I can't remember a season where we still have so many unanswered playoff questions heading into Week 16. I won't rehash scenarios here, you all know where to find them (in the League Discussion forum). I'm on a deadline, so let's get to the games.
Invaders 18 Gold 15
There were no 300 yard passers in this game, nor any 100 yard rushers or receivers but these two playoff hopefuls sure had a wild 4th quarter. Oakland and Denver were both 10-4 and the winner would have a leg up on the loser for a playoff spot. The first half was a FG contest, which Oakland won, leading 9-6. Following a scoreless 3rd quarter, the Gold scored the game's only TD on the first play of the 4th to take the lead 12-9. Rather than kick the XP, the Gold went for 2 and failed, leaving the score 12-9 Denver.
The teams would exchange FG's to give us a score of 15-12 Gold at the 2 minute warning. Oakland would tie it with 1:47 left and force a Denver three and out. Invaders QB Dustin Nichols needed 3 plays to get Oakland in position for a possible game winning FG, and John Hensley nailed the 51 yarder for the win. Hensley was 6 for 6 on FG's and isn't ready to hand the All Pro spot to Roger Ruzich just yet.
Stars 14 VooDoo 6
This game also had nobody get 300 or 100 as defense ruled this game. New Orleans won the turnover battle 2-0 and out gained Baltimore 271-218 but struggled in the red zone. Offensively, the VooDoo scored just 2 FG's in 3 red zone trips, including turning it over on downs late in the first half following a failed 4th and goal from the 3. Baltimore, on the other hand, scored TD's on both of their trips to help the Stars win their 4th in a row.
(NY) Stars 30 Steamer 20
This was an elimination game as the loser would fail to make the playoffs. Shreveport jumped out to leads of 10-0 and 17-6 before the Stars cut it to 17-13 before halftime on the first of 3 Cam Dalton TD receptions. The Steamer would extend the lead to 20-13 and kept the lead through the 2 minute warning. New York had cut it to 20-16 by now, and the second Willie Bust TD pass to Cam Dalton gave New York the 23-20 lead. Shreveport got the ball back with time, but Steamer QB Edgar Jones got caught staring down Michael Popa, who was having a huge day (6-141-2), and his 3rd INT of the day would allow New York to run out the clock. Except they didn't. Despite just 0:44 on the clock, the Stars opted not to run and force Shreveport to use their timeouts, instead focusing on extending their lead to 2 scores. They did, as Willie Bust found Cam Dalton for a 3rd TD as part of his 407 yard passing day. Dalton wound up with 122 yards on 10 catches, adding 53 rushing yards as part of his big game.
Stallions 34 Generals 16
Birmingham and New York both did their part to keep New Jersey out of the playoffs as the Stallions racked up 454 yards of offense, including exactly 200 rushing in the pounding of the Generals. New Jersey put up 408 yards themselves but lost the turnover battle 3-1 and did nothing in the second half, after only trailing 21-16 at halftime. The Generals defense isn't what it used to be, especially outside the East division. This was a good game to be a lead RB, as Richard Sutton of Birmingham ran for 167 yards and a TD, adding 60 receiving for a 227 yard day. New Jersey RB Rudi Johnson had 226 himself, but no TD's. Rudi ran for 89 on 13 carries, catching 9 passes for 137.
Federals 6 Wranglers 0
Washington put a hurting on Arizona's playoff hopes while taking a huge step toward getting the #1 seed by winning this defensive struggle. This was a scoreless tie for nearly 58 minutes until Washington K John Bazile nailed a 40 yard FG with 2:16 left to play. Arizona would turn the ball over on an INT, setting John Bazile up for another FG try 30 seconds later, and he nailed it. That's it, the box score is as ugly as you'd expect.
Storm 48 Express 6
Los Angeles got off to a good start, taking a 3-0 lead on the opening drive but it was stormy after that. Portland flexed their muscles and showed the new kid on the block what's what. The Storm put up 558 yards of offense and scored in every quarter. The Storm led 14-3 after a quarter, 24-3 at halftime and 31-6 after 3. Los Angeles could only muster 143 yards against the Storm defense and allowed a pair of Portland wideouts to have huge stat games. Patrick Jackson caught 7-196 and 2 TD's while teammate Fred Wink made the most of his 2 catches, taking both to the house covering 138 total yards.
Showboats 38 Bell 0
The Memphis defense had very little problems handling the Bell offense as they held Philadelphia to just 103 total yards on the day. The Showboats intercepted 3 passes, had 3 QB sacks and recovered a fumble as they limited the Bell to 4 first downs and 20:05 time of possession. Even against the defending Champions, the Philadelphia run defense hung tough as 38 Memphis rushes only netted 93 yards.
