There was very little drama Wildcard Weekend as only one game was within one score entering the 4th qtr. Three wildcard teams were road favorites over division winners and they all won handily. Only New Jersey was favored at home and thanks to Mr. January, they took care of business.
Wranglers 38 Express 24
If you only looked at the box score, you would think this was a tight game, as the statistics are similar, however Arizona jumped out to an early lead en route to victory. RB Gary Clark caught this 18 yd TD to put the Wranglers up 14-0. Los Angeles had just cut the Arizona lead to 14-3 in the first quarter but this momentum shifting 102 yd kickoff return by Kevin Leach made the lead insurmountable.
Arizona QB Jerry Montalvo threw 3 TD passes, including this one to William Johnston to make the score 35-10 in the 2nd qtr. Los Angeles tried to make a second half comeback, led by QB Mario Valencia. He also threw 3 TD passes, including this one with 0:18 left to make the score more respectable.
Arizona travels to Houston to face the 14-2 defending champion Gamblers in the Divisional Round.
Showboats 34 Blitz 19
Chicago got the ball first and went on a 12 play 75 yard drive, ending with a Roy Rhine TD pass to TE Dennis Hall to give the Blitz a 7-0 lead. It was the Allen and Howland show after that, as Memphis scored 31 unanswered points to take a 31-7 lead into halftime. QB David Allen threw 4 first half TD passes to WR Willie Howland, tying a league record for TD receptions.
Chicago won the second half but the first half was way too much to overcome.
Memphis travels to Denver to face the 13-3 Gold in the Divisional Round.
Federals 21 Bulls 9
The end zone was the do not enter zone in Jacksonville as the two teams combined for 10 FG's on the day. Jacksonville's Tommy Prather nailed 3 FG's but Washington's John Bazile went 7 for 7. Washington controlled the clock (35:44 - 24:14) and won the turnover battle 3-1. This game was actually just a 12-9 score entering the 4th qtr but Jacksonville could only manage 10 yards in that final quarter to send the Bulls fans home disappointed.
Washington travels to Baltimore to face the Stars in the Divisional Round.
Generals 34 Bandits 20
New Jersey is no stranger to home playoff games but Generals QB Ric Flair was making his first post season start under center after taking over for Stephen Labelle this season. The Generals had an up and down season but so did Tampa bay, so this was anybody's game to start. New Jersey put their best foot forward early, grabbing control of the game and not letting go until they were comfortably ahead 34-0.
Flair threw 3 TD's on the day as the Generals built a 20-0 halftime lead. RB Rudi Johnson is the USFL/WFL all time post season leading rusher, and Mr. January had another monster game today. Rudi ran 32 times for 182 yards and this 41 yd TD which pretty much sealed the victory. The Generals ran a ridiculous 59 running plays today for 274 yards, possessing the ball for just over 47 minutes.
It's a good thing Tampa Bay only had the ball for 13 minutes because they can hit big plays. Bandits QB Melvin Driggers found WR Thomas Whitley for 2 TD's to make the score appear respectable.
New Jersey travels to Birmingham to face the Stallions in the Divisional Round
