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| Stephan Labelle, NJ Generals |
New Jersey, which was 3-3 after six games, earned its second consecutive East Division title, the No. 1 seed in the National Conference, and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The Pittsburgh Maulers and Tampa Bay Bandits were also 13-3. Pittsburgh was relegated to the wild-card round due to having lost to both the Bandits and Generals. New Jersey earned the top seed due to its regular-season win over Tampa Bay.
The final American Conference standings came down to three teams fighting for two spots. The Memphis Showboats earned one of those spots by defeating the Portland Storm, 31-21, in their finale. Portland would have been watching the playoffs from the couch, but instead won the West Division title when the Denver Gold were upset by the Chicago Blitz, 24-10. Denver thus became the odd man out.
The Oklahoma Outlaws (14-2) earned the No. 1 American Conference seed (and No. 1 overall MOHR rating) when they concluded the regular season by edging the Philadelphia Bell, 22-20, and the Cleveland Thunderbolts (14-2) lost to the Detroit Wheels, 20-14. Oklahoma and Cleveland received first-round byes.
The Orlando Renegades won five in a row to finish 10-6, but lost the wild-card spot to Shreveport after falling to the Steamer during the regular season. The New Orleans VooDoo claimed the South Division crown by virtue of two wins over Shreveport during the season.
Wild-Card Preview
Memphis Showboats at Los Angeles Express: The defending World Bowl champions Express (11-5) struggled early, but recovered to claim their fourth consecutive Pacific Division title. Memphis suffered through a rough patch late, losing four of five, but pulled it together with victories over LAX and Portland to get into the playoffs. Showboats QB James Perry was the star of his team's 31-13 Week 15 win over the Express, throwing four TD passes. Carlos Turner intercepted two passes, forced a fumble, and led Memphis with seven tackles. Los Angeles RB Seth Wynn (neck) is questionable. LAX leads the regular-season series, 2-1, and topped the Showboats, 34-32, in last season's playoffs.Detroit Wheels at Portland Storm: Portland (9-7) claimed its third division title in six seasons when the Denver Gold lost their final game. Their reward? They get to face a Detroit team that beat them, 38-3, in Week 7. Record-setting Storm QB William Hill was picked off five times in that game, twice by David Peralta. The Wheels (12-4) have lost two of their three WLB due to injury, but QB Mario Valencia is probable. Six Portland players are "out," "questionable," or "doubtful." Detroit leads the regular-season series, 3-2, but lost to Portland in the 1974 playoffs.
Shreveport Steamer at Pittsburgh Maulers: The Maulers yawned their way to a sixth consecutive Atlantic Division crown, but their 13-3 record included a 27-23 nail-biter over the Steamer (9-7) in Week 13. Pittsburgh never led until Scott Deal's 52-yard TD pass to Vito Moffat with 6:05 to play. The Maulers lead the regular-season series, 3-0, and beat Shreveport, 38-13, in last year's playoffs.
New York Stars at New Orleans VooDoo: The VooDoo (10-6) will be the home team by virtue of having won the South Division. The Stars (12-4) finished up with three losses in their last five games. New Orleans leads the regular-season series, 3-1, including a 27-24 win in 1978 when John Langdon kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired.
Record Book
- All three candidates for the league's all-time receptions record fell just short of the 135 by Orlando's Robert Zapata last season. Boston's William Delatorre finished with 134, Honolulu's Michael Hunter with 133 and San Antonio's Marshall Gibson with 132.
- Washington Federals rookie RDE John Broussard recorded 108 hurries, second all-time to Cleveland's Jim Zarate (145, 1978).
- Cleveland Thunderbolts punter Dan Carr set a league record by averaging 48.7 yards per punt. Washington's Garland Hubler actually averaged 50.3 per boot, but did not have the required 40 attempts to claim the record.
- Portland Storm QB William Hill finished with a league-record 6,899 passing yards. He also set a league record for attempts (862).
- Boston Breakers QB Michael Temples tied the league record by throwing 39 interceptions. San Antonio's Tony Smith was also picked off 39 times in 1977.
- The Philadelphia Bell (7-9) set a franchise record for victories in a season, as did the Oklahoma Outlaws (14-2) and Cleveland Thunderbolts (14-2). The Washington Federals (7-9) tied their club record, as did the Southern California Sun (5-11) and New York Stars (12-4). The Baltimore Stars (8-8) were one win away.
