1984: Breakers Edge Maulers Despite Carano’s Big Passing Day

The Week 7 United States Football League contest on April 8, 1984 between the New Orleans Breakers and Pittsburgh Maulers appeared to be a classic mismatch on paper. The Breakers were 5-1, having lost for the first time in their previous game, and were in the thick of the Southern Division race. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh was struggling at 2-4, although they were coming off a win.

The Maulers were one of six expansion teams for the USFL’s second season and were coached by Joe Pendry, a former college assistant who had been offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Stars in ’83. They had made a high-profile signing by picking up the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, RB Mike Rozier, and they had a quarterback with NFL experience in former Dallas backup Glenn Carano. But the offense struggled, at least until picking up WR Jackie Flowers from the Chicago Blitz, and the defense had many holes.

The Breakers, coached by Dick Coury for the second year, had been in Boston in 1983 but were thriving in their new home. 36-year-old QB John Walton directed an offense that was productive both on the ground and through the air and the defense, anchored by LB Marcus Marek, was effective as well.

There was a crowd of 39,315 on hand at the Louisiana Superdome. The Breakers scored first on a five-yard carry around end by RB Marcus Dupree for a touchdown that finished off a 91-yard drive and Tim Mazzetti added the extra point. Dupree ran the ball five times for 31 yards during the series, but also aggravated a hamstring problem that hindered him the remainder of the game (he gained just ten more yards).

Just before the opening period ended, Glenn Carano connected with WR Greg Anderson for a nine-yard TD and Tony Lee added the point after to tie the score. The Maulers moved the ball well again on their next possession, going 77 yards, but they came up empty when a hurried throw by Carano was picked off by SS Eric Johnson.

Carano gave up another interception on the next Pittsburgh series, this time on a bomb intended for Anderson that was grabbed by CB Bruce Miller at the New Orleans 18. Pittsburgh got the ball back thanks to a fumble recovery when DT David Graham stripped RB Tony Good at the New Orleans 48. Once again the Maulers moved into scoring territory, but after reaching the 25 a penalty moved them back five yards and Lee ultimately was short on a 47-yard field goal attempt. Despite moving the ball well, Pittsburgh was unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities and the tally remained 7-7 at the half.

Early in the third quarter, Mazzetti booted a 33-yard field goal to put the Breakers back in front by 10-7. The Maulers responded with a field goal of their own, with Lee successful from 32 yards. New Orleans drove 79 yards on a series that ended with Walton throwing to WR Marion Brown, who dove to make the catch for a 15-yard touchdown, and Mazzetti’s PAT made it a seven-point contest with less than a minute remaining in the period.

In the fourth quarter, the Maulers came through with a big stop on defense when the Breakers attempted to convert a fourth-and-two play and RB Buford Jordan was tackled for a one-yard loss at the Pittsburgh 36. The Maulers responded with 63-yard drive in seven plays, all passes, six of which were completions. The last was to Anderson for a seven-yard TD and, with the successful extra point, the score was tied at 17-17.

The Maulers were backed up to their seven yard line when they next got the ball, but they went 93 yards to take the lead. Carano again had the hot hand, competing six of seven for 78 yards along the way, the biggest a toss to Anderson that picked up 27 yards down the left sideline. That got the ball to the New Orleans one, from where Carano got the touchdown on a quarterback sneak.

Down by seven points with 2:46 left in the contest, Walton led the Breakers 80 yards in five plays over the course of 57 seconds to tie the score. Three of the plays were pass completions to WR Charlie Smith that picked up a total of 48 yards, and each victimized safety Larry Friday, who was in the game as a nickel back. Friday hit Smith with an elbow after one reception to add another 15 yards and advance the ball to the Pittsburgh 24. Smith’s last catch was in the corner of the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown. Mazzetti tied the score once more at 24-24 with the extra point.

The ensuing kickoff was returned just 10 yards by RB William Miller, who was brought down hard at his own 11 yard line. Carano had a short toss to Mike Rozier for three yards but then threw two incomplete passes before Larry Swider, kicking from his end zone, launched a 49-yard punt to the New Orleans 36.

Jordan ran 21 yards on a draw play to the Pittsburgh 43. On a third down play, Walton connected with Smith once again for a 14-yard gain to the 24 that set up a 41-yard Tim Mazzetti field goal with 12 seconds left on the clock. Having scored ten points inside the last two minutes, the Breakers came away with a 27-24 win.

Pittsburgh led in total yards (452 to 425) and also had the edge in first downs (29 to 28). However, the Maulers had three turnovers, to one suffered by the Breakers, and they were also penalized 9 times at a cost of 84 yards, to 8 flags thrown on New Orleans for 49 yards.

