L.A.Rams Rally From 24-7 Deficit To Beat The Bucs 29-27

Tampa Bay comes to the Anaheim Stadium for a upset bid.  Steve Young had a good effort for the day.  He threw for 2 TD's and ran for another.   He ran the ball 7 times for 34 yards, 1 Touchdown and attempted 23 times and completed 14 for 134 yards 0 ints QB rating of 113.3%.With the Bucs leading 24-7 with 10;10 left in the 3rd quarter. Jim Everett came into play for the Rams for his shot.
On his first drive , 9 plays 80 yards topping it off with a 23 yard pass to Bobby Duckworth , Lansford with the PAT at the 4:13 mark of the 3rd Quarter 24-14 Bucs  got the ball back but on the 2nd play of their possession Doug Reed  nailed Steve Young for  a 6 yard loss and fumbled the ball. The hungry Rams recovered the ball on the T.B. 20 yard line. Jim Everett and company took over and  drove 20 yards on 5 plays throwing a 5 yard short out to Eric Dickerson  bringing the score 24-21 after Lansford converted the PAT.  3:11 left in the the 3rd Quarter.   The Bucs went 3 and out giving the ball back to the Rams with 1:28 left in the 3rd.  Dickerson ran a sweep to the left for 1 hard yard. next play, David  Logan coming  across  the line in pursuit and sacking Jim  Everett  -10  fumbling the ball and the Bucs recovering,. Steve Young assembling a 8 play 22 yards settling for a 34 yd FG by Igwebuike bringing the score to 27-21 Bucs holding the lead with 13:28 left in the 4th quarter. Everett and the Rams get the ball back with 13:22 left.  Everett headed a drive of 5 plays 78 yards with a 40 yard yard rope to Henry Ellard then getting tackled at the 2 yard line losing the ball and the Bucs recovering on their own 2 with 10:47 left in the game. Score 27-21 Bucs. On the next play, Doug Reed sacked Steve Young for a loss -2 giving the Rams a safety, 24-23 Bucs 3:11 left in the game. Everett lead the Rams 11 play 64 yard scoring drive. Everett  ran a sweep and gained 6 yards having to come out  for a few plays, he got his bell rung. Steve Bartkowski came in and completed the drive hitting Ron Brown on a Short Hitch pass on a 11 yd T.D. Lansford hooking the PAT. 29-27  5:29 left in the game.  The Bucs couldn't do anything and had to punt the ball back to the Rams. The Rams controlled the rest of the way  using the clock up.  The Rams prevail!   What a game. Eric Dickerson 23 carries for 116 yds 1 TD , the player of the game Jim Everett  finished 11 of 14 passes for 149 yards 2 touchdowns with a QB rating 150.6 %  My brother Bill Sindelar called a good game  as always.  Rams improve 4-1, travel to the Falcons next week and the Bucs drop to 0-5,  host the  St. Louis Cardinals.  

Broncos Buck Cowboys

Broncos 24 Cowboys 17


The Cowboys came into Mile High and dominated in yards 452 to 289.  However, they constantly shot themselves in the foot by committing 9 penalties, being sacked 8 times, and commiting 4 turnovers.  In addition, Gerald Willhite (also added a TD reception) returned a punt 68 yards for a TD; then Denver scored on blocked a punt by Meckeunberg, which Rulan Jones returned for 1 yard for a TD.  Despite the Cowboys mishaps, they were still in the game to the very end and fell to the Broncos 24 to 17.

Cowboy leaders:
Pelluer  24 for 47 to 346, 1 TD, 2 INT and 3 Fum.
Tony Hill 5 for 102 and a TD

Bronco leaders:
Meckeunberg 7 tackles 2 sacks and a blocked punt
Fletcher 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles

Next week the Broncos (4 -1) head to San Diego for a shoot out with Dan Fouts. The Cowboys (3-2) will host their hated rival the Washington Redskins

Buffalo comeback shocks Jets

Jim Kelly threw for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead Buffalo to a 35-26 comeback win over the Jets.  The Bills led 14-3 early on two Kelly to Chris Burkett (5-142yds-3tds) scoring passes, but New York came back to take a 23-14 lead midway through the 3rd quarter.   Kelly then hit Burkett for a 61yd strike which led to an 11yd pass to Andrie Reed.  The Jets responded with a 47yd field goal at the 9:00 mark of the 4th quarter to extend to a 26-21 lead.  On the ensuing kickoff, Ronnie Harmon bolted 100 yards to put Buffalo back on top.  Martin Bayless sealed the deal when he intercepted O'Brien on the Jet's next possession.

