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Houston 50 at Tampa Bay 28
1985 Week 2 - Sunday, March 3, 1985
Houston Gamblers(1-0) at Tampa Bay Bandits(1-0)(-1)
Attendance: 42,291, TV: ABC
TAMPA(AP) - The Houston Gamblers unleashed an offensive show as Jim Kelly passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns and Clarence Verdin and Gerald McNeil returned kicks for scores in a 50-28 victory over the Bandits. Verdin, who returned a kickoff 94 yards, and McNeil, who scored on a 79-yard punt return, also caught touchdown passes from Kelly, who has thrown for 835 yards and nine TDs in two games.
Kelly teamed with McNeil on a 58-yard bomb for a 38-21 lead 5:52 into the third quarter and fired a 20-yard strike to Verdin less than three minutes later. Kelly also tossed touchdown passes of 4 and 13 yards to Richard Johnson and Vince Courville, respectively.
The Houston defense, meanwhile, intercepted Tampa Bay quarterbacks John Reaves and Jimmy Jordan six times as the teams attempted a USFL record 103 passes.
"I didn't set any records," said Kelly, who passed for a professional record 574 yards against Los Angeles a week ago, "but as long as we win that's all that counts to me."
Sunday, March 3, 1985 Houston Gamblers 50 @ Tampa Bay Bandits 28 Stadium : Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL. Attendance: 42,291 Houston Tampa Bay First Downs 13 27 Rushes - Yards 11-41 23-87 Passing Yards 248 408 Return Yards 202 4 Passes 22-41-0 33-62-6 Sacks by 1-1 5-36 Punts 5-45 2-45 Fumbles-Lost 4-3 0-0 Penalties-Yards 12-35 7-55 Time of Possession 24:14 35:46 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total Houston 21 10 14 5 - 50 Tampa Bay 7 7 7 7 - 28 1st Quarter Scoring Tampa Bay Bandits - Anderson 5 yard run ( Andrusyshyn Kick ) Houston Gamblers - Verdin 94 yard Kickoff Return ( Fritsch Kick ) Houston Gamblers - Johnson 4 yard pass from Kelly ( Fritsch Kick ) Houston Gamblers - McNeil 79 yard Punt Return ( Frirsch Kick ) 2nd Quarter Scoring Houston Gamblers - Courville 13 yard pass from Kelly ( Fritsch Kick ) Tampa Bay Bandits - Jackson 14 yard pass from Reaves ( Andrusyshyn Kick ) Houston Gamblers - 38 yard Field Goal by Fritsch 3rd Quarter Scoring Tampa Bay Bandits - Truvillion 3 yard pass from Reaves ( Andrusyshyn Kick ) Houston Gamblers - McNeil 58 yard pass from Kelly ( Fritsch Kick ) Houston Gamblers - Verdin 20 yard pass from Kelly ( Fritsch Kick ) 4th Quarter Scoring Tampa Bay Bandits - Carter 52 yard pass from Jordan ( Andrusyshyn Kick ) Houston Gamblers - Safety by Lewis on Jordan in the End Zone Houston Gamblers - 36 yard Field Goal by Fritsch INDIVIDUAL Statistics Rushing Houston Gamblers - Clark 4-16, Harrell 4-13, Kelly 2-9, Dillon 1-3. Tampa Bay Bandits - Anderson 13-37, Boone 9-41, Blunk 1-9. Passing Houston Gamblers - Kelly 19-31-0-261, Dillon 3-10-0-23. Tampa Bay Bandits - Reaves 18-31-2-225, Jordan 15-31-4-184. Receiving Houston Gamblers - Verdin 6-45, Johnson 4-49, Harrell 4-37, Courville 3-52, McNeil 2-78, Barousse 2-14, Clark 1-9. Tampa Bay Bandits - Truvillion 7-82, Carter 4-81, Jackson 4-61, Brodsky 4-58, Harvey 4-56, Anderson 3-35, Price 3-21, Boone 3-11, Blunk 1-4. Missed Field Goals NONE
Archived news report
Archived news report
Supplemental information courtesy of Chris Blackburn
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