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Playoff Picture: Houston has won the Central Division. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Jacksonville, Chicago and Arizona have clinched playoff spots. Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Jersey, Ohio, St. Louis, Memphis, and Oakland are eliminated from contention.

Houston has clinched the Central Division. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Jacksonville, Chicago and Arizona have clinched Wild Card berths.

A win by the homestanding Chicago Machine and the division would be back in their hands, but the visiting Gamblers would have none of it. Jim Kelly threw 5 TD’s, including 2 to slot receiver Ricky Proehl as the Gamblers took an early lead, lost it, and then stormed back with a 17-0 third quarter to hold off the Machine and become the first team to clinch their division in this year of tight races. Kelly found Proehl early, connecting for a score on their opening drive. That would be answered by Dan McGwire of Chicago as he hit TE Wessley Walls for a score on Chicago’s first drive. After the Machine took a 10-7 lead on a 27 yard John Carney field goal, Houston scored 14 straight in a 2nd quarter that saw no punts and 6 consecutive scoring drives. Kelly hit Proehl again for the 14-10 lead, then connected with Antonio Freeman, the stud rookie who finished the day with 123 yards receiving on 6 catches. Chicago would respond with 2 scoring drives of their own, first a 37 yard McGwire to Wendell Davis toss, and then an Eric Thomas pick six on one of Kelly’s very few poor throws on the day. Not to be outdone, Kelly drove the Gamblers down the field and with time ticking off the clock John Kasay evened the score at 24-24 going into the half. Houston would dominate the 3rd quarter, scoring on 3 consecutive plays and forcing 2 Chicago turnovers in the period. Kelly worked the tight ends on 2 key drives, first finding Jamie Asher for a TD and then another to Ken Dilger. Add a John Kasay field goal and the 24-24 tie was now a solid 41-24 lead for the Gamblers. To start the 4th, Houston got the ball on their own 2 yard line after a perfect coffin corner punt. That was followed by a botched center exchange, which led to Jim Kelly taking a safety. With the ensuing short field, Chicago pulled closer, scoring on a Reggie Langhorne TD reception, but 8 points would be as close as they would get. Houston’s blitzes in the final quarter started to rattle McGwire, who missed on 2 key third down passes and an even more vital 4th and 11 toss. Houston swept the series with the Machine, and in so doing clinched the Central Division title and the top seed in the Western Conference. Chicago is still sitting pretty at 10-4 as the top wild card club also gets a bye, but will likely have to travel to Arizona for their divisional round game, while Houston sits home and looks forward to a mismatch game against either the 4th or 5th seed in the postseason’s second round. BAL 7 ARZ 15 The Wranglers win their 5th in a row after a dogfight with the Baltimore Blitz. Both defenses proved their muscle, with each club failing to reach 300 yards of total offense. Arizona built an 15-0 lead on 2 field goals, a safety and a 3rd quarter Bosco to Richie Anderson TD. Baltimore got back in it with a late Miller to Lamar Thomas toss, but it was not enough as the homestanding Wranglers got their 9th win. TBY 21 ORL 18 Orlando had a chance to even up with Baltimore at 8-6, but 2 Troy Aikman TD tosses and an Errict Rhett run proved enough for the Bandits to escape the Citrus Bowl with the upset win. With Scott Mitchell hurt, Orlando turned to Craig Erickson, and the Renegades could only amass 236 total yards of offense against a mediocre Bandit defense. They fall to 7-7, but could still catch Baltimore with 2 straight wins. BIR 38 SEA 24 Birmingham gained ground and stayed alive in the hunt for the last Wild Card in the East by knocking off the Dragons in Seattle. Brett Favre struggled, with 2 interceptions to boost his league lead to 23 picks on the season, but Birmingham benefitted from two pick-sixes, one each from Milton Fields and Darryl Williams, as Dave Krieg looked completely out of synch all day. PIT 38 POR 24 Pittsburgh looked every bit a championship contender, dispatching with Portland by 14. Alan Risher had 3 TD passes and Mike Rozier rushed for 123 and 2 scores as the Maulers led nearly the entire game. The Mauler D held rushing leader Robert Drummond to only 68 yards rushing to keep Portland at arm’s length and snag their 10th consecutive win. PHI 27 OAK 17 The Stars kept pace with Pittsburgh thanks to 98 yards and 2 touchdowns from Charlie Garner. The defense limited Siran Stacy to only 36 yards rushing and stifled the Oakland offense on 3rd down (5 of 14) to take the road win. They still need a Pittsburgh loss if they want to win the Atlantic, but a bye as the top Wild Card team is pretty much assured if they don’t get it. WSH 17 ATL 30 The injury to Don Majkowski has led to a collapse of Washington’s position and play. The Federals simply could not generate consistent offense, and even their usually staunch defense seemed to struggle as the game wore on. Atlanta, bolstered by an early pick-6 of Mike Hohensee, kept the pressure on, with Ricky Blake and Bernie Parmalee carrying the ball a combined 25 times, while Cliff Stoudt, still getting starts despite Eric Zeier being cleared from the injury list, completed 70.7% of his throws. NJ 7 DEN 10 In an ugly game that was delayed twice due to lightning in and around the Mile High City, Denver slogged out a much needed win, their 8th of the year, as the muddy field and windy conditions kept either offense from looking smooth. Rob Johnson was sacked 3 times and had horrible issues on 3rd down, where the Generals converted only 2 of 15. Brunell’s 3 of 12 record on that key down was also nothing to brag about, but the Gold get the win and move on. NOR 10 MGN 34 Timm Rosenbach did not win over any of the Jamie Martin fans as he was unable to help the Breakers generate yards or points. Meanwhile, with Joe Montana dinged up, Sean Salisbury relied on the running of Tyrone Wheatley to keep the Panthers marginally alive for a playoff spot at 7-7. Wheatley’s 2 scores, paired with a momentum-shifting Weegie Thompson TD catch, gave Michigan the energy they needed to win this key divisional game. TEX 13 STL 31 The Knights played spoilers to the visiting Outlaws, shutting down the Texas run game, and getting a combined 107 on the ground from their backs, Darrell Thompson and Alfred Jenkins, to derail Texas’s playoff drive. David Archer completed 23 of 28, and even though he only threw for 153 yards, his two TD tosses were enough to keep Texas at bay. MEM 27 JAX 44 The Bulls reasserted their place as Southern Division champions with a solid beatdown of the Showboats. Chris Chandler threw for 3 scores and both Jamie Morris and Owen Gill got into the endzone in the absence of injured Natrone Means to give the Bulls their 9th win of the season. Heath Shuler struggled for Memphis, throwing 4 picks, but threw for 450 yards as Memphis fell behind early and abandoned the run to try to stay in the game. OHI 23 LA 20 In a battle between the two winningest expansion clubs, Ohio got the edge by picking off Tampa Bay QB Brent Pease 3 times. Joey Galloway had his best game of his rookie season, catching 8 balls for 109 yards, and the Glory defense limited Marcus Allen to only 24 yards on 11 carries as Ohio moved to 5-9, a game up on New Jersey in the division. A little bit more clarity emerged this week as we now have our first Division Winner (Houston) and we now have 7 of 10 playoff spots secured. Arizona, Washington, and Jacksonville punched their tickets this week, though we have to say that the Federals appear to be backing into the playoffs, having lost 5 of 8 since starting the year 6-0. Three division titles are still out there, with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia battling for Atlantic supremacy. Denver is still within a game of Arizona in the Pacific but needs help to overtake the Wranglers, who hold the tie-breaker. Jacksonville just needs a win or a Stallions loss to claim the South, as Orlando’s loss this week relegates them to the Wild Card chase. Speaking of that last Eastern Wild Card, a win would have clinched it for Baltimore, but with the loss, they still are only 1 game up on both Birmingham and Orlando. Baltimore did not play either, so a tie with either one of them would go to conference record to decide. The Blitz are 6-4 in the conference, while B’ham is 4-4 and Orlando is 5-5, meaning that the Blitz can basically claim the playoff spot with a win in either of their remaining games. Out in the West, while Arizona, Chicago, and Houston are in, there are 2 wild card spots still very much in doubt. Denver and Texas have an edge at 8-6, able to control their own destiny, but do not count out Portland, Michigan or New Orleans, all at 7-7. Denver’s 4-5 conference record makes them more vulnerable than Texas (6-3 in the West) and a late surge of 2 straight wins by any of the 7-7 clubs could make things interesting. Texas has a tough game against Chicago this week, and Denver is in Oakland, so a loss by either could put a 7-7 club right in the mix. Things could get real interesting in the season’s final week as Denver hosts Portland and Michigan has Texas in town. A lot could flip in the next 2 weeks. 1. CHICAGO’S “GOOD” PROBLEM: We have praised Chicago and Coach Schottenheimer’s ability to play “Next Man Up” with their QB sitution, but what does this mean long term? It was not an issue when Bernie Kosar went down and Scott Zolak helped lead Chicago to the 1994 Summer Bowl, in large part because many expected for Kosar to retire, which his what happened. That avoided a QB controversy as 1995 began with Zolak firmly placed as the starter. But when Zolak went down and former LA/STL washout Dan McGwire stepped in, most expected it to be a rough patch for the Machine and for Zolak to regain his starting gig as soon as he was able. Well, Zolak has begun basic workouts, and in theory could be available at some point during the playoffs. But, at the same time Dan McGwire, in Schottenheimer’s run-first, play action system, has had an outstanding year. He currently ranks 7th among starting QB’s, with 2,893 yards, a 63.2 completion rate, and a very respectable 21-9 TD-Int ratio. Assuming Chicago gets a bye, would Coach Schottenheimer return to Zolak for the divisional game or would he ride McGwire as the Machine has done all year. This is a huge question going forward. 