbus may not have been the highest-scoring affair between the two, but it was another beauty of a game, with both teams slugging it out in the trenches and only 1 able to come out on top.   For Ohio, this game was about staying relevant in a Central Division that seems to be well in Chicago’s control. Trailing both the unbeaten Machine and the upstart St. Louis Skyhawks, Ohio, at 3-3, needed a win to get back over .500 and stay in the hunt for a Wild Card, if not a shot at Chicago and the division title. For Michigan, the stakes were very different. Coming into the game at 1-5, the Panthers needed to prove to themselves that the season was not lost, and that the issues raised in their first 6 games could be addressed without a top to bottom overhaul. Both clubs had 2 weeks to prepare for each other, with both coming off their bye week for this big showdown. The added time, and the two teams’ familiarity with each other made for a close game, a war of attrition between two clubs that simply did not want to risk and that were ready for the expected from their foe.   The lack of risk taking was more than evident in the first quarter of this divisional matchup as both defenses dominated against somewhat vanilla playcalling from both offensive playcallers. Justin Fields attempted only 1 run in the opening quarter and was easily contained. Michigan basically dove Bell or Mattison at the line multiple times. It was uninspired, though each team did manage a field goal out of the quarter, it hardly seemed like two teams going all out to earn a win, more like two teams doing everything they could not to lose the game.   The 2 nd  quarter was much of the same, both teams still sticking to an almost comical run-run-pass three down sequence of plays. Were it not for a pair of missed tackles by Ohio we might have gone into the half tied at 3-3 and with fans in the stands opting to take a nap or stay on the concourse getting some food. The first break came for the Panthers on a short hitch route to Mac Hollins. The corner whiffed on the tackle and Hollins was able to add another 15 yards for a 28-yard gain that put Michigan at the Ohio 22. That was followed 4 plays later by a Justin Blackmon bubble screen. Safety Mark Barron, normally a surehanded tackler, had a bead on Blackmon, but the receiver managed to turn a solid tackle into an arm tackle with a slight juke, and that was enough for the lanky receiver to stretch across the plane and give Memphis a 9-0 lead, 10-0 after the PAT.   That would be the score at the half, with both teams hunkered into a very cautious and very unimaginative gameplan. Fans might have hoped for a change of strategy in the second half, but it would not come. Both teams punted on their first drives of the 2 nd  half, and Ohio punted again after gaining only 1 first down on their second drive. Michigan was shadowing Fields and without the threat of his scrambles the Ohio offense seemed lifeless. Michigan’s was not much better. LeVeon Bell would finish with only 47 yards against a stacked Ohio defense. No receiver in the game would clock more than 75 yards in the game, and both defenses would continue to make the plays needed to shut down offensive threats.   Ohio’s defense, late in the quarter did one better, they not only stuffed a Michigan drive, they put points on the board in perhaps the first truly exciting play of the game. It was a 3 rd  and 11 following a false start and Kirk Cousins wanted to find Blackmon again. Cody Latimer was double covered, but it seemed like Blackmon would be in single coverage with CB Donte Jackson. Cousins reared back to throw, but just as he released the ball Ohio DE Andy Studebaker clipped his hand. The ball fluttered as it flew out to the sideline. What had been intended as a fastball turned into a change up, and that extra time allowed Jackson to adjust to the throw, turn back towards Blackmon and undercut the pass. Jackson snatched the ball away and raced down the sideline for a 38-yard pick six. It was the first time the Ohio crowd had a real reason to cheer, and it lifted their spirits and energy for the remainder of the game.   With the game now tied, we returned to a slow, plodding pace, with both teams again unable to create any excitement. When Michigan went up 3 on a Chase McLaughlin field goal at 3:37 left to play, everyone from the FOX game announcers to the peanut vender in section 202 felt confident that Ohio would find a way to kick a field goal and we would get added time with little added action. But, much like Rocky II where the Italian Stallion took punches and led with his right hand until the final round, when he switched back to his natural southpaw to catch Apollo Creed off balance, the Ohio Glory shifted their pace, their style of attack, and their sleepy style for a hurry up no huddle that similarly caught Michigan unprepared.   Ohio came to the line at their own 22 after the kickoff, with what looked like a standard 21 formation (2 backs, 1 TE, 2 receivers), but the twist was that the second back was not fullback Mike Boone but TE Jace Sternberger. What followed was a no huddle that kept Michigan’s standard 3-4 lineup on the field, with no time to bring in a nickel. In consecutive plays, first Sternberger and then rookie Kenneth Walker, left the backfield to become a third receiver split wide. That spread the Michigan linebackers and forced adjustments in the secondary. The first down play produced an 8-yard completion to Sternberger, the second a 10-yarder to Inman. With a new first down, the Glory used the set up to run Walker on a delay for 6, then on 2 nd down again it was inman for another first down. The strategy was working. In 6 plays, Ohio was on the Michigan 42, nearly in range for Robbie Gould, but with 2:27 still on the clock, there was no need to settle for 3.   