Detroit finished off the first perfect 16-0 season by outlasting the Chicago Blitz, 52-46, in the regular season finale for both. Mario Valencia threw five TD passes for Detroit, which finished 14-2 last season before going on to win World Bowl III.
The Wheels led, 49-28, with less than 6 minutes to play before Chicago rallied. Daniel McKee's 11-yard TD pass to WR Wendall Pinegar with 1:19 to go brought the Blitz within 52-46. Detroit recovered the onside kick, then ran three plays and punted to the Chicago 4. The Blitz threw three harmless passes over the final 26 seconds before the clock expired. McKee passed for 521 yards and five TDs.
Detroit had edged Chicago, 26-23 in overtime, in its season opener. Chicago, Portland, and Cleveland were the only teams to come within 10 points of the Wheels.
Valencia tied Gene Nowlin of the Los Angeles Express for the league lead in passing TDs this season (49) and his 5,984 passing yards were second to Birmingham's Agustin Crook (a league-record 6,548).
The 1976 Tampa Bay Bandits, 1975 Chicago Blitz and Georgia Force, and 1974 Florida Blazers were all 15-1 during the regular season.
In other Week 16 games:
- The Tampa Bay Bandits steamrolled Shreveport, 50-9, to set a record for most points scored in a season. Tampa Bay accumulated 712 points (44.5 per game), scoring 50 or more points six times and 70 against Portland. The Bandits' only loss was 54-51 in overtime to Arizona in Week 7. The previous record for most points scored in a season was 636 (39.75 per game), by the 1975 Oakland Invaders, who won World Bowl II.
- Birmingham Stallions QB Agustin Crook finished his record-breaking season with 552 yards and four TDs during a 45-24 rout of the Oklahoma Outlaws. Crook, 34 years old and in his 13th pro season, finished with 6,548 passing yards, breaking the mark of 6,311 set by Oklahoma's Dale Brown last season. Despite the loss, Oklahoma is in the playoffs for the first time.
- The Arizona Wranglers have their first division title and are headed to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. CB Albert Welsh intercepted two passes and WR Cory Robinzine caught a pair of TDs from QB Ralph Trowbridge as the Wranglers (12-4) bested the Oakland Invaders (11-5), 28-19.
- The New Jersey Generals' eight-game win streak was snapped by the Orlando Renegades, 32-15. John Borkowski had nine tackles for Orlando to give him 405 for his career, No. 4 all-time in league history. New Jersey is still headed to the playoffs despite a 2-5 record after seven games this season.
- The Michigan Panthers rolled the Denver Gold, 53-17, with a 28-0 fourth quarter. It was the second-most points in a game in franchise history for the Panthers, who beat the Houston Gamblers, 59-27, in 1974.
- The Honolulu Hawaiians reached .500 (8-8) by knocking off Pacific Division champion Los Angeles, 22-16. Honolulu FS John Basel intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.
Cool Stat of the Day
The Charlotte Hornets finished the season with a 43-24 triumph over the Boston Breakers, a game in which they led, 33-7, at halftime. In four seasons under head coach UKRAIN, the Hornets have improved their record every time. Charlotte was 1-15 in 1974, followed by 2-14, 3-13, and, this season, 6-10. The 1977 Hornets had 33 players on their roster with five or fewer years of pro experience.
Wild Card Preview
- Arizona and Oakland meet again in the American Conference wild card game. Oakland leads the series, 5-3. The teams split the season series, Oakland winning, 41-34, in Week 1 and Arizona winning, 28-19, in Week 16. Oakland was 6-2 under former coach wolveraider, 5-3 under current coach wayne110. Arizona was 2-1 in its final three games, all with backup QB Ralph Trowbridge running the show. Starting QB Jerry Montalvo was lost with a knee injury in Week 13.
- The Oklahoma Outlaws make their postseason debut, hosting the Cleveland Thunderbolts. Oklahoma won, 10-7, in Week 7 and leads the series, 2-1. Oklahoma QB Dale Brown missed five games with a knee injury. He returned three games ago, but has not been especially effective (QBRs of 108.02, 71.01, 88.99). Cleveland QB Chester Dougherty (68.87) and Brown (47.27) were both awful when the teams met in Week 7.
- The New Jersey Generals, who had an eight-game win streak snapped in the regular season finale, travel to Pittsburgh to meet the Maulers. Pittsburgh nailed down its fourth consecutive Atlantic Division title by winning five in a row to close out the season. The Maulers lead the series, 3-0, including a 29-14 victory to open this season. Pittsburgh also beat New Jersey, 29-3, in the first round of the 1975 playoffs. The Maulers will be without injured RB John Murray (knee). But his backfield mate, three-time All-Pro Cliff Thomas, should be able to play after recovering from a foot injury.
- South Division rivals meet for the third time this season when the Birmingham Stallions host the Shreveport Steamer. The teams split the season series, Birmingham winning, 23-9, in Week 3 and Shreveport claiming a 30-24 decision in Week 9. The Steamer leads the all-time series, 5-3. Birmingham coach kababmaster is one of three first-year USFL/WFL coaches in the playoffs.