2. QB QUANDRIES: Chicago is one of several clubs with either a looming or a very present QB controversy. We know Doug Flutie is not happy at all with being benched in favor of rookie Rob Johnson. Could he be looking for a trade or a release? Timm Rosenbach has been in for Jamie Martin of late, and it has not looked good. Does that mean that Rosenbach may again have been beaten out for a job. Could he be on his way out? And just when will Atlanta turn back to Eric Zeier? He got some starts in the midseason, but with Cliff Stoudt faring better, and unlikely to retire this offseason, will Atlanta be OK with letting the UGA Bulldog sit on the bench for a second year? Add to this a disgruntled Mike Kelley on the bench in Memphis, and potential retirements in Michigan (Montana), Portland (Trudeau), and the possible dismissal of Dave Krieg from Seattle and this could be a wild year for QB movement. In a year with no clear top flight QB’s in the Collegiate Draft, there may be a call for some moves and a chance for some of these controversies to turn into a wild free agent and trade market. 3. RUN TO DAYLIGHT?: Staying on the offensive side, we may be in for a rarity in USFL circles, a year where the leading rusher in the league has more yardage than the leading receiver. The USFL is known as a passer’s league, and in nearly every year since Herschel Walker set the league rushing record at 1,767 in the inaugural 1983 season, we may very well see rushing outpace receiving, at least at the top of the leaderboard. We still expect there to be more 1,000 yard receivers than rushers, but Robert Drummond is outpacing Henry Ellard 1,496 to 1,256 yards, a solid 200 yard lead with only 2 games left to play. Drummond has a 200 yard lead on the next rusher, the ageless Mike Rozier, so it is likely he will be the only back to surpass the top receivers, although at present Rozier and Wheatley, both over 1,200 yards, surpass all receivers except for Ellard and LA’s Mike Pritchard. It is a quirky thing, and largely due to the absolute faith that Coach Vince Tobin has placed in Drummond (whose 291 carries easily outpaces all other backs) and the loss of Ernest Givens from the race due to injury most of the season, but it also could be a sign that the run game is beginning to gain favor once again in the USFL. 4. DEFENDERS SEEK TITLES: Two really interesting statistical battles taking place on the defensive side of the ball. First we had New Jersey’s Phil Hansen overtake Washington’s Dexter Manley on the sack leaderboard. Hansen has been one of the very few bright spots for New Jersey this year, and his 18 sacks, while off the record pace of his rookie season, is still an amazing number. Manley is only 1 sack behind at 17, and the dynamic 1-2 punch of Charles Haley and Al Noga in Arizona are just barely off the pace. Those two could become the first teammates to both rank in the Top 5 in sacks in league history. Even the combo of Reggie White and Santana Dotson could not pull that off. The other tight race is for the tackle leader. Often a dubious distinction because to lead the league in tackles implies that the defense allowed a lot of plays to the opposition offense, but this year both frontrunners are highly respected linebackers, who can truly make an impact in each game. Demetrius DuBose of Pittsburgh surpassed Lamar Lathon of New Orleans a couple of weeks back but the lead is only 1 tackle. We expect this battle to come down to the wire, and we should also note that no one else seems to be in range, so it really is up to one of these two to earn the title. 5. INJURY REPORT: As the pressure of playoff hunts intensifies, the last thing any team wants is a key injury to hamper their chances. Week 14 was relatively good for most clubs, but it is football, so that means that some injuries are inevitable. Washington is getting dinged up on defense, with 2 DE’s and 2 starting LB’s listed as either Doubtful or Questionable for week 15. Michael Barrow has a leg injury he is trying to work through, and Winston Moss is dealing with a hamstring injury. In Texas, the big concern is tackle Dave Popp, who may not be able to go after hyperextending his knee. Portland could be without their best linebacker, Billy Ray Smith due to a lingering issue with migraines. New Orleans will have to make their playoff push without their #1 receiver as Qadry Ismail’s aching knee has been diagnosed as a torn meniscus. In Houston, LB Quentin Coryatt could miss action with a hip stinger, and in Chicago the concern is on the O-line where both RT Marcus Spears and LG Juan Casteneda are dealing with leg issues. Baltimore is reeling, and with Bill Brooks likely out for the final weeks of the year, their offense could suffer. They are hoping that Rob Moore’s turf toe is healed enough that he can take on the possession role, but cutting on a turf toe is a tough task. The USFL announced this week the inaugural class to christen the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s USFL Wing. The inductees were notified in person by former USFL standout and current League Player Personnel Liason, Jackie Flowers, as he visited each. Included in the inaugural class is a posthumous nomination to one of the league’s early movers and shakers, Tampa Bay Bandits owner John Bassett. Bassett is joined in the inaugural class by 4 players who shone in the early years of the league, all retiring by or before 1990. The player inductees are: QB John Reaves (Tampa Bay, 1983-1988). Reaves led Tampa Bay to the league’s first title, winning the League MVP in that first season. He was a 5x All-USFL awardee, and retired with 21,667 passing yards, 192 touchdown passes, and a stellar lifetime QB Rating of 102.8. WR Anthony Carter (Michigan, 1983-1989). Carter played in Michigan for 7 seasons before taking an offer to jump to the NFL, where his success continued. As a Panther, Carter was a big part of two championship seasons (1984 and 1986), was a 4 time All-USFL receiver, and one of the most dangerous deep ball receivers in the league. He retired with a stunning 22.5 Yards Per Catch average, 431 USFL receptions and 57 touchdowns. DE Junior Ah-You (Chicago-Baltimore, 1983-1987) A controversial pick in some ways as he was already mid-career when the USFL began and only played 4 seasons before retiring, but what a run it was those 4 years. Ah-You set the standard for USFL pass rushers, averaging over 20 sacks a year for his 4-year run. He retired with 83 sacks, was a 3-time All-USFL selection and won Defensive Player of the Year twice in his short USFL career. While others have broken both his 21-sack single season record and his career mark, he will always be regarded among the greats at his position in the league. LB Marcus Marek (Boston-New Orleans, 1983-1990). One of the most consistent and feared MLB’s in the game, Marek played for 8 season, accumulating more than 100 tackles in each of his first 7 years in the league before an injury-plagued 8th year forced his retirement. Marek was a physical presence in the middle and the QB of the Breaker defense during a run of success that saw the club make 7 consecutive playoff appearances. Snakebit in the sense that he would never hold aloft the USFL Championship Trophy, Marek still remains a league legend and a favorite son of the Big Easy. Owner John Bassett. The founder and owner of the Tampa Bay Bandits will always be remembered for his bravado, his swagger, his savvy, and his influence. Bassett, after short lived stints with other start-up leagues such as the World Hockey Association and the World Football League, struck gold with the USFL. He, along with David Dixon, were among the early visionaries who put the league on the map, and many credit Bassett’s strong leadership and persuasive way with the league’s early decision to forego a shift to a fall schedule and to double down on spring football as a winning proposition. While not directly engaged in the lawsuit that would break the NFL monopoly and provide the USFL with a huge infusion of funding in its early years, Bassett is still credited by many with the vision and foresight to set the league up for eventual success. He was awarded with a championship for his Bandits in the league’s inaugural season, and while the Bandits have yet to return to that lofty peak, it seems fitting that the first title belongs to his club. After his all-too-sudden and all-too-soon passing, the league created the John Bassett Visionary Award, given to the league executive who is recognized by the league as moving it forward into the future each season. Five legends of the league, five stars on the field and in the owner’s box. Five very worthy inductees in the inaugural Pro Football Hall of Fame’s USFL Wing of Honor. Turning back to the games to be played, a few important matchups highlight the penultimate week of the season. With Baltimore still hoping to clinch a playoff berth, and Washington reeling as they fall 2 games behind the frontrunners in the division, the rivalry game between the Blitz and the Federals takes on a huge added level of importance this week. Don Majkowski is expected to suit up, so we may see a very different Federals’ offense than what has been on the field the past two weeks. Also huge for playoff positioning is the matchup between Chicago and Texas. The Outlaws are 2 games back for the top Wild Card position, and face challengers from a pool of 7-7 clubs. A win at home against the Machine will go a long way to locking up a playoff berth. Similarly, 8-6 Denver has to try to get their ticket punched by knocking off the Invaders in Oakland. At 6-8 the Invaders have lost out on a playoff run, and there are rumors that longstanding coach Dick Vermeil may be contemplating retirement, but Oakland can still be very dangerous. Other games with playoff implications include Michigan at St. Louis, LA at Portland, Arizona at Atlanta, Houston at New Orleans, Birmingham at Memphis, and, perhaps most intriguing, Jacksonville at Orlando. With a 2 game lead, the Bulls are not concerned about losing the division, but need a win to lock it up. Orlando still can get into the Wild Card position with 2 wins, so this one is key for them. Finally, we have Ohio visiting Pittsburgh and New Jersey visiting Philadelphia. If either underdog can steal a win, it would be a major blow to the two Atlantic Division leaders. Do we expect an upset? No, not really. Both Philly and the Maulers look like they should glide through these games, but you never know in the USFL.