Michigan would call a time out to rotate in a nickel package, but that too proved to be a problem as Ohio moved Sternberger into a lead blocker position in a traditional I formation and ran the ball 3 times to gain another first down on the Michigan 30. Those three plays took a full minute off the clock and used up the 2-minute warning. With the clock ticking, and Michigan stuck in a nickel, they kept pounding the ball with Walker, even giving TE Richard Rodgers a handoff as he went in motion, a quick hitting play that produced 5 yards and a first down at the Michigan 11. The Panthers were in trouble and they knew it. They called their final timeout with 55 seconds to play and Ohio with a 1 st  and 10 at the 11.   Michigan waited until Ohio had their offense on the field before sending out the final 2 defenders. They would not get caught in the wrong defense again. Ohio had switched to 1 back, 1 TE and 3 receivers, so it was a strong nickel for the Panthers. But with their backs to their own endzone, the Panthers were still in a rough spot. Ohio would switch to RPO to force defenders to make calls on the fly. On 1 st  and 10 Fields sprinted out left before flipping the ball to Walker for a gain of 4. On 2 nd and 6 from the 7, Fields rolled right and found Curtis Samuel on a crossing pattern for 6 more. Stopped just short of the goalline, Ohio had picked up the 1 st  and was now looking at 4 downs and 27 seconds to get the ball 1 yard to paydirt. With 2 timeouts left, they certainly could call anything they wanted for at least the first two plays.   For the first time all game you could feel the Ohio crowd in the game. The drive had animated the Glory faithful and now, with what felt like eminent victory in front of them they were in full voice, quieting only when Fields stepped under center. Still in a 3-wide formation. Rodgers shifted from right to left, Fields took the snap, faked the handoff to Walker, who dove towards the right side of the line, drawing in MLB Devin Bush. Fields rolled to the left, finding Dontrelle Inman crossing the line of scrimmage. As Sean Porter crashed down on Fields, he floated the ball to Inman, who caught it and rolled to the ground for the game winner.   It had taken 57 minutes of slow, deliberate, and, quite frankly, boring football to get 3 minutes of pure genius. Coach Gruden had lulled Michigan to sleep, and in the final minutes had turned up the pace and the heat. Justin Fields played the drive perfectly, Michigan’s defense played it about as badly as a team could, always finding themselves in the wrong defense, with the wrong personnel, or forced into split-second decisions that were manipulated by Ohio’s 2 nd  year QB. It was a brilliant end to a pretty quiet game. The kind of ending that proves that strategy is alive and well in the USFL.   NEW JERSEY 13  BIRMINGHAM 27 Sometimes it takes only one play. Cam Newton rushed the ball 6 times (4 scrambles, 2 scripted) and 5 of those carries yielded -1 yards, so nicely done by the Generals’ D. But, oof, that 6 th one: 57 yards and a score. That is the risk. Newton was also solid in the pocket, going 19 of 26 for 293 yards and 2 touchdowns. With Teddy B. dinged up and unable to go, Connor Shaw was charged with keeping up with the Stallions, and that was just too much to ask. By the half it was 24-3 Birmingham, and while they took their foot off the gas a bit in the 2 nd  half, they were never challenged, improving to 6-2 in front of nearly 48,000 very happy Alabamans in Protective Stadium. POTG : Stallion QB Cam Newton: 19/26, 293 Yds, 2 TD, 0 Int, 6 Att, 56 Yds, 1 TD   WASHINGTON 10   NEW ORLEANS 22 The Feds dropped their 2 nd  in a row, falling to 3-5 as they struggled to overcome 2 Jacoby Brissett picks and a safety from the improving Breaker D. They also struggled to contain Jordy Nelson, who brought in 6 of 7 targets for 144 yards, an average of 24 yards per catch. It was 10-7 Washington midway through the 2 nd , but the Breakers rattled off 15 unanswered to close out the game and improve to 4-3. POTG:  Breaker WR Jordy Nelson: 6 Rec, 144 Yds   ST. LOUIS 10   OKLAHOMA 14 Lamar Jackson returned to action but was clearly not back to 100%, evident in his rushing total of -3 yards on 12 attempts. The lack of run game was contagious as Oklahoma kept 8, sometimes 9 players in the box, limiting both Jackson and James Conner. The strategy worked, holding St. Louis to 63 total yards rushing. The Outlaws had better luck, with Jalen Hurts busting loose on a 28-yard TD run from the shotgun and finding DeDe Westbrook for a 16-yard TD in a 14-point third quarter that proved enough to earn the W and improve to 5-3, dropping St. Louis to the same 5-3 mark. POTG:  Oklahoma LB Dont’a Hightower: 5 Tck, 2 Sck, 1 FF   PITTSBURGH 12   LAS VEGAS 13 Even before this week’s huge trade, Pittsburgh’s defense has been the key to their game, ranked 3 rd  in the league in yards allowed. They kept Las Vegas guessing with a range of coverages and line stunts, but the offense still struggled, with Kenny Pickett completing only 18 of 38 pasisng and the run game producing only 57 yards on the ground. Despite their offensive issues, the Maulers pulled ahead with 51 seconds to play, only to watch Gardner Minshew 922 of 30 on the day) work the Vipers into position for Matt Gay to hit a walk-off 57-yard field goal inside the climate controlled Wynn Arena to give Viper fans reason to celebrate, a 3 rd win for the Minshew-led Viper squad. POTG:  Viper QB Gardner Minshew: 22/30, 231 Yds, 0 TD, 1 Int   BALTIMORE 31  PHILADELPHIA 17 The Stars continue to struggle with scoring, earning as many yards and more first downs as Baltimore ,but coming up 14 points short in the final tally. Derrick Henry looked solid with 20 