Ronnie Harmon's 100yd kickoff return shocks Jets.

Cleveland 27 Pittsburgh 3

Cleveland QB Bernie Kosar threw 3 TD passes and the Cleveland Defense kept the Steelers off the Score Board for three quarters as the Browns defeated the Steelers in Three Rivers 27 - 3. Next Week the Steelers travel to Cincinnati to play the first place Bengals and the Browns play the Chiefs at home. 

Giants 14 Cardinals 10

Joe Morris

ALTHOUGH FAVORED BY 12 POINTS THE GIANTS NARROWLY ESCAPED WITH A 4 POINTS VICTORY BY A SCORE OF 14-10. JOE MORRIS HAD HIS 5TH STRAIGHT 100 YARD GAME WITH 135 YARDS ON 25 CARRIES. THANKS TO SCOTT FOR A GOOD GAME

MARC

San Francisco 38 Miami 35

San Francisco stays undefeated in a very exciting game between two Hall of Fame QB's. Montana and Marino both throw for over 300 yards and 4 TDS but a late missed field goal by Fuad Reveiz proves to be the difference in the 38-35 SF win. Miami falls to 2-2 on the season.

RAMS  at EAGLES   Rams beat the Eagles by 30-10 Dickinson dominates on the ground                                                         

Chargers at Raiders  score does not show how close these rivals were today only in the final quarter did The Raiders manage to take control ,Walker returned a punt for 1 td and then a slant pass to Christensen for the final td. well coached by San Diego coach  John Clingan and good luck to the chargers for the rest of the season Final score was San Diego{john clingen}13 Los Angeles Raiders {tony mccann}31

New York (A) 27 Indianapolis 14

Al Toon - scored go ahead TD

The Jets needed a strong 2nd half to overcome a tough Indianapolis squad by the score of 27-14.  The 1st half ended in a 14-14 tie with Wayne Capers (27yd run) and Matt Bouza (20yd reception) scoring the touchdowns for the Colts.  New York's touchdowns came from Tony Paige (1yd run) and Johnny Hector (7yd run).  The Jets opened the 2nd half with an 80 yard scoring drive, followed up by two drives that ended with field goals.  The defense held the Colts scoreless in the 2nd half to put the game away.  Next week, the Jets host Buffalo while Colts travel to San Francisco looking for their first win.

G-Men Shut Out New Orleans

WITH THE REURN OF KINARD AND BURT, THE GIANT STARTING DEFENSE WAS AT FULL STRENGTH SINCE GAME 1. IT SHOWED, AS THE GIANTS SHUT OUT THE SAINTS 30-0. THE GIANT DEFENSE FORCED 7 SAINT TURNOVERS - 5 INTERCEPTIONS AND 2 FUMBLES. THEY HELD NEW ORLEANS TO ONLY 35 YARDS RUSHING AND 8 FIRST DOWNS.

THE GIANT OFFENSE WAS LET BY PHIL SIMMS - 18-24 1 TD AND 205 YARDS. JOE MORRIS HAD HIS 4TH 100 YARD PLUS GAME GAINING 113 YARDS ON 22 CARRIES FOR A 5.1 AVERAGE. THANKS TO JASON FOR THE GAME 

MARC

Dallas Wins, Cards Remain Winless

 The St. Louis Cardinals lost their fourth straight on Sunday as they lost to Dallas 38-21. Dallas had jumped out to a quick 28-7 2nd quarter lead taking advantage of a couple of Cardinal turnovers. However, the Cardinal defense stiffened and forced Peuller into a couple of interceptions enabling St. Louis to rally back and cut the lead to with a touchdown at 28-21 at the end of the third quarter. This time it was the Cowboy defense who once again rose to the occasion with their sixth sack of the day that jarred the ball loose and Dallas recovered. Two 4th quarter TDs put the game away for Dallas.