Houston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Chicago have all clinched playoff spots, but no division titles are assured. Seattle, Atlanta, St. Louis, Los Angeles, New Jersey and Ohio are eliminated from playoff contention.

You would think that with only 3 weeks left to play the playoff picture would be pretty clear by now, but with some of the tightest division races we have seen in years, it is still wide open in both conferences. This week’s games saw a shift in the Atlantic, but there is still a lot to be settled over the season’s final weeks. Even some clubs at 5-8 still hold faint hopes for a playoff spot, though time is running out. Washington, who started the year at 6-0 and looked like the immovable object at the top of the Atlantic Division faced off against the Pittsburgh Maulers, the irresistible force as winners of 8 in a row, in one of the most anticipated games of the year. What resulted was a classic battle and a game that shook the league to its core, two heavyweights going blow to blow in a title match that could, in the end, determine who has home field throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. In one of the better played games all season, these two contenders jabbed and parried all day, and yet it was a game where the lead changed only once, and not until the 4th quarter. Washington got on the board first, on their second possession, when Mike Hohensee, a surprise start for Don Majkowski after the Majik Man got cursed by an ankle turn in Saturday’s practice, found Herman Moore for a 5-yard TD at the end of a 65-yard drive. Hohensee would play well all day (32 of 43 for 306), but would also rely heavily on the HB duo of Barry Word and Terry Kirby. Moore, would also have a big day as the Feds’ deep ball receiver, catching 5 balls for 111 yards. Pittsburgh immediately evened up the score as Alan Risher connected with his deep threat, Louis Lipps, on a medium range 13-yard TD score on the Mauler’s next drive. The two defenses soon settle down, and for the remainder of the first half it was a trade off of field goals for the two as key third down plays from the defenses, first by Pittsburgh’s Demetrius Dubose, and then by Washington’s Lester Lyles forced each club to go for 3 in the red zone. Washington added a late field goal as the 2nd quarter wound down and went into the locker room with a slight 13-10 lead. The second half saw Washington expand on their lead, first with a 4th Doug Pelfrey field goal, and then with a 1 yard run from an unusual source, backup to the backup Mark Montgomery. Down 23-10, the Maulers were in need of a spark and once again it was Louis Lipps who provided it. Lipps would have 6 catches on the day, 3 on the Mauler’s next drive, including the TD that would pull them back to within 6 at 23-17. The two defenses traded victories over the next 4 drives, with each able to shut down the opposition before reaching scoring range, But, with 5 minutes left to play, and with Moore drawing the #1 CB in man coverage, Pittsburgh put together another TD drive, this time highlighted by Moore’s opposite across the field, flanker Raynard Brown. Risher found Brown from 20 yards out on a well-executed play action pass to get their first lead of the game with only 1:39 left to play. Washington had time to mount a field goal drive to retake the lead, but it was at this crucial point that Hohensee made a fatal error. On a 3rd and 3 from his own 33, the longstanding Federals’ backup, threw a pass to Duane Gunn, but the ball trailed the crossing receiver. Gunn reached back for the ball, but was undercut by Pittsburgh’s Quintin Jones, who snagged the misplaced toss and ran it back 42 yards to boost the Mauler lead to 31-23. Washington would not recover. With only 1:16 left to play, the Federals went into full panic mode, but Hohensee struggled to find open receivers and a 4th and 7 pass to Joey Walters found the veteran double covered, the ball deflected and harmlessly dropping to the ground. Pittsburgh had taken the win at Three Rivers, and with it propelled both themselves and Philadelphia ahead of Washington in the standings. The Maulers now controlled their own destiny atop the Atlantic, the division crown and the #1 seed fully within their grasp. With only games against slumping Portland, expansion Ohio, and last place New Jersey on their schedule to close the season, the Maulers are perfectly positioned to take both titles and enter the playoffs as the kings of the hill. Washington, now a game behind 2 divisional foes, has to hope for upsets against both the Stars and the Maulers, as they do not play either foe again this season. With 9 wins, they are assured a playoff spot, but it may now require them to play in the Wild Card game after spending 12 weeks atop the division. PHI 17 OHI 15 The Stars joined the Maulers at 10-3 but it did not come easy. The plucky Ohio Glory kept the Stars offense in check most of the game, but the combo of Charlie Garner and Pat Chaffey eventually wore down the Glory linebackers. Ohio had a chance to equalize after a late Ernest Byner TD, but their attempt to go for 2 for the tie at the game’s end failed and Philly escaped with a win that keeps them in the hunt with Pittsburgh. With Oakland, New Jersey and Baltimore on the docket for the Stars, they will need to find more offense to keep pace with Pittsburgh. NJ 6 BAL 25 Baltimore, while out of the Divisional Title hunt, remained a game up in the fight for the final playoff spot by knocking off the Generals in Memorial Stadium. The defense sacked Rob Johnson 3 times and forced three interceptions from the USC rookie. The two teams combined for 8 field goals, 6 from league scoring leader Luis Zendejas, as the Blitz still continue to struggle in the red zone. DEN 17 ARZ 24 The Wranglers continue to play their best ball and hold onto the Pacific title lead as they knocked off rival Denver in Tempe. Arizona fell behind 17-7 early in the 3rd, but got a Tim Lester TD, and a toss from Bosco to Richie Anderson to overtake the Gold and retain first place. OAK 30 LA 35 Oakland’s once promising season has come crashing down as they were outmuscled by the LA Express in Angel Stadium. Brent Pease threw for 2 scores and LB Bryce Paup snagged an early pick-six to undo the playoff hopes of the Invaders. Add in a Darnay Scott 104 yard kickoff return and you have an upset in favor of the Express. ATL 16 POR 31 Portland got the break they needed to snap their losing streak as they nearly doubled up the expansion Atlanta Fire. Robert Drummond had a monster game, rushing the ball 23 times for 191 yards and 3 scores as the Thunder kept the ball on the ground and just overpowered the visiting Fire. The win helps keep Portland alive for a Wild Card as they hold a tie breaker over both Denver and New Orleans, all at 7-6 and fighting for that last spot. CHI 23 SEA 13 Chicago traveled up to the Northwest and got the job done, with Mario Bates stepping in for a dinged up Ricky Watters and gaining 83 yards in the Machine victory. Wessley Walls also helped the cause with 6 catches for 97 yards as a 6-3 halftime lead became a 10 point Machine victory. HOU 41 BIR 27 Birmingham’s hot streak came up against a red hot Jim Kelly. Kelly would throw for 417 yards and 4 scores against the struggling Stallion defense, and the Gamblers pulled away from a 20-17 deficit to win by 14. Brett Perriman had only 2 catches on the day, but they were both huge. The first was a 72-yard TD in the 2nd quarter and the second was an even more impressive 75-yard catch and run in the 4th. Add in 2 Thurman Thomas TDs and you have a solid win for the 11-2 Gamblers, who still remain only 1 game up on Chicago. MGN 14 JAX 10 Michigan, once written off, win again, and a big one as they take down Southern Division leader Jacksonville in the Gator Bowl. In a sloppy game, that saw the two clubs go a combined 4 of 23 on 3rd down, Joe Montana found Johnny Holloway for the game winner and kept themselves on life support for a Wild Card at 6-7. Jacksonville’s fall to 8-5 means they are now only 1 game up on the surging Orlando Renegades for what likely will be the only playoff berth from the South. STL 24 ORL 27 Orlando had their own struggles against the Knights, but held on despite a furious 4th quarter from St. Louis to win by 3. Scott Mitchell threw for 2 scores and the return of HB Dalton Hilliard helped Orlando control the clock down the stretch as the Renegades drew closer to Jacksonville with a huge Week 15 showdown between the two looming on the horizon. NOR 22 MEM 20 New Orleans remained in