carries for 84 yards and a score, but the defense had no answer for Jake Locker and the Blitz passing game. Locker went 20 for 28, with 4 TDs, including 2 to his new favorite target (with Michael Pittman Jr. hurt), slot man Quez Watkins. Rookie Christian Watson also hauled in a TD, his 4 th  in what is proving to be a very solid rookie campaign. POTG:  Blitz QB Jake Locker: 20/28, 275 Yds, 4 TD, 0 Int   ARIZONA 14   SEATTLE 27 The Dragons return to 2021 form, using a stiff red zone defense to hold Arizona scoreless over 3 quarters despite the Wranglers racking up 416 yards. Four turnovers, including 3 picks of Ryan Nassib, all 3 on the Seattle side of the field, doomed the Wranglers despite their ability to pick up yards and first downs. On offense it was Brett Hundley going 19 of 25 and throwing TDs to Cooper, Rudolph and rookie Khalil Shakir to build up a 20-0 halftime lead and hold off the Wranglers to issue Arizona their first defeat of the 2022 campaign. POTG:  Seattle CB Richard Sherman: 11 Tck, 4 PDef, 2 Int MEMPHIS 31  HOUSTON 10 For once, Gambler fans cannot complain about Colt McCoy taking a seat at the end of a game. Down 31-10 there was no reason to keep the Houston QB in the game. Memphis’s defense, led by FS Calvin Pryor’s huge day, was a thing of beauty, holding Houston to only 3 of 11 on third down and forcing 4 turnovers. Carlos Hyde was sorely missed, with stand-in Clyde Edwards-Helaire gaining only 30 yards on 17 touches, a brutal average of only 1.7 yards per carry. Meanwhile, with Todd Gurly hampered by a tweaked hamstring, David Williams stepped in and stepped up, rushing for 77 yards and 3 touchdowns (3, 5, and 1 yard) as the Showboats win their 5 th  game in 6 attempts and improve to 5-3. POTG:  Memphis FS Calvin Pryor: 3 Tck, 1 Sck, 2 PDef, 1 Int, 2 FF, 1 FR   SAN DIEGO 10   CHICAGO 13 Chicago almost fell into a trap game, clearly underestimating the visiting San Diego Thunder. After building a 10-0 first quarter lead thanks to a nice Bradford-Beckham 31-yard fly pattern, Chicago seemed to take the foot off the pedal way too soon, leading to San diego equalizing the score in the 4 th  when Mason Rudolph found Chris Givens for an 11-yard TD. Chicago managed to do just enough to put Daniel Carlson in range in the final minutes and escape with a win, but the 7-0 Machine need to use this as a lesson, showing up each and every week. POTG:  Machine rookie HB Rachaad White: 15 Att, 88 Yds   SAN ANTONIO 23  OAKLAND 26 The Invaders defended home turf, pulling out to a 26-10 lead and holding off a late run from Joe Flacco and the Gunslingers to return to .500 at 4-4. With Christian McCaffrey out, Bryce Love proved that the Invaders have a deep bench in the HB group, gauging the Gunslinger D for 131 yards on 29 carries. Davis Mills was effective as well, completing 18 of 27 for 218 yards and 2 TDs as Oakland held off the Gunslingers despite 2 Raheem Mostert TDs. POTG : Oakland HB Bryce Love: 29 Att, 131 Yds.   LOS ANGELES 17  PORTLAND 10 Nick Foles got the start, but the Express relied on the run game to upend the Stags. Paul Perkins rushed for 102 yards and caught a 4 th  quarter TD from Foles as LA and Portland scored a combined 21 points after slogging through a 3-3 game for 3 quarters. It was Foles to Hollywood Brown that gave the Express the lead, followed by Perkins’s TD, providing a 14-point lead that would hold in the final minutes. Suffering 7 sacks and with his run game totally snuffed out by LA’s pressure defense, Mariota just could not rally the troops, sending Portland to their 6 th defeat in 8 games. POTG:  LA edge rusher Nick Bosa: 5 Tck, 1 TFL, 2 Sck   DENVER 49  DALLAS 31 Josh Allen took over the QB Ratings lead in the USFL with a dynamic 20 of 29, 315-yard, 5-TD day against a beleaguered Dallas defense. What may be more troubling for Denver’s division foes is that the Gold put up 129 yards rushing, with recently acquired HB C. J. Prosise going for 113 and a TD on 20 touches. Three turnovers, all Justin Herbert picks, did not help the Roughnecks keep pace, with Denver pulling ahead in the 2 nd  quarter and continuously adding to their point total despite 11 penalties against Gold players. A solid win for a team hoping to get back in the playoff hunt at 4-4. POTG:  Gold QB Josh Allen: 20/29, 315 Yds, 5 TD, 0 Int   McCoy Reveals Medical Concern In a Friday press conference ahead of Sunday’s game against Memphis, Colt McCoy, surrounded by his wife, his coach, and close friend and favorite target Mike Evans, revealed the story behind his mysterious lack of stamina in the 2022 season. McCoy, who has been pulled out of every single Houston game in the 4 th  quarter, finishing each game on the bench with a towel over his head, despite often leading Houston to victory, revealed that he was dealing with a medical condition which impacts his ability to finish out games.   McCoy revealed that for the past 5 months he has been working with doctors in Houston to address a developing medical condition known by experts as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, or more commonly as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). McCoy confessed that he has been regularly working with a team at Houston’s Texas Medical Center. At present there is no known cure for CFS and that the only effective treatments are to alter lifestyle to support the sufferer’s need for physical regeneration. McCoy stated that in addition to dietary adjustments, ongoing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with a psychologist, and use of league-approved pain medications and sleep aids, he has worked out an altered schedule for team practices to assist with the most impactful symptom, PEM (post-exertional malaise), a physical weakness that comes after sustained physical exertion.   