Bengals Stage Comeback against Bears

Not much offense in the first half. Bengals mount a late drive benefiting from a roughing the passer call, to set up winning touchdown pass from Boomer Esiason to Rodney Holman.....Bengals 20....Bears 17.

Detroit 33 Cleveland 14

Jeff Chadwick caught 4 passes for 109 yards and 2 TD.

Detroit's Defense Intercepted Bernie Kosar 4 times to defeat the Browns at Municipal Stadium 33 to 14.

Next week the Lions play the Oilers at Houston and the Browns travel to Three Rivers the play the Steelers.

Atlanta Soars to Easy Win Over Bucs

Gerald Riggs rushes for 129 yards.

Gerald Riggs ran for 129 yards on 29 carries and 1 td as the Falcons down the Bucs 27 7.

Pittsburgh Knocks Off Unbeaten Houston

Mark Malone

This game came down to a tale of two time clocks. Houston owned the first 29 min running off to a 20-0 lead. The next 31 mins was all Pittsburgh. The game was so close that the turning point turned on one key Pen. in the last min of the first half. Houston hit a 20 yard FG making the score 23-0 but a late flag removed the points and oilers missed the retry   In the next 45 second the Steelers scored a 70 yard TD drive and began their command of the rest of the game shutting out Houston the rest of the way while scoring 21 more points. Both QBs were hot and cold during the contest. Another key was the Steeler developed a ground game while Houston did not.

Pack Picks Apart Bears

GREEN BAY – A pair of Randy Wright TD passes in the 4^th quarter lifted the Packers to a 20-10 stunner over the Bears in Lambeau Field.

Chicago, now an unbelievable 0-3, were missing LBs Mike Singletary and Otis Wilson, which allowed Green Bay to rush for 158 yards on 43 carries and control the clock for over 35 minutes.

But it still was no excuse for 4 interceptions thrown by 3 different Bears QBs. Two of the picks were by CB Mark Lee.

Al Del Greco hit a 19-yard chip shot to give the Packers a 3-0 1^st quarter advantage. Chicago answered with 10 points in the 2^nd frame on a 22-yard Kevin Butler field goal and a 27-yard TD pass from Doug Flutie to Willie Gault.

Green Bay (1-2) closed the gap to 10-6 in the 3^rd on a 35-yard Del Greco boot. Wright then connected on 8-yard TD passes to James Lofton and Phillip Epps (5-75), respectively.

Despite my bragging, my son AJ called an excellent game. Although I still believe Dave Koch builds a little Pack bias into his games.

Marino shoots down Jets 28-24

Dan Marino - 3 TDs

Dan Marino completed 28 of 44 passes for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns to help the Dolphins knock off the Jets at Giants Stadium by the score of 28-24.  Marino was at his best on 3rd down where the Fins converted 12 of 15 to keep key drives alive.  Marino actually completed 4 touchdown passes, though one was to LB Bob Crable who returned it 19yds for a score.  The Jets got 118 yards on the ground from Freeman McNeil, but Ken O'Brien was only able to complete 3 passes to outside receivers on the day.  Next week, Miami hosts San Francisco while the Jets travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts.

Giants Get alLEGre Up on Raiders: 17-14

Raul Allegre boots 50 yard game winner!

IN A THRILLING GAME, THAT WAS NOT DECIDED UNTIL THE LAST SECONDS, THE GIANTS ( MARC B ) DEFEATED THE LAR (TONY M. ) 17-14. WITH 35 SECONDS LEFT, THE SCORE WAS TIED 14-14. THE GIANTS HAD THE BALL ON THEIR OWN 21 YARD LINE. SIMMS ENGINEERED A DRIVE TO THE LA 33 YARD LINE.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WITH 12 SECONDS LEFT, RAUL ALLEGRE KICKED A 50 YARD FIELD GOAL TO WIN THE GAME FOR THE GIANTS. THE BAD NEWS IS THAT THE GIANT PLAYERS WERE SO EXCITED, THAT THEY ALL JUMPED ON ALLEGRE. IN DOING SO THEY INJURED ALLEGRE FOR 2 GAMES. ACTUALLY I DONT KNOW HOW HE WAS INJURED BUT IT DID HAPPEN ON THE LAST PLAY OF THE GAME.