the Wild Card mix with a key win at the Liberty Bowl. Qadry Ismail had a big game with 9 catches for 109 yards, and kicker Lin Elliot’s 5 field goals were just enough to overcome a solid game by Memphis’s Heath Shuler. New Orleans QB Jamie Martin was hurt in the game, replaced by season starter Timm Rosenbach, and could miss their important week 14 clash with Michigan. TEX 20 TBY 27 A setback for the Outlaws as they fall in Tampa Bay to a resurgent Bandits club. Texas is still in solid position at 8-5, but now fall 3 games behind Houston and will likely find themselves playing host to a Wild Card game. The Bandits survived 3 picks by Troy Aikman, getting a key score from TE Ben Coates late to take the home win and move to 5-8. With 3 games left the picture is getting a little clearer, but these division races could come down to the wire. Pittsburgh and Philly are tied at 10-3 atop the Atlantic. Jacksonville’s lead over Orlando is down to one game in the South. Houston has a 1 game lead over Chicago, with the two slated to battle again next week in what could be a game to determine the division, and Arizona has only a 1 game lead on both Denver and Portland in the Pacific. With 3 weeks left clubs like 5-8 Memphis and Tampa and 6-7 Oakland and Michigan remain mathematically alive, but must sweep their final 3 to have any shot, while clubs like Texas, Portland, Denver, New Orleans and Baltimore must avoid upsets to keep themselves within the top 5 in each conference. We are now at 4 of 10 playoff spots claimed, with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Chicago joining the Houston Gamblers as clinched playoff teams. Washington needs only 1 more win to clinch, but they have lost 2 in a row, while Texas, Arizona, and Jacksonville need some help if they want to clinch in Week 14. 1. BIG GAME: You know someone had a huge game when Jim Kelly’s 4 TD, 417 yard day did not garner him the Offensive Player of the Week honors. Those went to Robert Drummond, who toyed with a possible 200 yard rushing day this week for Portland. Drummond had 191 yards on 23 carries, an 8.3 yard per carry average. Now, admittedly, it was against Atlanta, which has one of the worst rush defenses in the league, giving up an average of 103.3 yards per game, but even so, that game was enormous for a Portland squad that had lost 4 in a row and desperately needed to get a W to stay alive in the playoff hunt. 2. DEFENSIVE STAR: The other big game this week came from an unlikely star for the Arizona defense. In a tight match against Denver, CB Philipi Sparks had perhaps his best moment of the season, snagging a Mark Brunell pass and winding his way through would-be tacklers to score on a 53-yard pick six. The score highlighted a big game for the Wrangler defense, one in which Sparks consistently blanketed Denver’s top receiver, Mark Carrier, and recorded 10 tackles to go along with his scoring play. Add in 4 sacks, including one each from Charles Haley, Broderick Thomas and Al Noga, and you have the kind of defensive day that could propel Arizona to a division title. 3. ROOKIE WATCH: With Rashaan Salaam going down to injury, we are all but assured that the Rookie of the Year votes will be split between Michigan’s Tyrone Wheatley (1,158 yards and 8 TDs) and Houston wideout Antonio Freeman (943 yards receiving and 9 TDs). That said, we should also recognize the great year that Bobby Taylor has had in the Oakland secondary (69 tackles, 3 Int, 2 FF and 1 sack) and the success Tyrone Poole has had on a pretty weak Atlanta defense, garnering 87 tackles and 5 picks. 4. INJURY REPORT: Some nasty injuries this week as we saw Baltimore’s top receiver Bill Brooks go down with a broken leg that could impact his ability to return next season. Atlanta HB Fred McAfee had a nasty looking ankle injury as well, which fortunately the TV broadcast stopped replaying after it was clear what the image held. In Washington LT Ken Lanier likely is out for the rest of the year with a torn quad, while Baltimore lost another key player, DE Mike Piel to a torn hamstring. In Orlando it was tackle Robert Curry who is likely down for the final stretch and Arizona will also be without their LT Kirk Lowdermilk as well. Orlando also got some bad news as their starter, Scott Mitchell suffered a sprained ankle that could cost him the remaining 3 regulars season games. The home stretch for Denver will be tougher as they will have to go without rookie HB Rashaan Salaam, whose season ended with a hip injury. We are still not sure if Don Majkowski will be able to return for Week 14, and St. Louis starter Todd Collins could miss another game as well. The New Jersey Generals this week released their new look for 1996, which combines a bit of a vintage look with some new elements. The Generals began by introducing two new logos. The new primary logo retains the five gold stars outlined in blue, but brings back the laurel leaves which were part of their first look in 1983. The second logo is a that of a revolutionary war general, complete with tri-corner hat and blue coat, arms crossed, within a circle background and with a silhouette of the state of New Jersey in the upper right. The “Jersey General” as they have dubbed him, will be included on the uniform as a patch on the right chest. Also new is the wordmark, which removes the script “Generals” in favor of a block letter format, and also includes a small outline of the state of New Jersey between the two words of the same. All of this is to reemphasize the club’s position as New Jersey’s team, despite the fact that the Generals play in the same stadium as the New York Giants and still draw a significant portion of their fan base from New York. There has long been an issue with NYC teams playing in New Jersey, most notably the Giants, and since their inception in 1983 the Generals have always used New Jersey as their identifier. The uniforms retain many elements of their original look including the red stripeless helmet with white facemask. The larger than required TV numbers on the sleeves and predominantly red and white color palette. What is new is the aforementioned shoulder patch, the use of gold outline and then blue drop shadows on the jersey numbers, and the addition of a thin (2 inch) blue stripe which extends from the underarm down the entire jersey. The stripe continues briefly into the pant, before a gold star and gold chevron form an epaulette-styled cutoff and the stripe shifts to red for the rest of the pant leg. This last addition is as close to a flourish as the largely basic uniform has, with a bit of military style, similar to dress uniforms in several military branches. The new red home jerseys will be available for sale at local retailers and nationwide through the league’s agreement with Walmart stores beginning in January, in time for the league’s annual draft and training camps. All eyes will be on Soldier Field this week as the clear “GOTW” is Houston at Chicago, with the Central Division title up for grabs. Houston decisively won the first matchup of the two Central Rivals, 38-3, but that was in Week 1 of the season and Chicago has been one of the league’s best clubs since then. In addition to this clash of titans, the Central also gives us playoff-impacting games as New Orleans faces Michigan, with the loser likely losing realistic hopes of qualifying for the postseason, and Texas, hoping to lock up a playoff spot, with a win at St. Louis. The Southern Division is also in divisional matchups, but the drama here is not quite as intense. Jacksonville hosts Memphis, and the Bulls need a win to keep pace in the division. A loss, and a win by Orlando at home against the Bandits, and Orlando pulls into a tie with the Bulls, something once thought impossible. Birmingham is out of division as they travel to Seattle, with a chance to return to .500 with a win over the hapless Dragons. The rest of the schedule is also inter-conference as Washington hopes to get back on track with a visit to Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Portland clash in Civic Stadium, Philadelphia hopes to continue Oakland’s losing streak as they face off by the bay, and Ohio is in LA in a battle of expansion clubs. Denver and Arizona both have clashes with Atlantic Division clubs as both try to ensure a playoff spot. Denver hosts the 4-win Generals while Arizona has a much tougher task, facing the 8-5 Baltimore Blitz.

Houston has clinched a playoff spot, but not the division. Washington, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago will clinch a spot with a Week 13 win.