Coach Cotrell then addressed the press, stating that he hopes that McCoy’s public announcement will quiet the rumors and whispers about everything from drugs to psychological concerns. He added that he fully backs his QB, and is more than happy to work with Colt to create a training, game prep, and in-game plan that allows Colt to get the physical and mental support needed for him to continue to play at a high level and be the leader he has been for his entire career with the Gamblers. ‘   In a statement sent to Houston press after the meeting, team founder and co-owner Jerry Argovitz praised McCoy’s tenacity, dedication and poise. He highlighted that despite dealing with this new diagnosis, the 2021 MVP has continued to play at the highest level, leading Houston to a 4-3 record while remaining a Top 10 QB in the league rankings (currently 6 th ). The concern, of course, is that if McCoy must be pulled from games there could come a time when the Gamblers have a game in jeopardy and it must be Landon Jones to either protect a lead or mount a comeback. That was the concern raised by fans this weekend on message boards and sports radio. The overwhelming sentiment was support for their QB but hope that the Gamblers were doing all they could to also provide Jones with the support he needed should he be called in for something more intense than mop-up duty. In this week’s game, with Houston down 21 points to Memphis at the time McCoy took a seat on the bench, there was no controversy, but there is concern that McCoy’s diagnosis and need for physical respite late in games could be a factor for the club. For now, with the mystery solved, and McCoy working with some of the finest physicians in the country, Houston will focus on the playing field and a plan for success moving forward.   Denver Finds Balance at Last While the front page story for the Gold this week was Josh Allen’s 5-TD performance in a big divisional win at Dallas, a deeper read into the box score, and a rewatching of the film shows something perhaps even more promising for the Gold, the presence of a legitimate ground game. In his first 3 seasons as the starter in Denver, Josh Allen has had only sporadic support from the rushing attack. His biggest games, and there have been plenty of MVP-style performances, have often come when the run game was simply not effective and Allen had to carry the offense on his back.   This week, despite his gaudy numbers, that was not the case. In the past 3 weeks, Denver has traded away two of its three Week 1 halfbacks, sending veteran David Wilson to New Jersey in a deal that brought C. J. Prosise to the Mile High City. A week later, disgruntled, and largely ineffective starter Phillip Lindsay was sent to Charlotte, with scatback, 3 rd  down specialist, and return man Nyheim Hines coming to Denver as part of the deal. The Gold run game is now a very different creature than what we saw only 3 weeks ago, when Denver dropped 2 games to Oklahoma and Baltimore.   The new run game, evident in this week’s win over Dallas, is less a “ground and pound” and much more a “slash & burn”, with the offensive line creating cutback lanes for the nimbler Prosise. The result of the shift was obvious this week, with Prosise averaging 5.6 yards per carry, almost 4 yards per touch better than Lindsay had provided. While Hines did not see snaps in his first week with the team, his style is expected to parallel that of Prosise, focusing on one-cut, slashing, redirection runs. When short yardage calls for a more direct strategy, Jonathan Ward steps in to pound out the short gainers, as he did this week, helping Denver convert on a key 3 rd and 2 and also running in a 3-yard TD.   The effect of the new Denver run game is that Josh Allen is not facing immediate pressure on 1 st  or 2 nd down dropbacks. Teams have to respect the delayed run and draw game as well as the early down handoff. That protection could be the difference as Allen works to find receivers downfield and minimize his need to step up in the pocket seeking running lanes himself. Allen can run, and that is still a possible weapon, but with the pass rush having to at least respect the option to run, Allen has that extra second to survey the field, and this week that surveying led to 5 TDs with no picks. If that is the trend moving forward, Denver may have just made the moves necessary to make a run in the division.   5 Very Good Players Flying Under the Radar We are 8 weeks into the USFL season and while the stars of the season are pretty clear, there are plenty of players who are doing great work and just not getting the accolades for it. These are the grinders, the key contributors, the players who are not household names, but should be seen as important pieces in their team’s success stories. We chose 5 players from 5 teams that are at or above .500, players we think are helping their teams win without getting the spotlight. These are our 5 unsung heroes through 8 weeks of the season:   Baltimore WR Quez Watkins:   Slot receivers are often somewhat undervalued in a league where the outside guys are often the ones going 40, 50, or 60 yards for a score, but with the injury to Michael Pittman Jr. Baltimore has had to make some adjustments on offense, and one of the biggest bumps has been for their slot specialist, Quez Watkins. Watkins is now 3 rd  on the team, behind only Watson and TE Ozumah, with 31 receptions. More importantly, he has become a trusted red zone target, grabbing 6 touchdowns, 5 of which have come in the past month when Pittman was not available. With Pittman expected to return this week, Watkins may see a dip in targets, but he will almost certainly remain a real threat for Jake Locker and the Blitz attack.   