THANKS TO TONY FOR A GREAT GAME

MARC

Week 3 49ers 27 vs. Saints 14

Joe Montana garners game MVP. Dwight Clark caught the games first TD pass. But Jeff Fuller made the difference as he intercepts three Saint passes to thwart several key drives. The 49ers defense was stalwart in holding the Saints out of range except for two key passes to Eric Martin. Dave Wilson qb foiught through injury to lead the Saint effort. Final 49ers 27 and the Saints 14

The Rams pull out a 26-21 victory at the Hoosier Dome Over the Colts!

The visiting Rams had their hands full playing the Colts in the Hoosier Dome. The Rams found themselves  behind 14-7 after two turnovers .  Eric Dickerson scored on a 1 yard run with 1:23 left in the second quarter. Mike Lanssford couldn't convert the point after  due to the holder fumbling the hold. Going into halftime 14-13 Colts lead.  The Colts received the kickoff starting the 3rd quarter . Gary Hogeboom struck gold hitting Bill Brooks on a 45 yard pass and Biasucci kicking the PAT going up 21-13 with 6:54 left in the 3rd quarter. That was the only score in the  3rd quarter.
      Going into the 4th quarter the Rams still had plenty of time to get the win.  The Rams drove 7 plays going 63 yards using 3:19 off the clock with Eric Dickerson hitting paydirt on a 5 yard run and Mike Lansford nailing the PAT . The Colts up 21-20 with 11:34 left in the 4th quarter.    The Colts got the ball back and drove 5 plays for 43 yards before losing possession on a fumble  a loss of 1 yard by Albert Bentley getting crushed by  Mike Wilcher of the Rams wasting the clock of 2:21. The Rams got the ball back pounding out a nice scoring drive of 11 plays for  66 yards burning the clock of 5:37 minutes scoring on a Steve Dils to  Mike Young  5 yard short pass going up  26-21 over the Colts. Mike Lansford was unable to kick the PAT, fumbled snap again. The Rams shut down the Colts on the next possession and ran the clock out.
      The visiting Rams improve to 2-1 record and play on the Road next week against the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Colts dropping to 0-3,  host the New York Jets next week.   The individual stats of the teams are  : Rams-  Steve Dils attempted  22 passes completing 13 for 150 yards 1 TD and QB rating of 94.9%.  Steve Bartkowski started the game attempting 11 passes completing 8 of them for 80 yards 1 TD , 1 INT Qb rating of 85.4%. Eric  Dickerson was the game MVP. rushing for 115 yards carrying the ball 21 times, 2 TD's and  added  1 receiving TD. Eric Redden rushed for 10 carries for 62 yards, no touchdowns, 
     The Colts QB Gary Hogeboom attempted 29 passes completed 18  for 266 yards 2 TD"S and 2 INT's, 86.3 % QB rating,  His effort kept the game close all the way through. The brightest star for the Colts was Bill Brooks catching 6 passes for 134 yards  2 TD's avg of 22.3 ysrds per catch.
Fun game... thanks Bill Sindelar for subbing  for the computer. You definitely made me work for the win.

Jets Squeak by New England in OT

MVP Ken O'Brien

Freeman McNeil scored on a 25yd pass reception with 10 minutes left in overtime to give the Jets a thrilling 30-24 win in their home opener.  Ken O'Brien was the key to the Jets offense, completing 24 of 32 passes for 280yds and 2 touchdowns.  McNeil tallied 83yds on the ground plus another 40 in pass receptions, including the game winner.  
The Jets had no answer for New England's Stanley Morgan who caught 10 passes for 205yds and 3 touchdowns.  Tony Eason completed 23 of 29 passes for 398yds and the 3 touchdowns to Morgan, but it was Eason's interception in overtime that led to New York's winning score.  
Next week, New York will host Miami while New England will return home to face Seattle.