With some teams looking to lock up playoff spots, and others jockeying for position, we have entered the crunch time phase of the season. Week 12 marks the 3/4 mark of the year, and with only 4 games left to play the stakes are getting higher and the pressure to make a move is on. Who moved up? Who is sliding? Who is already looking at the draft and next season? Every team has a story to tell, but some are not getting the happy ending their fans wanted. With Troy Aikman back under center, we had a hunch that Tampa Bay would not be an easy out for the Philadelphia Stars, and that certainly proved to be the case as this game went into overtime before we had a winner. Aikman had a rough day, throwing 4 picks, but still managed to throw for 320 yards to help keep Tampa in the game. Chuck Long and the Stars struggled to put the ball in the endzone, so we saw a second half with 7 field goals as the two teams just kept pushing each other 3 points further. The game started with the same back-and-forth energy that it would see all day. After a Bandit field goal opened scoring, Philly responded with a long drive ending in a Charlie Garner 13-yard TD run. Tampa answered right back with their own back, Errict Rhett, scoring from 6 yards out. Philly then ended the first half with a 2-minute drill and a Marcus Pollard 3-yard TD catch. 14-10 Stars at the half. Philly extended their lead as the 2nd half began with the first of what would be 4 second half kicks for cagey vet David Trout. Tampa pulled evened the score on their next drive as Aikman hit Robert Brooks for the score. The Bandits took a 3-point lead with Dean Biasucci’s chip shot 24-yarder on the next drive, and then went up by 6 on another Biasucci kick just as the 4th quarter began. But, Philadelphia can kick the ball too, and 2 straight drives ending in David Trout kicks brought us to 23-23 with 3 minutes left. The Bandits got a good drive from Aikman and with 1:03 left in the game Biasucci kicked what the Tampa faithful hoped would be the game winner, going up 26-23. But, 1:03 and 2 time outs proved to be enough for the Stars to get into range for Trout, and with 7 seconds left in the game Trout equalized the score, sending the game into overtime. Philadelphia won the toss, took the ball, and decided that they would not give Tampa Bay a chance by kicking again. The Stars took 8 minutes and 15 plays to do it, but when Long found Marcus Pollard for his second score on the day (on virtually the same call as the first), the Stars let out a sigh of relief and took the W, their 9th of the year. For the Bandits it was a frustrating loss yet again. The offense played well, but the defense faded down the stretch and was simply unable to contain the Philadelphia Stars in overtime. LA 13 CHI 40 Ricky Watters ran wild against an ailing Express defense, gaining 131 yards on only 16 carries. That opened up the passing game as well, with McGwire finding Wendell Davis 6 times for 104 and a score as the Machine keep pace in the Central. OAK 14 HOU 17 Ten points in the final quarter help Houston overcome the visiting Invaders. Oakland’s Bobby Hebert completed only 36% of his passes on a rough day (13 of 36) but they had the lead until Houston’s Keith Woodside plunged in from the 1 to give Houston the win, making them the first club to clinch a playoff spot this year at 10-2. POR 21 MGN 34 Michigan got healthy against a Portland team that appears to be in a death spiral. Joe Montana threw for 3 scores and Wheatley rushed for 126 and a TD as this one saw the Panthers score 20 unanswered points in the second half to cruise to a home win and stay alive at 5-7. ATL 19 NOR 26 Atlanta gave the Breakers a scare, but Erric Pegram came up big, with 122 yards rushing, to help New Orleans even their record at 6-6. Martin TDs to Ray Rowe and Qadry Ismail helped the Breakers upend the very game Atlanta Fire. ARZ 39 STL 0 The Knights crashed and burned early, trailing 26-0 at the half as Arizona picked off Todd Collins twice including a Kerner pick six, eventually leading to David Archer coming into the game. That did not help either as Arizona was in QB hunting mode by that point. The Wranglers finished with 3 sacks and 3 picks on the day as they cruise to a win and the top spot in the division. DEN 10 TEX 30 Arizona leads the division because Denver came out flat against the Outlaws and was quickly in a hole they could not climb out of. Kelly Stouffer threw 3 TDs, including a 40 yarder to Shawn Collins on the way to the Texas victory. JAX 22 BAL 13 Baltimore stumbles despite picking off Chandler twice. Both the Blitz and the Bulls scored on a pick 6 in a sloppy game that saw several turnovers and 11 combined penalties for nearly 100 yards. The game was 15-13 until late in the 4th, when an Owen Gill run gave Jacksonville the space they needed to finish out the game. MEM 30 NJ 24 Rob Johnson threw for 243 and 3 TD’s but it was not enough as Heath Shuler had another strong day for the Showboats, throwing 3 scores of his own. Both Greg Boone and Tommy Agie rushed for 54 yards exactly as the Showboats pull off the road win despite 111 on the ground from Walker. SEA 3 PIT 34 Getting Dave Krieg back under center was not a silver bullet for the Dragons as Pittsburgh remains white hot and steamrolls the Dragons. Alan Risher returned to action and threw for 3 scores, while Mike Rozier put in a workmanlike 22 carries for 91 yards and a score to help Pittsburgh stay on pace in the Atlantic. BIR 33 WSH 17 Washington falls back into a 3-way tie with Philly and Pittsburgh thanks to the resurgent Birmingham Stallions. Keen to return to .500, the Stallions found holes in Washington’s highly-regarded defense. Ernest Givens caught 6 balls for 147 yards, and both Joseph and Philyaw scored rushing TD’s as the Stallions racked up 442 yards of offense to Washington’s 294. Houston becomes the first playoff team to lock in a berth as they hit the 10-win plateau. Washington falls into a 3 way tie with the Stars and Maulers, and each of the three can clinch a spot next week with a win. Jacksonville now has to worry about what appears to be a reawakened Birmingham squad at 6-6 and within range of the final playoff spot if not the division title too. Out West, Arizona and Denver are tied atop the Pacific, with Portland and Oakland falling back to 6-6. Portland has lost 4 in a row after a 6-2 start, while Oakland has just lost their 3rd in a row. Chicago, at 9-3, is in a good position to line up a playoff berth next week as well, though they are still seeking to catch Houston for the division and hopefully a bye. 1. Chutes & Ladders: There is something of a football cliché to talk about peaking at the right time, and while there is ample evidence that there is truth in this, there is also the inverse, the crunch time collapse. It appears that this year we have a little of both happening. Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are on impressive win streaks, 8 and 6 games respectively, and that has allowed them to catch up to Washington, who are 3-3 after a massive 6-0 start. In the South we have Orlando chasing on the tail of Baltimore for the final playoff spot in the East with a 2 game win streak, and Birmingham the winners of 3 in a row to reach 6-6. In the Western Conference we have fewer positive streaks, though Arizona’s 3-game win streak has surprised many. What we have out west are plenty of negative slides. Oakland this week lost their 3rd in a row. Portland is on a 4-game slide that took them from 6-2 down to 6-6. Just why teams are either flopping late or surging towards the end of the year is tough to say. Injuries certainly can play a role, as can the maturation of younger players. Sometimes it is just a slow start to the year being rectified, or a pretender being unmasked that impacts the late season of a club. This year, with only 4 games left. 2. Too Little Too Late?: Brett Favre, and his 4,000 passing yards, have Birmingham surging at the right time as they reached .500 and are looking very dangerous for the rest of the season. Favre, who has been doing it without much semblance of a run game, is not only leading the league in passing yards, but is closing in on Jim Kelly in passing TD’s. Of course, Favre’s 20 interceptions are still a concern, well ahead of other interception leaders, Flutie, Mike Kelley and Aikman. The return of Ernest Givens has been huge, with Givens two straight games over 130 yards receiving after coming off of injury. The defense is still a concern, rated 21st in the league in points allowed, and 22nd in yards allowed, which means that in both categories there is at least one expansion club better than them. They will need to keep scoring in bunches, but there are few that think doing so is impossible for the Stallions. Whether they are playing spoiler or taking a shot at a late Wild Card push, no one wants to face Birmingham right now. 3. Future's So Bright?: Looking at the opposite side of the standings, we can start to look at the 1996 draft. Seattle seems destined to grab the #1 pick as they have only 1 win on the season, but a 2nd win could lead to Atlanta grabbing the top pick. After Seattle and Atlanta, we find St. Louis, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ohio, and Tampa Bay. Looking at the draft, the players expected to be at or near the top of USFL wish lists include USC wideout Keyshawn Johnson, Illinois defenders Kevin Hardy (LB) and Simeon Rice (DE), Nebraska and Michigan HBs Lawrence Phillips and Tim Biakabatuka, and Ohio State speedster Terry Glenn. Seattle could go a lot of directions with their first pick, and with no top notch QB’s on the table, they might just look at a halfback or some defensive help. Their best bet to get a player who will count only 50% on their cap would be to look at either Oregon DB Alex Molden or Washington Husky DB Lawyer Milloy, but is CB really a need area for a team that lacks offensive punch. We all think Atlanta will look for a HB in the draft, not only because their run game has been so bad in their inaugural year, but because they seem to have QB set with the combo of veteran Cliff Stoudt and rookie Eric Zeier. Either Phillips or Biakabatuka could be a good fit, but don’t count out Auburn’s big tackle Willie Anderson as a way to improve the run game, and then a lower round back like Auburn’s Stephen Davis. For LA, which seems to have some decent talent on offense, they will have to look defense, so they could take a flyer on one of the Illinois products, or go for a half-price cap player such as USC DE Israel Ifeanyi or UCLA LB Donnie Edwards. Of course, the LA schools, UCLA and USC, also offer a lot of offensive talent which might make LA double down. Players like Keyshawn Johnson, HB Karim Abdul Jabbar, and tackle Jonathan Ogden are all enticing options for a team that lacks depth. As for St. Louis, we assume they wish to test out Todd Collins at QB for a full year, so no go for that position. They too could use a halfback, and Phillips would bring in some fans, but they also need defensive help. DE Cedric Jones of Oklahoma or Simeon Rice would be an immediate impact player for the Knights. 4. INJURY REPORT: Arizona’s J.J. Stokes continue to face issues in his rookie year, this time a hip issue could cost him a week or two. In Baltimore the concern is DE, where Mike Piel could be done for the year. Chicago looks like they could be without their offensive engine for at least a week as Ricky Watters has a hamstring issue that could linger. They also are without two starting LB’s as both Robert Hinkley and Mark Munford will miss time. Denver is hoping that Kurt Gouveia can play with what appears to be a case of turf toe, while Jacksonville’s hopes that Natrone Means could return look to be on hold for another week. Pittsburgh could be down to their third best corner as both Quintin Jones and Sonny Gordon are listed as questionable this week, and finally ST. Louis may have to go with David Archer at QB if the injury to Todd Collins’ right eye (a poke from a DE) continues to blur his vision. As always the ability to sign a top recruit, to block out the NFL, remains a major factor in all personnel decisions. As much as the USFL would love to sign the entire top of the NFL draft class, that is just never going to happen. I anticipate perhaps 10 of the top 30 prospects signing with the spring league, just based on what we see year in and year out. So the key, as always, is to find gems among lower-rated players, much as New Orleans seems to have done with 3-year veteran Jamie Martin and rookie HB Terrell Davis. Week 13 looks like a good one, with some really interesting inter-divisional games. The big game is a divisional one as we have 9-3 Washington headed into Pittsburgh to face the surging Maulers. This game could well decide who wins the Atlantic this year. Also in the Atlantic we have Baltimore hoping to knock back New Jersey and stay a leg up on the final Wild Card slot. Philadelphia is in Ohio and eyeing their 10th win. The Pacific also has a key divisional game as Arizona takes on Denver in Tempe. A win here for either team could propel them to a division title. Oakland is headed downstate to face the LA Express, while Portland hosts the Atlanta Fire in an intra-divisional matchup. The other games of interest include Houston facing the red hot Birmingham Stallions, Michigan traveling to Jacksonville, New Orleans in a regional rivalry game with Memphis, St. Louis visiting Orlando and the “Battle of the Bad Guys” as the Outlaws face the Bandits in Tampa Bay. Finally we have Chicago flying out to the Northwest to face the 1-11 Dragons.