Panthers 34 Thunderbolts 0
Memphis wasn't the only division winner to pitch a shutout in a playoff tune up game as Michigan made sure Cleveland's misery continued. The Thunderbolts have now lost 4 in a row as their once promising looking season turned bad. The Panthers scored in every quarter and on all 5 red zone trips (3 TD/2 FG). Michigan QB Adam Scales had a solid game, going 21/30, 273 yards and 3 TD's. The Panthers also did not turn the ball over while forcing 2 Cleveland turnovers.
Bulls 36 Blitz 13
The box score says it was 70 degrees and sunny in Chicago on December 13, 1987 yet the stats look like a wind and snow game. Neither offense could hang onto the ball as Chicago QB Daniel Briggs tossed 4 INT's and his counterpart, Jacksonville QB Joseph Serio threw 3 and each team lost a fumble. The first three quarters were a FG kicking contest, with Jacksonville making 5 to just 1 for Chicago for a 15-3 Bulls lead. Jacksonville scored 2 quick TD's at the beginning of the 4th for a 29-3 lead, effectively salting the game away.
Bandits 37 Renegades 32
Tampa Bay needed this win to maintain their 1 game lead over Jacksonville and it seemed they were well on their way to doing just that early in the 4th quarter. Melvin Driggers had just thrown his 4th TD pass to give the bandits a seemingly safe 34-10 lead. Orlando might only be 4-11 on the year, but the Renegade players are still putting in max effort. The light switch was turned on and the Renegade offense exploded in the 4th quarter, as 15 unanswered points got Orlando within 34-25 with plenty of time left (5:40). Tampa Bay would add a FG though, and a last second Orlando TD made the score close.
Gamblers 47 Gunslingers 6
Houston clinched the #5 seed as they start fast against San Antonio and kept the pressure on all game. The Gamblers balanced attack produced 165 yards rushing and 277 passing with 6 red zone trips (4 TD/2 FG), 0 turnovers and 9 for 16 on 3rd down. Houston held the Gunslingers to 245 yards, forcing 4 turnovers, including 3 INT's. Tony Dean tossed 5 TD passes as part of his 277 yard day.
Sun 17 Hawaiians 16
Honolulu "only" threw 35 times today, 15 times less than normal. The balanced attack worked for 2 and a half quarters as Honolulu built a 16-0 lead before the scoring completely dried up for them. Southern California ran for 164 yards and scored 2 TD's after falling behind to cut the Hawaiian lead to 16-14. Sun K Alan Grossi hit a 41 yard FG inside the 2 minute warning for the final points of the game. Southern California's 3rd win in 4 games gives them a 4-2 division record
Outlaws 24 SaberCats 7
Oklahoma continued the ground and pound offense, pummeling San Jose with 48 rushes for 237 yards. Clint Young led the way with 2 rushing TD's and 123 yards on 25 carries. Nathan Fogle ran 14 times for 113 yards. Oklahoma also had a more efficient passing game, completing 10/15 for nearly 6 yards per pass play. The SaberCats threw it up 42 times, only completing 16 for less than 3 yards per attempt.
Force 9 Breakers 6 (OT)
The Georgia Force got back into their one score game groove after 2 weeks of blowouts and shutouts. This was a true kicking contest, as neither team could cross the goal line and they combined for 21 punts. Boston K Willie Putnam missed a chipshot 22 yard FG attempt at the 2 minute warning while Force K Javier Gill made all 3 of his attempts, including the game winning 52 yarder in the final minute of OT.
Hornets 12 Maulers 7
Pittsburgh got on the board first, taking a 7-0 lead on a TD pass from Ryan Tate to Robert Wheeler. Maulers RB Alfred Gale had 199 total yards, though just 20 rushing yards in 10 attempts. He had 7 receptions for 179 yards, but the rest of the Pittsburgh offense wasn't up to the task. Charlotte did give up 300 gross passing yards, but it took 50 pass attempts to get there (22 completions, or 44%) and the Hornets defense recorded 3 sacks and 3 INT's. That was enough to help the Charlotte offense kick 4 FG's and give the Hornets their 4th win of 1987.
Wheels 16 Blazers 10
This was one of those flip the script at halftime MFN seems to love so much. Florida ruled the first half, holding Detroit to just 50 yards while piling up 161 of their own. That was only good for a 10-0 lead at the break though, and the second half was all Detroit. The Wheels forced 3 second half turnovers and used the short fields to score 3 FG's and a TD, giving Detroit the win over Florida.