49ers Too Much For The Rams Win 34-17

The San Fransisco 49ers came to Los Angeles knowing they were walking into a dogfight.  Up to the the 4th quarter it was a battle.  Then the Montana -Rice connection rose for the occasion- Montana hitting Rice on a 79 yard touchdown strike. Jerry Rice also scored on a 34 yard reverse earlier in the game.  Rice finished with 1 carry for 34 yards 1 touchdown and caught 5 passes for 154 yards 1 touchdown. Joe Montana  attempted 32 passes completed 20 for 299 yards 2 TD and no INTS. The Rams Eric Dickerson had 17 carries for 79 yards rushing 1 touchdown. Barry Redden added another touchdown and Steve Bartkowski attempted 47 passes , completing 23 for 237 yards no touchdowns or interceptions.


Montana-Rice connection

The 49ers are 2-0 and host the New Orleans Saints 2-0 next week while the Rams 1-1 travel to 0-2 Indianapolis Colts.

San Diego 23 NY Giants 24

Joe Morris rushed for 111 yards.

IN A THRILLING GAME, THE GIANTS DEFEATED THE SD CHARGERS 24-23. WITH 8 MINUTES LEFT, THE GIANTS WERE LOSING 23-17. SIMMS LED THE GIANTS ON A 80 YARD SCORING DRIVE CAPPED BY A 21 YARD TD PASS FROM SIMMS TO MANUEL. THE CHARGERS WERE THEN ABLE TO MOVE THE BALL TO THE GIANTS 11 YARD LINE WITH 3 SECONDS LEFT IN THE GAME. HOWEVER, A 28 YARD FG ATTEMPT BY BENIRSCHKE WAS BLOCKED TO PRESERVE THE GIANT VICTORY. THANKS TO JOHN FOR A GREAT GAME

MARC

Houston Outlasts Cleveland 32-27

Drew Hill

Drew Hill  was this games MVP. The Browns and oilers hooked up  for a 32-27 Houston win that was a real thriller. Hill was slightly better then a red hot Warren Moon when he caught 14 passes and halled in 3 TDs. Koser was excellent for CLeveland going 19-35 with a 73.6 rate Moon was 21-33 with 3 TDs
.The score was Cleveland 7 Houston 3 at the end of the first quarter and Houston 16 Cleveland 10 at the half. Both teams played inspired defense in the second half with the Browns outscored the oilers in the 2nd half 17-16. The Browns were never far behind in this one and ran out of time while driving deep into the red zone in the 4th quarter. Keith White called a great great game and both teams have served notice that it will be a hotly contested division race in the AFC central

Mistake prone Packers lose badly to Saints 30-7

In a game where the New Orleans (2-0) defense had 5 sacks, 2 interceptions and a blocked punt the Saints rolled over the Packers (0-2) 30-7

In the 3rd Quarter Packer QB David Wright was yanked in favor of traveled veteran Vince Ferragamo but he did little to get the packer offense moving.

The Saints relied heavily on the run again handing off to Rueben Mayes and Dalton Hilliard for a combined rushing total of 161 yards.

Stellar cover man Dave Waymer gave the Saints one of his best games of the year with 11 tackles, 1 INT and a blocked punt recovery.

In all Packer QB David Wright was sacked 5 times and the Packers had 5 big missed tackles while the Saints tore open run holes in their defense

David Wilson rebounded after last weeks game to come out with 3 touchdown passes and a 116 QB Rating with no interceptions and 159 yards

New Orleans notched 7 runs of 10 or more yards. Next week they face San Francisco

Eagles Sink Talons in Bears

CHICAGO – The real-life ’86 Bears lost only two games all season. The ARAIG version has dropped two in the opening 2 weeks.

The Eagles (1-1) used big plays on offense and timely plays on defense to win on the road at a breezy Soldier Field.

Safety Wes Hopkins picked off Jim McMahon on the Bear’s second play from scrimmage, leading to a 41-yard Paul McFadden field goal and an early 3-0 Philadelphia lead.

Chicago (0-2) bounced back late in the 1^st when Walter Payton gathered in a 10-yard McMahon toss over his left shoulder for a 7-3 Bears lead. Kevin Butler added a 31-yard FG early in the 2^nd to make it 10-3.

The Eagles answered right back when Ron Jaworski found RB Junior Tautalatasi over the middle on a curl route and he took it the rest of the way for a 67-yard strike. The two clubs went to the locker room deadlocked 10-10.