Divisional games this week help to either sort out or further muddle the playoff picture. In the Atlantic all three favorites won big, but the South got more confusing with Orlando shocking Jacksonville, while in the Central, Texas made a claim against the “Big 2” by upsetting Chicago. Out in the Pacific it was Portland that failed to keep pace, as Arizona barely squeeked by with a W and Denver stayed hot. A big week to be sure. Seems odd that we pick a game between two teams with losing records while so many playoff-impact games were happening this week, but from a sheer enjoyment standpoint, this game was the best of the week. Second Year QB Heath Shuler had a strong game for the Showboats, completing 36 of 50 passes for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns. Brett Favre matched him with 281 yards and 3 scores of his own in Ernest Givens’ return to the field, a game in which he caught 4 balls for 138 yards and a score. It was a back and forth game all the way from the opening drive. Favre wasted no time, hitting Givens for a 71 yard TD on the 1st play from scrimmage. The play action fly pattern caught the Showboats napping, and they clearly forgot how fast Givens can be when healthy. He flew past the corner and Favre hit him on a pass that sent the crowd at Legion Field into hysterics. Memphis clawed back, thanks to two Kevin Shea field goals to end the first quarter at 7-6. Birmingham would then score 14 unanswered in the 2nd quarter and Memphis 14 unanswered in the 3rd (two Carl Pickens TDs from Shuler) so that by the time the 4th quarter began, it was all tied up at 21 apiece (2 point conversion on Memphis’s 2nd TD helped this). Birmingham struck again to start the final quarter as Favre found Lawrence Dawsey from 22 yards out to put Birmingham back on top. Memphis answered, and with 4:31 a short TD pass from Shuler to Townsell again tied the game. But, 4:31 was way too much time left to Favre and he methodically drove Birmingham down the field for a Scott Norwood kick with 1:37 left. Memphis took the ball on their own 25 and moved the ball down to the Birmingham 35, setting up Shea for a potential game-winning FG with 40 seconds left and a 4th and 2. The sizeable contingent of Memphis fans in the stadium yelled for Coach Ryan to go for it and get Memphis closer, but Buddy opted for the kick, and Kevin Shea has always been a solid long-ball kicker. But, when Shea’s kick hooked left and fell both outside and short, the Birmingham crowd got what they needed and Birmingham moved their record to 5-6, which is now only 2 games behind both Jacksonville (for the division) and Baltimore (for the last wild card). Could the Stallions actually work their way back into playoff contention? Is the lost season not lost? Still 5 games to play, but it now seems possible, something we would not have said only a week or 2 ago. WSH 27 BAL 6 The Federal defense shut down the Blitz, forcing 2 Chris Miller interceptions, and Majkowski hit 3 different receivers for scores as the Federals reasserted their position as the frontrunner in the Atlantic. PHI 30 NJ 6 Philadelphia got an emphatic win over their rivals from New Jersey, thanks to 2 Pat Chaffey TD runs and yet another Cris Carter TD catch. Herschel Walker was held to only 57 yards by the tough Philly D. PIT 17 OHI 14 Ohio proved their mettle yet again, taking the Maulers into overtime before Pittsburgh could pull out the win. Of course, Alan Risher went out early in the 2nd, so once again the Mauler offense was hamstrung. Pat O’Hara struggled, but did put both Mauler TD’s on the board and helped Pittsburgh get into position for the winning Septien kick. TBY 41 SEA 10 Troy Aikman returned to action and it showed as the Bandits put up 403 yards of offense and blew past an undermanned Seattle squad. Rookie Terrell fletcher rushed 6 times for 51 yards in support of Errict Rhett (76 yards on 16 carries). ORL 21 JAX 17 Orlando stayed relevant by upsetting the division-leading Bulls in Jacksonville. All 3 of Orlando’s scores came in the 2nd as they got a TD run (Fowler), a TD pass (Mitchell to Emmanuel) and a Pick-6 (Ryan McNeill) to jump on top of Jacksonville. The Bulls scored 10 in the final half, but could not get the 3rd score they needed to pull out a win. TEX 24 CHI 17 Texas made a huge step towards the playoffs by upsetting the Machine in Soldier Field. Reggie Cobb rushed 22 times for 106 yards and a key score to power the Outlaws attack. The Texas D also held Ricky Watters to only 39 yards on 14 carries as Texas kept Chicago at bay and stuffed a final drive on a 4th and 3 stop. NOR 17 HOU 20 Jim Kelly struggled against the Breaker D (48% completion rate and 2 picks) but got enough help from Thurman Thomas and his defense to upend the Breakers and gain sole possession of 1st in the Central. Rookie Terrell Davis took a big step towards becoming the bellcow for New Orleans, as he rushed 11 times for 60 yards in the loss. STL 17 MGN 9 Michigan’s slide is now officially a free fall as they lose at home to the 2-win Knights. Todd Collins threw for 2 scores, while Michigan, despite 103 yards from Tyrone Wheatley, could not find the endzone. ATL 20 ARZ 22 Atlanta hung close all game but failed on a 2-point Pat late with the game on the line. With rookie Eric Zeier still dinged up, Cliff Stoudt again got the start, and threw 3 TD’s including one to Ernie Jones with 1:24 left to play, but a solid defensive play by Broderick Thomas shut down the 2-point play, preserving the win for the homestanding Wranglers. OAK 3 DEN 22 Denver’s defense frustrated the Invaders all day, completely shutting down the Oakland run game and limiting Bobby Hebert to 145 yards passing. Mark Brunell had the opposite day, completing 80.6% of his passes (29 of 36) and helping guide the team’s only TD drive. Jeff Wilkens added 5 FG to help Denver get a key divisional win. POR 16 LA 24 This was a game Portland had to have, and they failed as Marcus Allen had his first 100-yard game of the season for the Express. Despite Robert Drummond’s 122 yards, Portland could not turn drives into points, and 2 interceptions by the LA defense kept the Express on top, earning them their 3rd win of the year. 1. Young Guns: QB play remains the hottest topic in the league as young guns like Heath Shuler, Mark Brunell and Scott Mitchell are beginning to work themselves into the conversation. While the big names in the league, Kelly, Favre, Hebert, and Stouffer, are doing just fine, it is good to see some young QB’s making the best of their chances. Add in the mixed bag of showings from rookies Todd Collins and Rob Johnson, and there is a sense that we are in a transition phase among USFL signal callers. 2. MVP Race: Looking at the MVP race again, things have tightened up a bit. We still see Jim Kelly as the frontrunner, simply due to the success Houston has had, but Portland’s Robert Drummond is having a heck of a year with 1,126 yards and 12 TDs after only 11 games. Add in a possible late season push from Brett Favre and the Stallions, and a possible run at the Sack record by Washington’s Dexter Manley, and this could be a tight race. 3. Sideline Stars: Coach of the Year could be another tight race. We love the job that Jim Fassel has done in Jacksonville, but if the Bulls fade down the stretch you have to look at what Lindy Infante has going on in Baltimore or what Wade Phillips seems to be building in Denver. We don’t see Houston’s Ray Willsey getting a nod, despite the bounceback season Houston is having, simply because everyone feels that they have too much talent to miss the playoffs again. And while we are impressed with the grit of all 4 expansion clubs, none of them look to be sniffing .500, so that makes giving any expansion coach the award. 4. Steal City: If you are looking for a reason why Pittsburgh has surged into contention in the East, look no further than the turnover margin stats. The Maulers are a whopping +21 with only 8 turnovers committed all season and 29 takeaways. That is a solid +8 over the closest competitor (Jacksonville at +13). On the other end of that spectrum we find Birmingham at -12, thanks largely to the trend of Brett Favre being careless with throws and getting picked. Memphis is little better at -10, as the two southern teams are the only squads in the league with 2-digit negatives. 