San Antonio HB Raheem Mostert:  Behind NFL import Melvin Gordon on the depth chart, and splitting carries with Rhamondre Stevenson, Raheem Mostert is never going to get 20 carries in a game, but those touches he does get have been explosive. This week was prime evidence of that. Mostert had 11 rushes and 3 receptions for a combined 62 yards, but in that mix were two receiving touchdowns, with the speedy back eluding defenders to turn short dump-off passes into a pair of scores. Mostert is proving to be an effective change-of-pace for Gordon and a very good receiver, something that makes him invaluable on 3 rd  down for the Gunslingers.   Bimingham LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah: On defense we know that big hits and quarterback sacks tend to draw the most attention. Maybe that is why very few USFL fans can name Birmingham’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, ok, that plus the long name, we get it. But even if we start calling him JOK, we should be watching this 2 nd year player. Why? For an undervalued contribution, the Tackle For Loss. As a rookie, JOK had 67 tackles, but 14 were behind the line, that’s over 20% or one in five. This year he is at 40 total tackles with 13 TFL already recorded, a game-altering 32.5%, one in three. It may not have the star-making power of the big sack, but those tackles behind the line throw teams off schedule, create long third downs, and help get defenses off the field. For that, Owusu-Koramoah is a valuable member of the Stallion D and a player we should be more familiar with.   New Orleans CB Tra’Davious White: In his 6 th  season with the Breakers, it is not that Tra’Davious White is not a known commodity among Breaker fans. He has been the number one corner for the Breakers for 4 years now, and yet, despite being widely recognized by other players as a very strong cover corner, he just does not have much name recognition. Why is that? Probably because he is much better at the pass defense, swatting the ball away, than the pick. With only 11 picks in 6 seasons to date, he is not exactly getting a lot of highlight films on SportsCenter, but with 123 PDef in that same time, he is clearly doing what New Orleans needs to keep offenses from converting first downs and moving the ball. It may not be flashy, but with White again among the league leaders in passes defended, he is doing what the Breakers need him to do to keep opposing offenses in check.   Denver KR Kevin White: We decided we needed to throw some love at the special teamers, and none deserves it more than Denver return man Kevin White. White may only have 3 receptions this year, buried deep in Denver’s WR group, but as a returner, he is making an impact for the Gold. White leads the league with his 30.8-yard average for returns. Think about that. It means that if he takes the ball at the goalline, he is getting you more than the 25 yards a touchback would produce, and if he takes the kick at the 10, you are likely to be starting the drive at the 40. Throw in his 100-yard TD return he had against Baltimore and you have one of the biggest playmakers on the team on special teams. There are certainly other return men who are not getting enough love, players like Memphis punt returner Kenneth Gainwell, Seattle’s dual use returner Jaire Alexander, and LA speedster Marquise Lee, but White, perhaps aided by the thin air in Denver, is our pick right now for the unsung special teams hero.   2022 Continues to be Shaped by Trades We opened our report this week with one of the biggest midseason deals we have seen in years, but it is hardly the only deal worth mentioning. In what has been a hotter than usual trading block, the past 3 weeks have seen several season-impacting deals, including the two trades that seem to have provided Denver with a newfound run game. This week we had 3 major deals, the QB swap already outlined, but also a pair of deals which involve major defensive additions for two surprising playoff contenders.   Mingo to the Outlaws Sitting at 2-5 and frustrated by an offense which has simply not produced, the Bulls have apparently already shifted into a restructuring mode, and this week they showed that to be the case by trading away one of their biggest names on defense. Barkevious Mingo came to the Bulls in the 2013 T-Draft, viewed as an edge-rushing talent who could help Jacksonville compete with the Orlando Renegades as Florida pass rush monsters. Despite 4 seasons with double digit sacks, Mingo’s full potential never materialized. He dropped to only 3 sacks in 2017 and has not crossed the 10-sack threshold since. This week the Bulls sent Mingo, and his sizable salary cap hit to Oklahoma in a 3 player, 2 pick deal.   Oklahoma sends CB Isaiah Oliver , a 2 nd  rounder in next year’s draft and a 3 rd in 2024 to the Bulls to acquire both Mingo and CB A. J. Terrell . The goal for Oklahoma seems clear, to put someone across from their sack leader, Jordan Willis (6), who will force offenses to defend both edges. Mingo will take over the left end position, sliding Willis to right end and forcing offenses to scheme for both. In return, Jacksonville, which will now offer Adrian Clayborn and Duke Ejiofor as their edge combo, improves on the back end, hoping to address their 30 th  ranked defense (yardage) and a pass defense giving up over 272 yards per game.   Isaiah Oliver will line up opposite Keenan Lewis, allowing rookie Kaiir Elam to drop into the nickel role, having shown some issues with man coverage as an outside corner. Up front, it will be Clayborn on the left side, with Ejiofor moving into the starting lineup at right end. And, of course, the Bulls now look at having 2 second round picks in the 2023 USFL Draft, a draft that no longer includes a separate Territorial Draft, as a way to draw in more high-end talent.   