In the 3^rd, a Dave Duerson pick of Jaworski led to a 21-yard Butler boot and a 13-10 Bears lead (the score of the real-life game, btw).

With the crowd energized, the vaunted Midway Monsters’ defense flexed its muscles sacking Jaworski 3 consecutive times on the ensuing possession. Steve McMichael (-2), Otis Wilson (-3) and Wilbur Marshall (-6) doing their work in the backfield. But the Bears offense produced nothing after the punt and Butler hooked a 44-yard attempt. The momentum was gone.

A switch at QB for Philly produced immediate results. Randall Cunningham hit Mike Quick on a short hook route and the nimble receiver spun away for the tackler and raced 59-yards for the score. 17-13, Eagles. Both defenses held firm in the 4^th.

Next week the Eagles host the Broncos, while the Bears face their rivals up north at Lambeau Field.

A very well-called game by Tony.

Broncos 17 Steelers 10

The Steelers out gained the Broncos 439 to 286, but 4 turnovers killed them.  The Broncos jumped out to an early 10 to 0 lead, but Pittsburgh tied it before the half.  Marc Malone completed 30 of 50 passes for 362 yards for the Steelers. Elway (17 for 31 for 167) passed for a TD and dove in for the game winning score to earn the game MVP.  

The 2 and 0 Broncos travel to Phily next week, while the 0 and 2 Steelers head to Minnesota.    

Vikings Squeak By Lions 31-28

In a wild game featuring 8 turnovers and 17 penalties, the Vikings barely emerged from the Metrodome with a home win against the Lions 31-28. Lions QB Eric Hipple threw for 3 td's but was picked off 4 times. Wade Wilson replaced ineffective Tommy Kramer at QB for the Vikes and threw for 2 td's on 16 for 23 passing.

Vikings led 21-14 going into the 4th, but the Lions tied the game at 28 with 2:55 left. Vikings ensuing drive stalled and the Lions took over after the punt. Hipple was picked off on the next play deep in Lions territory, leading to the winning field goal by Reveiz with little time left.

Good game called by Gene.

San Francisco 42 Tampa Bay 3

Joe Montana leads an efficient 49ers squad on the inaugural outing of the 1986 season. Roger Craig thunders over the Buccaneer defense for three scores. The lone Tampa Bay tally comes on a FG at the end of the first half when Igwebuike hits from 20 yards out. Steve Deberg throws two picks and a talented Steve Young trots on the field to show his skills for the Bucs. This quarterback will be something in a few years!

Seattle Seahawks Blank the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-0 In Season Opener.

The visiting Steelers arrived at the Kingdome  prepared for a new season. Unfortunately, the Seahawks were more prepared.
  The Seahawks had a 1,2,3 punch. Curt Warner of the Seahawks played  a pivotal role in the game. He ran  for 21 carries 97 yards and 1 touchdown. Caught 5 passes   for 29 yards and 1 touchdown. Steve Largent  had  7 catches 98 yards 1 touchdown. Steve Krieg completed 19 of 29 for 200 yards, 2 TD and QB rating of 108.4 to top off the trio.
  The game was closer than it ended. The Steelers bright spot was the defense sacking Krieg 5 times for -33 yards. Walter Ambercrombie ran the ball 20 times for 74 yards and caught 5 passes for 63 yards.  Calvin Sweeney caught 5 passes for 76 yards no TD's. It seemed when the Steelers would get a good  drive going  Mark Malone would get picked off by the Seahawk secondary. It was a long afternoon for him attempting 37 passes completing 19 passes for 247 yards  and 3 interceptions. Ending the game with a dismal 38.9 QB percentage.
   The Seahawks are at home next week against the 0-1 Kansas City Chiefs, while the Steelers host John Elway and company, the Denver Broncos.  Good luck to everyone.

Cleveland 31, Chicago 30

CHICAGO – Matt Bahr’s 51-yard field goal with one tick left on the clock lifted the Cleveland Browns to a sensational season-opening 31-30 victory over the defending Super Bowl champs.