5. Injury Update: A big blow for the struggling LA Express as DE Santana Dotson is out for the remainder of the year with a torn posterior cruciate ligament. Perhaps the best player on the Express defense will be in rehab well into the offseason after getting rolled up on by a lineman this week. Chicago too suffered a big loss as guard Juan Castenada also suffered ligament damage in his knee and will also be out for the rest of the year. Atlanta lost HB Fred McAfee toa broken foot, and Texas will be without backup TE John Henry Mills thanks to a broken collarbone. St. Louis could miss wideout Rocket Ismail for the rest of the regular season as a torn MCL sidelines the speedy receiver. In Jacksonville some bad news as a fracture in the lower arm of halfback Natrone Means could keep him out until week 16 or even the postseason. Orlando will miss their starting halfback, Dalton Hilliard, for at least 2 weeks with his own arm injury, though it appears not to be a break. Others expected to miss at least a week include Washington WR Joey Walters (knee), LA linebacker Donta Jones (hand), Texas wideout Lawyer Tillman (foot), Pittsburgh QB Alan Risher (foot), Houston WR Brett Perriman (shoulder), and New Orleans guard Jeff Zimmerman (foot). Washington and Houston retain slim leads in their divisions and on the #1 seed in each conference, but things are getting tighter down the line. Baltimore still holds a 2 game lead on Birmingham and Orlando for the 5th and final spot, but they cannot afford to ease up as they have a lot of tough divisional games left on the schedule. Jacksonville too has to be concerned that both the Renegades and Stallions seem to be making late runs. And with Pittsburgh (7 game win streak) and Philadelphia (5 game streak) hot on their heels, the Federals cannot afford to take the pedal off the floor. In the west, Houston now has both a 1 game lead and the tiebreaker (divisional record) over Chicago. Meanwhile Texas is now challenging the Machine for 2nd place. Down at the #5 pick we have 3 teams at 6-5 all fighting for 1 slot. Arizona, Portland, and Oakland are all trailing Denver by only 1 game, but only 1 of them can get a wildcard if they fail to catch up to the Gold. Arizona currently holds the tiebreaker, thanks to a 4-1 division record, but this is still wide open and even 5-6 New Orleans is not out of it. We expect three clubs to have new looks in 1996, and this week we got a peek at the first of the three. While New Jersey is playing coy about their new look, and Chicago's new logo is a requirement of their lost trademark lawsuit, Jacksonville has opted to present us with their new look while the current season still goes on. The Bulls, hoping to ratchet up the support as they hope to lock up the Southern Division, present a new uniform that features more gunmetal grey while retaining the feel of the original garnet and orange looks. The look comes with a new wordmark, three sets of pants which can be worn in combination with the white or garnet jerseys, and just a hint of black in the number outlines. The jerseys feature gunmetal grey yokes and the iconic charging bull logo on each sleeve. The collars also feature the new USFL helmet logo, and just below the collar we find the wordmark. Week 12 has some intriguing inter-divisional games which could impact the playoff picture. On Saturday Houston hosts Oakland and Denver visits San Antonio to take on the Outlaws in the big games. We also have Arizona at St. Louis, Atlanta in New Orleans, LA heading to Chicago and the Michigan Panthers hosting the Portland Thunder. Sunday’s big game is Jacksonville at Baltimore, a game neither team can afford to lose. We also have the Washington Federals possibly facing a tough challenge as Birmingham visits. Philly takes on Tampa Bay with a healthy Troy Aikman. Pittsburgh hosts Seattle, Ohio hosts Orlando, and New Jersey takes on the Memphis Showboats to wrap up the week.

No teams have clinched a playoff spot. Seattle is eliminated.

Hello USFL fans. Just a quick word to say that I have updated the TEAMS page with all new images of each team uniform. You can also see updated info on our new expansion clubs. Teams now have icons for classic uniforms, new uniforms, and the new "mannequin figure" versions of the new uniforms. If you have not visited the TEAMS page in a while, there is a lot to see. And thanks for following USFL LIVES.

Atlanta wins its 2nd in a row, Washington loses another in an epic comeback, Pittsburgh roll s and Jacksonville moves one step closer to clinching the Southern Division as we start getting serious about playoff positioning. In a week with no shortage of drama there were games across the board which will have playoff implications, but none bigger than this week’s GOTW. In a game that would go to overtime after two massive fourth quarter drives, Chicago came back to tie with only 6 seconds on the clock and then held momentum into the extra period to knock off the Washington Federals and stay right in the hunt for the Central Division title. Dan McGwire showed his grit, leading the Machine back in the 4th and then securing the win with an epic opening drive in overtime to put the game away as Chicago once again finds hope in a backup QB. This game was nip and tuck throughout, as both defenses played well, but so did both quarterbacks. Dan McGwire stuck to the game plan of short, quick passes to minimize the impact of the Washington pass rush. Don Majkowski took the occasional shot, but also found that Chicago’s defensive shell forced him to play small ball throughout the game. Both teams also used a HB rotation to keep possession and slow down momentum for their opponent. Between the two teams we had 206 yards rushing, with Barry Word leading the Federals with a 5.2 YPC average while Ricky Watters struggled to only 2.5 YPC, but got relief from the more elusive Mario Bates (4.6 YPC). But in the end, it was the passing game for Chicago that helped snag the win. The first half was largely a testing out period, with Chicago getting an early McGwire to Eccles TD and the Feds settling for 2 Doug Pelfrey field goals. Washington would take the lead 14-7 on a Terry Kirby TD run in the 3rd and a successful 2-point try. Chicago would find their equalizer as the 3rd quarter wound down as McGwire found Wendell Davis from 2 yards out on a rub route. In the 4th, Majkowski found his new favorite target, Duane Gunn, for six and the Federals took the 21-14 lead. The lead held through two short possessions by Chicago, but with 2:07 left to play, the Machine got one more chance, and this time they would find their equalizer. Moving the ball down the field with 5 consecutive completions, one aided by a roughing the passer call on Dexter Manley, Chicago moved deep into Washington territory. A draw to Bates got them to the 2, and, after using their final timeout, McGwire found TE Eccles again, with only 6 clicks left on the clock, to tie the game and send it to overtime. Chicago would win the coin toss, and seemingly found a tired Washington defense waiting for them. It took 9 plays, but once again the Machine soon found themselves inside the 10 yard line of Washington. Knowing that a field goal would only extend the game, Chicago kept pushing towards the end zone, and on a 3rd and 1 from the 1, Mario Bates darted off the right side and plunged into the end zone to give the Machine the win. Chicago, now 8-2, would take a share of first place with the win, thanks to a Houston loss the day before, and Washington, with a loss, dropped to 8-2, with 3 teams in the Atlantic only 1 game behind now as the division tightens up. The loss may have also cost Washington LB Winston Moss for a game or two as he left the field limping after a tough collision with Chicago fullback Kimble Anders. BAL 37 HOU 17 Houston simply did not have it working on Saturday when they faced the Baltimore Blitz. Despite 106 yards from Thurman Thomas, an early injury to QB Jim Kelly hampered the the Gamblers all game, as they fell behind at the half and never fully recovered. Derrick Fenner led Baltimore with 91 yards rushing and a TD, and a late Leslie Frazier pick-six ended any hopes of a comeback. NJ 23 MGN 14 Michigan dropped their fourth in a row as New Jersey got the win in Rob Johnson’s first start. Johnson led a conservative attack that relied heavily on Herschel Walker (26 carries for 98 yards) and the New Jersey defense held Michigan to only 49 yards rushing as the Panthers continue to fade. OHI 27 NOR 13 Jeff Hostetler had his best game since coming over from Pittsburgh, throwing for 3 TD’s as Ohio found holes in the Breaker defense. The Glory also had an answer for the Breakers offense, limiting Jamie Martin to 132 yards passing and only 1 successful third down conversion on the day. PHI 30 STL 24 It was not easy for the Stars, but 20 consecutive points scored in the 3rd and 4th quarters helped them pull away from a game Knights team. Charlie Garner was held to only 42 yards rushing, but 4 St. Louis turnovers, including 3 interceptions by rookie Todd Collins, helped Philadelphia get the road win. PIT 34 TEX 3 Pittsburgh remained the hottest team in the league