Blitz & Skyhawks Swap Big Men Another move, one designed to help two rising playoff contenders, was announced this week, with the Baltimore Blitz addressing a need at center while St. Louis added bulk to their D-line. The move was a straight 1-for-1 swap, with St. Louis sending 2 nd  year center Jordan Meredith to the Blitz in return for DT Angelo Blackson . Meredith who saw only limited action behind All-USFL center Rudy Niswanger, has a chance to start for the Blitz, who have been unhappy with the production of their interior run game with 35-year-old Matt Tenant struggling to shake off defenders.   For St. Louis, this is about improving their interior line on defense, with Blackson expected to form a 3-man rotation with Geno Atkins and D. J. Humphries. The Skyhawk D has been far more solid against the run this year than in past campaigns, but signs of wear are hitting the D-line, evident in this week’s loss in Oklahoma. Coach Schottenheimer is hoping that moving to a 3-man rotation at the DT position will allow him to keep all 3 fresh and produce better late-game impact as teams try to run the ball. The move should also help St. Louis’s A. J. Epenesa as more teams have tried to combination block the speedy edge rusher.   Two more deals designed to improve teams in the hunt, and with 2 more weeks left before the trade deadline, we may not yet be done with the deals and the movement of quality players across the USFL.                 Another bad week with 4 players, including former All-USFL left tackle Matt Khalil added to the season-ending IR list. Birmingham in particular was hard hit, with 3 players expected to be out for at least for a week or two, though RT Greg Robinson’s neck injury could require surgery that might cost him the season. Washington also lost multiple players, including LB Anthony Walker Jr. who is now on IR with a torn ACL. Doubtful for this week are two of the league’s best rushers, with both Josh Jacobs and Todd Gurley only 25% to play.   OUT CB          Damon Arnette     OHI       Neck               IR DT          Davion Nixon                JAX         Wrist               IR OT          Matt Khalil                      PHI        Achilles          IR LB           Anthony Walker Jr.          WSH     Torn ACL         IR OT          Greg Robinson             BIR         Neck               6-8 Weeks DT          Quinnen Williams        WSH     Back                      6-8 Weeks G            Alex Cappa                 BIR         Abdominal            6-8 Weeks WR         Muhamed Sanu            NJ           Back                        1-2 Weeks LB           Reuben Foster             BIR         Neck                      1-2 Weeks LB           Jarvis Jones                 BAL        Foot                        1-2 Weeks   DOUBTFUL HB         Josh Jacobs               BAL        Knee HB         Todd Gurley                MEM     Toe   QUESTIONABLE SS           Darrian Thompson        POR      Hand WR         Jameson Williams          CHI        Foot WR         Michael Floyd                  OAK      Personal LB           Jonathan Bostic             PHI        Ribs     Midseason Power Rankings We hit Week 8 and that means it is time for our 2 nd  assessment of where all 30 USFL clubs stand, our quarterly power rankings. While some teams have completed 8 games, others sit at 7, having completed an early bye. So, who is hot, who is ice cold, and what does the middle of the pack look like. Get ready to debate our choices, especially for those clubs clustered at 5, 4, 3, and even 2 wins. It’s a ranking, so it is all about the arguments of where we went wrong. Let’s get right to it.   1—Chicago (7-0) The last remaining unbeaten team has a major road trip ahead of them, including games in Denver and Ohio to deal with.   2—Arizona (7-1) After suffering their first loss in Seattle this week, Arizona drops to 2 nd  and now face back-to-back games against Denver, with a bye between them.   3—Birmingham (6-2) Winners of 5 in a row, the Stallions look ready to come out of a Week 9 bye with a lot of momentum.   4—Baltimore (5-3) The Blitz have won 4 in a row but face two tough games vs. San Antonio and New Jersey before their Week 11 bye.   5—Tampa Bay (5-2) The Bandits should be 9-2 by the time they face New Orleans in Week 13, with their next 4 games against teams with either 1 or 2 wins each.   6—Memphis (5-3) Memphis goes into the bye off a nice win in Houston, and are likely looking ahead to Week 12, when they face the Stallions for a possible shot at first place.   7—Seattle (5-3) After losing to Portland, the Dragons rebounded with a huge home win over Arizona. They now get their bye before facing a 4-game division run between weeks 11-14.   8—New England (5-2) Baltimore is hot on their heels, but New England can help themselves with back-to-back division games at New Jersey and home to Philadelphia.   9— Oklahoma (5-3) After back-to-back losses, the win against St. Louis has them back in the game. After their Week 10 bye, they have 2 games in 3 weeks against Dallas, then finish the year with the Wranglers and Gold. They need to be ready to win all 4.   10— St. Louis (5-3) A tough loss in OKC before their bye, they need to come out swinging against 2-5 Jacksonville and 2-5 Charlotte in weeks 10-11.   11—San Antonio (5-3) Back-to-back losses have them limping into a tough game against Baltimore before their bye week. They do not want to have 2 weeks to contemplate a 3-game losing streak.   12—New Orleans (4-3) The Breakers cannot afford too many more losses, not if they want any hope of catching the Stallions, who they don’t face again.   13—Ohio (4-3) A 3-0 start was followed by 3 losses, but their rebound win over Michigan should help them get back in groove. Their next game against a team with a winning record is not until a Week 12 trip to St. Louis.   