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| John Murray, RB, Pittsburgh |
Washington scored first, but it was all Pittsburgh after that. Scott Deal passed for five TDs as the Maulers extended their lead to 49-12 before the hosts scored a pair of consolation TDs late. John Murray rushed for 184 yards, 96 on one TD run, the third-longest in league history behind Boston's Matthew Brinkley (99 vs. Boston, 1974) and teammate Cliff Thomas (97 vs. Washington, 1976).
Three of Pittsburgh's final four games are against playoff contenders and Washington has two games against contenders down the stretch.
In other Week 12 games:
- The Detroit Wheels took a 24-0 lead over Cleveland after one quarter, gave that lead away, then pulled out a 37-34 win when QB Mario Valencia capped an 82-yard drive with a 17-yard TD pass to Paul Lee with 58 seconds to play. The win gave Detroit a one-game lead over the Thunderbolts in the Midwest Division.
- New Jersey pulled within a game of Philadelphia in the East Division when the Generals' James Roberson scored from a yard away with 3:10 remaining to give his team a 25-19 victory over the Bell. New Jersey trailed, 19-7, late in the third quarter.
- The Portland Storm took over sole possession of first place in the West Division when they scored all of their points in the first half of a 30-13 win over the Oakland Invaders while the Denver Gold lost their fourth in a row, 42-20 to the Honolulu Hawaiians. RDE Keith Smith had three sacks for Honolulu.
- Kenneth Boyd caught an 80-yard TD pass from James Lightfoot to highlight the New Orleans VooDoo's 26-11 win over the Tampa Bay Bandits. New Orleans (9-3) has won six in a row to all but cement a playoff spot.
- Memphis QB Antonio Wilson passed for 654 yards and eight TDs, including a 97-yarder to Ernest McNeill, as the Showboats steamrolled the Houston Gamblers, 65-16, to extend their current win streak to 10 games.
- Arizona QB Jerry Montalvo threw for 679 yards and eight TDs as the Wranglers stayed alive in the postseason race with 56-23 pasting of the Birmingham Stallions.
- Boston CB Charles Bowles had 12 tackles and two interceptions, but the Breakers lost, 33-7, to the Michigan Panthers for their 10th consecutive defeat.
- Shreveport QB Edgar Jones, traded to the Steamer by the Baltimore Stars earlier this season, led an epic drive in the final minute that ended in James Hooper's 54-yard field goal as time expired that gave Jones' new team a 37-35 victory over his old team.