with an absolute mauling of Texas in San Antonio. The Maulers got a combined 134 yards rushing from Rozier and backup Dorsey Levins, and Alan Risher completed an incredible 83% of his passes on the day as Texas simply had no answers. The Pittsburgh D also proved impenetrable, as they limited Reggie Cobb to only 16 yards on 11 carries. TBY 14 ARZ 27 Arizona got the win they needed to return to .500 as John Fourcade again struggled to move the Tampa Bay offense. Robbie Bosco had his best game of the season, throwing for 3 scores as the Wranglers played error-free football and took advantage of 4 Tampa Bay turnovers for the W. SEA 3 DEN 23 Seattle continued to struggle with David Klingler at QB as Denver dispatched the Dragons quite handily behind 25 carries for Rashaan Salaam, and 3 Jeff Wilkens field goals. Denver held the ball for nearly 40 minutes as they wore down the Seattle defense, gaining 21 first downs to Seattle’s 10 over the course of the day. BIR 24 LA 20 Birmingham got 3 TDs from Brett Favre, with Lawrence Dawsey returning to the lineup to catch 7 balls for 124 yards, as the Stallions edged a determined LA Express team. Brent Pease threw for 3 scores to keep the Express in the game, but were unable to recover an onside kick after pulling to within 4 late in the game. JAX 24 OAK 19 A huge win for the Bulls as the visitors scored 14 points in the final 5 minutes to shock the Oakland crowd. Chris Chandler hit rookie Kez McCorvey for a score with 2:52 left, then, after recovering an onside kick, Chandler did it again, finding Howard Bishop for the game winner with only 44 seconds to play. Oakland, which had led 19-10 only minutes earlier, was left without a response and the Bulls moved a step closer to locking up the Southern Division with the win. MEM 31 POR 28 Portland could not take advantage of the Oakland loss, as 2nd year Memphis QB Heath Shuler impressed in his first start of the year. Shuler completed 23 of 33 for 232 yards and 2 touchdowns. He got a lot of help from veteran Greg Boone, who had his first 100-yard game this year, rushing for 115 and a score as Memphis pulled off the road upset in Portland. ORL 22 ATL 23 Atlanta made it two wins in a row as Cliff Stoudt engineered a 4th quarte drive that ended with a TD to Glenn Kozlowski with only 11 seconds left to play. For the first time all season the Fire gained over 100 yards rushing, as Bernie Parmalee and Ricky Blake combined for 128 on the day. Orlando’s Scott Mitchell threw for 2 scores but had to watch helplessly as the veteran Stoudt drove Atlanta to the win. 1. QB Switches Lead to Immediate Results: The big story this week was the benching of two longtime starters at QB, and the success of the young upstarts. Memphis opted to give Heath Shuler the chance that fans had been clamoring for and Shuler provided immediate dividends, helping Memphis to a road win in Portland. Shuler found success throwing wide to Jo-Jo Townsell (5 receptions for 112 yards and 2 scores) and Carl Pickens (6 receptions for 47 yards), and seemed nimble enough to avoid the Portland pass rush. In the SilverDome, Rob Johnson got the nod over Doug Flutie, and while not quite as successful (23 of 39 for 196), was able to guide the Generals to a win. With both clubs on the outside of playoff contention, looking in, it seems a good time to test out their young QB’s to see if they may be looking at a generational change at the position. At least at first glance there seem to be some positives to take away from the first games from both young guns. 2. Kelly Injury Not Serious: Houston got the news it was hoping for after Jim Kelly left the game against Baltimore with what looked like a left knee injury. X-rays confirmed no fractures, and after evaluations on Monday, Kelly was cleared to play next week, although he will likely wear a protective brace to keep the knee stabilized. Without Kelly the Houston offense looked vulnerable, and with Chicago now tied atop the Central, the Gamblers can ill afford losing their field marshal down the stretch. 3. Panthers Lost in the Jungle: Losing their 4th in a row has to have Michigan questioning some of their roster choices this year. While the trade of Marcus Allen in favor of rookie Tyrone Wheatley has clearly paid off, with Wheatley near the top of the rushing board, veteran Joe Montana simply has not been able to replicate his NFL success with the Panthers. A lack of top level wideouts is partially to blame, but it also seems that Montana simply does not have the same ability to will his team to victories that we saw in San Francisco. With the defense struggling right now, and with teams keying on the run, Michigan appears to be quickly fading out of playoff contention, and many believe that Montana may hang up the cleats once the season is done, leaving Michigan with a need at QB, leaving many concerned because the 1996 draft class does not appear to have any clearly pro-ready prospects at the position. 4. Maulers on a Mission: On the opposite side of the spectrum we find Pittsburgh, winners of 6 straight, and Philadelphia, winners of 4 straight, both making serious claims on the division which Washington now only holds onto by 1 game. The Maulers have rediscovered their run game, and the ageless Mike Rozier seems more than capable of bearing the load of the offense, while the Stars are winning with defense, but also with a good balance between Chuck Long’s passing and Charlie Garner’s run game. Washington still holds an edge, as they remain undefeated in divisional play, but these final few weeks are likely to be a messy give and take as the teams in the Atlantic battle it out. Even Ohio, having won 2 in a row, is now a factor, potentially playing spoiler down the stretch. 5. Injury Update: While Jim Kelly escaped serious injury this week, not everyone was so lucky. Orlando LT Robert Curry is likely gone for the season with a ruptured Achilles. Portland LB Todd Howard is also likely finished as he suffered a major hamstring injury this week. Jacksonville will be without FS Mark Carrier for the next 6 weeks with an abdominal tear, and they also lose T Antone Davis to a biceps injury. In Seattle, wideout O.J. McDuffie just cannot stay healthy, as he will be out again after suffering a neck injury against Denver. And in New Jersey, Dino Hackett is likely to be out a couple of weeks with a lower back issue. Some positive news on the injury front, Birmingham’s #1 receiver may be back this week for the first time since the opening week. Ernest Givens was cleared for action and returned to practice on Wednesday. Others potentially returning this week include SS Eric Reid in Jacksonville, G Todd Kalis in Arizona, LB Scott Stephen in Seattle, and LB Kurt Gouveia in Denver, who suffered a concussion this week but was cleared to resume play. Our first playoff preview of the season finds things getting awfully tight in the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions, while the 2-team dogfight in the Central continues and Jacksonville now looks poised to clinch the Southern Division. With 5 teams in the Eastern Conference already at 7 wins, and with a 3 game gap between 5th place Baltimore and 6th place Orlando, it seems secure which teams will be making the playoffs in the conference, so now it is all about jockeying for position and for byes. In the West, Houston and Chicago will continue to battle for the Central crown and the #1 seed, while there are 6 teams fighting for 3 playoff spots, all either at 6-4 or 5-5. Portland currently holds the tiebreaker to take the Pacific, but they cannot feel safe with Denver, Oakland and Arizona all within range to steal it from them. Week 12 gives us the first of the “home stretch” divisional clashes, with nearly all clubs in divisional play. Washington and Baltimore play in Memorial Stadium in a game that could make things very interesting in the Atlantic. Philadelphia hopes to take out the Generals and QB Rob Johnson to keep pace, and Pittsburgh faces Ohio in Columbus. In Birmingham it is a battle of 4-6 clubs as the Memphis Showboats visit the Stallions. Jacksonville hopes to remove Orlando from contention when the two play in the Gator Bowl. Tampa is the lone Southern team out of division this week as they travel to Seattle to face the Dragons. Texas and New Orleans have tough road clashes this week as they face Chicago and Houston respectively. Meanwhile St. Louis travels to Michigan in a battle of clubs that are just evaluating talent at this point. Out west we find Oakland in Denver in one key clash of Pacific clubs, while Portland visits the LA Express and the Arizona Wranglers take on the visiting Atlanta Fire.

After 10 weeks no teams have clinched a playoff spot and no teams can be eliminated.