14—Denver (4-4) The Gold have won 2 in a row since reshuffling their RB room. With 2 games against Arizona in the next 3 weeks (split by a bye) they need no worse than 1-1 to stay in the race for a playoff spot.   15—New Jersey (4-4) With two games against Philly as well as matchups against the Blitz, Federals, and Steamrollers still to come, New Jersey is not out of it yet in the NE Division.   16—Oakland (4-4) This week’s win against San Antonio is a huge lift before their bye. They have two more games against rival LA, who are also 4-4, and they likely need to sweep them to stay in the playoff hunt.   17—Los Angeles (4-4) Expect to see Andy Dalton debut in Express Blue when LA comes out of this week’s bye. Will that be enough to jumpstart their offense and give them a run at the end of the year?   18—Houston (4-3) The injury to Hyde and Colt McCoy’s medical situation put the entire season in question for the Gamblers, who need to win their next 2 against 2-win Philly and Portland.   19—Orlando (3-4) The Renegades come off their bye with a winnable game at home against Charlotte, but after that, they will have a pair of tough ones at Birmingham and home to the Breakers.   20—Las Vegas (3-4) Winning 3 in a row has helped make Gardner Minshew a popular guy on the strip, and in Wynn Arena. They have a chance to make it 4-in-a-row with Dallas on the schedule this week.   21—Atlanta (3-4) Will Atlanta start Josh Rosen or Kyler Murray this week? Was the bye long enough to get Murray up to speed? That is the big mystery.   22—Washington (3-5) Two straight losses, including a bad shutout at home against the Steamrollers, do not have Washington feeling very confident right now. They need a win this week against the Outlaws to turn this thing around.   23—San Diego (2-6) The Thunder upset San Antonio and held close to Chicago, and that has them atop our list of 2-win teams.   24—Jacksonville (2-5) A nice win over Memphis this week, but after their bye they face 3 consecutive 5-win teams (Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and San Antonio). That is a tough run.   25—Portland (2-6) They got the win over rival Seattle but struggled with LA’s defense. They still have to get past New Orleans and Houston before they get their late week 11, bye. Could be a tough 2 weeks.   26—Charlotte (2-5) Charlotte has a chance to make a statement coming off their bye. They have 3-4 Orlando this week and then 3-5 Washington. Two more wins are not out of the question here.   27—Dallas (2-6) There was so much hope this offseason, but Dallas is riding a 3-game losing streak and now they face a pretty hot Las Vegas club, winners of 3 in a row.   28—Philadelphia (2-6) Another 3-game losing streak and things are getting ugly in Philadelphia. If they are 2-8 at the bye in 2 weeks, expect some major changes in the front office.   29—Pittsburgh (1-6) This week’s game against fellow 1-6 basement dweller Michigan is a chance for one of the two to salvage some pride. The two will face off again in Week 15.   30—Michigan (1-6) After winning their opener, the Panthers have dropped 6 in a row, and the offense has yet to score over 20 points in any game this year. It looks like it is time to shake things up in Detroit.   Top 40 Greatest USFL Players: 19-17 We are into the final 20 names, so we don’t expect any surprise names, just debates over positioning the rest of the way. Before we get to our final 19 players, we thought a brief recap of the positions already seen and which are done would be helpful. So, here is the count so far, with positions in bold representing those roster spots that will not be seeing more names between now and number one.   Punter              1                     Safety                  2 Guard              2                      Halfback            2 Cornerback    3                     Wide Receiver  1 Linebacker      3                     Tackle                  1 Kicker             1                     Def. Tackle         1 Tight End       2                      Def. End              0 Center            1                    Quarterback     1   Halfway through our list and five positions completed. No doubt we will have more tailbacks, receivers and quarterbacks in the Top 20, with D-line, linebacker and corner still to come as well. But how many of each? And who will be the best at each position? Some you certainly can guess, some maybe not, and we will certainly have some debate about the greatest USFL player of the league’s first 40 seasons. So, get ready for things to get a bit heady when we hit that Top 10. But for now, let’s get to our next 3 picks, and two new positions join our ranks as we add DE and WR to the list of the 40 Greatest Players in 40 USFL Seasons.   19) CB Donnell Woolford (1989-2003) We start off with our 4 th  and final cornerback, and one that certainly will cause some debate, as Charles Woodson fans are going to have something to say. We had Woodson at 30 th , and now, 11 slots higher, we are putting former Baltimore stalwart Donnell Woolford at 19. Why so high? Well, Woolford is tied with Antonio Cromartie atop the career interception list with 54, and while his defensive TD totals don’t compare with Woodson, where Woolford excelled was in his ability to play the run. Woolford retired with over 1,274 tackles, the kind of number we usually see from linebackers, not corners. And before you start claiming that this was because teams completed passes to his man, the numbers do not indicate that at all. Woolford is Top 3 all-time in Catch-to-Attempt ratio. Those tackles are largely from the run game, not from receivers getting open. Throw in his 318 career pass defenses and his perfect record of 225 starts