The final drive began from the Browns own 26 with 40 seconds left and was highlighted by two huge Bernie Kosar (21-36-228-2TD-1 Int) to Brian Brennan passes for 14 and 21 yards, respectively.

The need for the 40-second drill came as a result of a brilliant 2-minute drill orchestrated by Doug Flutie to put the Bears up 30-28, and what seemed to be a home-team win. With Chicago trailing 28-23 and 2:33 left, Flutie entered the contest for the first time. He was the third Bears QB to line up behind center. He proceeded to go 5-for-5 with his passes, including 19 and 15 yard connections to Willie Gault. On 1^st and goal from the Clev. 8, Flutie scrambled in for the TD.

Chicago (0-1) drew first blood when “LA” Mike Richardson picked off Kosar and set up a 24-yard Kevin Butler chip shot at 5:24 in the 1^st.

Cleveland (1-0) responded with big plays. After stopping the Bears on their next drive, Gerald McNeil took the Maury Buford punt 77 yards for the score. On the Bears next possession, Clay Matthews intercepted Jim McMahon and took it 30 yards to the house. The Browns led 14-3 at the end of the 1^st. I hope this guy doesn’t have a son who similarly tortures the Bears in the future.

The Bears closed the gap to 14-13 by halftime on a 5-yard Matt Suhey TD run and a 21-yard Butler FG.

Steve Fuller, who had taken over for an ineffective McMahon, played brilliantly and led the Bears on their first drive of the 2^nd half, finishing it off with an 8-yard TD toss to Walter Payton.

The Browns answered back at the end of the 3^rd with an 8-yard Kosar to Brennan TD strike. The visitors led 21-20 heading into the final frame.

Butler hit from 29 to give the Bears a brief 23-21 lead. Kosar was a perfect 4-for-4 on the ensuing drive, finishing with a 34-yard TD connection with RB Herman Fontenot. The Browns 28-23 lead set up the dramatics described above.

Cleveland will be on the road again in Week 2 at Houston. Chicago hosts Philadelphia.

Thanks to Keith for a stimulating and fun game!

Shootout In San Diego

Dan Fouts

SAN DIEGO 28  MIAMI 26

Dan Fouts and Dan Marino had themselves a shootout in San Diego.  Marino struck first with a 33 yard bullet to Mark Duper for a 6-0 lead, and on the Dolphins next possession Fuad Reviez added a 41 yard FG to extend it to 9-0.  Things weren't looking good for the Charger defense.  Fortunately, Fouts turned on the gas and led an 80 yard drive and his 10 yard pass to Wes Chandler got the Chargers on the board.

In the second quarter, momentum started to turn back to the home team.  Donald Brown intercepted Dan Marino and then Fouts cashed in another 7 points on a 28 yard pass to Charlie Joiner.  Marino was able to lead the Fins to a FG before the end of the half.  San Diego held a tenuous 14-12 lead heading into what was sure to be more gas on the fire in the second half.

On their first possession of the third quarter, the Chargers showed some rust on special teams when punter Ralf Mojsiejenko fumbled the snap giving Miami the ball on San Diego's 23 yard line.  It took only 4 plays until Lorenzo Hampton ran across the goal line to give the Dolphins a 19-14 lead. Early in the 4th quarter Fouts finished a 78 yard drive with an 8 yard pass to Lionel James, but Miami answered back with an 80 yard scoring drive of their own when Marino hit Duper again for a 26-21 lead.

With 6 minutes to play, the Chargers drove down into the red zone, but Gary Anderson fumbled the ball on the 3 yard line.  Miami burned some clock but was forced to punt it way, and Fouts drove the team down the field again hitting Lionel James with an 18 yard pass for a 28-26 lead and 1 minute on the clock.  Plenty of time for Marino to get his kicker into FG range.  On the first play Marino hit TE Bruce Hardy for a 20 yard gain, but his next throw went into the hands of Charger Safety Jeffrey Dale.  San Diego holds on to a 28-26 opening day win.

Dan Marino finished 29-46, 387 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT; Dan Fouts went 38-55, 419 yards, 4 TD 0 INT

Super Duper caught 8 passes for 157 yards and 2 TDs; Wes Chandler caught 10 passes for 111 yards and 1 TD

Great game coached by Andy.