in 225 games and what you have in Woolford is a corner who shuts down receivers, makes plays on the ball, and comes up against the run. What more could you want?   18) DE Chris Doleman (1989-2002) You knew we could not get much further without recognizing some edge rushers, right? Doleman, the first in what has become a nearly continuous line of outstanding pass rushers in Orlando, becomes our first defensive end named. Doleman may be a surprise to many at number 18. After all, he currently ranks only 9 th  in league history with 198 sacks, but we are looking not just at totals, but at annual production and impact on the game, and in both Doleman far exceeds several of the names ahead of him on the career total list. With 11 consecutive seasons in double-digit sacks, including a career best 29 in 1999, Doleman was consistently one of the league’s best at his position, and one of the most feared ends in the game as well. Doleman’s rush was not just about the sack, it was about intimidation, violence, and pure unhinged fury. Ask any USFL QB played between 1989 and 2002 and they will tell you of the impact Doleman had on their game. He is here not just for impressive numbers, but for the way he played the game and the way that affected his opponents. We have him at number 18, and while he won’t be the last DE on our list, he is certainly among the 40 best of the USFL’s first 40 years.   17) WR Randy Moss (1998-2013) With 19,841 career yards, 144 career touchdowns, twelve 1,000-yard seasons, and 9 All-USFL seasons, was there any way you thought Randy Moss would be excluded from our list. Throw in what feels like 3,000 “poster” catches, where Moss made highlight reel plays that made defenders look cemented to the ground or just plain bad, and add in more than a dash of bravado, high EQ celebrations, and self-confidence and you have the model of the WR as Diva, but a Diva with boatloads of talent. Moss spent 10 years with Tampa Bay, making defenders look bad, before short stints in Ohio, LA, and Birmingham to finish out his career. Moss makes our list, ahead of several receivers with more catches (Hines Ward, Peerless Price), and even more touchdowns (Lawrence Dawsey, Tory Holt) because Moss was more than just a receiver, he was a phenomenon, a game changing superstar who could shred defensive gameplans with a single play and deflate defensive egos in a single bound. His combination of speed, height, moves, and timing were a thing to behold, and he remains one of the most flamboyant fan favorite USFL stars a full decade after he hung up his helmet.   Week Nine, the new midpoint of the USFL season and that means time for teams to make that push, to turn it up to 11 and leave everything on the field. We have 12 games on tap, with bye weeks for three Pacific Division teams, two from the South, and St. Louis from the Central. So, who is in action, and which games are Must Watch TV? Here is our breakdown.   If Denver is going to make a move in the Southwest, it will have to start with their annual trek to Glendale and a tough matchup against the 7-1 Arizona Wranglers. Denver is sitting at 4-4, and a win in this one would not only be their way to top .500 but a huge shot across the bow of the division.     Saturday’s best games include a showdown in the Northeast, a traditional New York-Boston rivalry game as the Steamrollers roll into the Meadowlands with a 2-game lead on the Generals. New Jersey needs this one to have a shot at catching New England, but also because a drop to 4-5 could break their spirit. The other can’t miss game on Saturday is a battle of 5-3 teams as San Antonio and rejuvenated QB Joe Flacco head into Baltimore to face Jake Locker, Josh Jacobs, and a surging Blitz offense.   Sunday brings us a put up or shut up game for the Orlando Renegades. They sit at 3-4 and cannot fall to 2-5 Charlotte if they want to be taken seriously as a playoff contender. A win and they are back at .500, a loss and things look pretty dire for Russell Wilson and the Renegades. Later that day we have a game that may not be “must watch”, but could be intense, as the league’s two 1-6 teams, the Panthers and the Maulers battle at Heinz Field in a game that could determine if we have a coach on the hotseat this summer. Neither club is giving up yet, but losing this one could be a major blow, one neither wants to feel the sting of. Finally, we head to Atlanta where the Fire have slipped to 3-4 and may well be ready to make a change. Could we see newly acquired QB Kyler Murray only a few days into his tenure with the Fire, or will it be Josh Rosen trying to upend the unbeaten Chicago Machine. That is a tough test for either QB as Chicago’s defense ranks 1 st in the league in both points and yards, allowing only 182 passing yards per game.   Fri. 7pm ET       Denver (4-4) @ Arizona (7-1)*                          NBC   Sat. 12pm ET   Tampa Bay (5-2) @ Jacksonville (2-5)*               ABC Sat. 12pm ET   New England (5-2) @ New Jersey (4-4)          FOX Sat. 4pm ET       San Antonio (5-3) @ Baltimore (5-3)                ABC Sat. 4pm ET       New Orleans (4-3) @ Portland (2-6)                FOX Sat. 8pm ET      Las Vegas (3-5) @ Dallas (2-6)*                          NBC Sat. 8pm ET       Philadelphia (2-6) @ Houston (4-3)                  ESPN/EFN   Sun 12pm ET    Charlotte (2-5) @ Orlando (3-4)                      ABC Sun 12pm ET     Oklahoma (5-3) @ Washington (3-5)                FOX Sun 4pm ET      Michigan (1-6) @ Pittsburgh (1-6)*                   ABC Sun 4pm ET       Ohio (4-3) @ San Diego (2-6)                          FOX Sun 8pm ET       Chicago (7-0) @ Atlanta (3-4)                          EFN   Byes: Birmingham, Los Angeles, Memphis, Oakland, Seattle, St. Louis (*) = Throwback Uniforms (Alt Uniforms for LV-DAL)