John Walton completed 18 of 33 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns with none intercepted. Buford Jordan ran for 111 yards on 12 carries and gained another 50 yards on his three pass receptions. The 10-year veteran Charlie Smith, who had been a teammate of Walton’s with the Eagles in the NFL, topped the receivers with 7 catches for 113 yards and a TD, most of which came in the clutch in the fourth quarter.

For the Maulers, Glenn Carano went to the air 48 times and had 35 completions for 388 yards and two TDs, although he also gave up three interceptions. Jackie Flowers and Greg Anderson each caught 10 passes, for 135 and 128 yards, respectively, and two of Anderson’s were good for scores. Mike Rozier led the ground game with 45 yards on 13 carries and also had 7 receptions for 23 yards.

“We’re fortunate to get out of here alive,” said a relieved Coach Dick Coury afterward.

“We let the offense down,” said Pittsburgh DE Sam Clancy. “We gave up ten points in the final two minutes. No team can win like that.”

The win improved New Orleans’ record to 6-1 but, after splitting their next two games, the Breakers collapsed and won only once more the rest of the way to finish at a disappointing 8-10 for third place in the Southern Division. Pittsburgh fell to 2-5 and continued to flounder, ending up at the bottom of the Atlantic Division along with the Washington Federals with a 3-15 record. Coach Pendry was gone after ten games and replaced by Ellis Rainsberger.

Glenn Carano, who had such a big day in a losing cause, went on to complete 53.7 percent of his passes for 2368 yards and 13 touchdowns against 19 interceptions in what was his last pro season. Greg Anderson led the team with 63 catches for 994 yards (15.8 avg.) and six TDs while Jackie Flowers contributed 51 receptions for 904 yards (17.7 avg.) and eight scores. 

1984: Cribbs Rushes for 191 Yards as Stallions Defeat Maulers

The Pittsburgh Maulers, one of six new teams in the United States Football League’s second season, had lost their first two games on the road. Owned by Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. (father of the owner of the NFL’s 49ers), Coach Joe Pendry’s team had the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, RB Mike Rozier, but little else. QB Glenn Carano was a former backup for the Cowboys and the defense was mediocre. Still, the Maulers lost their first two contests by a combined total of just seven points. On March 11, 1984 they debuted at home against the Birmingham Stallions.

There were 53,771 fans in attendance at Three Rivers Stadium, the first sellout in league history, fueled by the fact that Birmingham’s new starting quarterback was ex-Steeler Cliff Stoudt. He had been less-than-popular as the replacement for the injured Terry Bradshaw in ’83, and had made the jump to the USFL. Stoudt was joined in the backfield by RB Joe Cribbs, who had been selected to the Pro Bowl in three of four seasons with the Buffalo Bills. The one element of the Birmingham offense that had played well in 1983 was the line, not surprising under Head Coach Rollie Dotsch, who had been offensive line coach of the Steelers during their last two championship years. Adding experienced veteran talent in the backfield could only help, and the club had gotten off to a 1-1 start.

It was a cold and windy day with temperatures in the 20s. A deafening chorus of boos greeted Stoudt’s pregame introduction and a regular barrage of snowballs were tossed toward the quarterback and his teammates during the contest (drawing angry criticism from Coach Dotsch afterward). However, the Maulers proved mistake-prone on both sides of the ball and put themselves in a hole early.

In the opening period, Birmingham CB Chuck Clanton intercepted Carano’s second pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown. Before the first quarter was over, Scott Norwood kicked a 35-yard field goal that was set up thanks to a roughing-the-passer penalty on Pittsburgh on a third-down play in which Stoudt threw an incompletion. A run by Cribbs put the ball in field goal range.

It got worse for the Maulers as a fumble by Rozier after catching a swing pass was recovered by Birmingham DT Joe Cugliari. It initially seemed that Pittsburgh had dodged a bullet when, following a 23-yard pass completion from Stoudt to another ex-Steeler, WR Jim Smith, the defense held and Norwood’s field goal attempt was wide to the right. But Norwood was hit by LB Ron Crosby, who was called for roughing-the-kicker. Five plays later, and just into the second quarter, Cribbs scored on a four-yard touchdown carry.

Norwood suffered a knee injury on the play that resulted in the penalty and was forced to sit out the remainder of the contest. Following the Cribbs touchdown, Stoudt ran for a two-point conversion (waving the football triumphantly over his head in response to the Pittsburgh fans) and the score was 18-0 in favor of the visitors.

Tony Lee kicked field goals of 28 and 42 yards for the Maulers in the second quarter to narrow Birmingham’s margin to 18-6 at halftime. In the second half, another penalty snuffed out a successful fake punt for the Maulers. From their 45, punter Larry Swider, after dropping the snap, threw to CB Bill Yancy (a receiver in this instance). However, the play was called back because of an illegal receiver downfield.


Stoudt (pictured at left) was having a poor day throwing but, with Cribbs running effectively and the Maulers beating themselves, it hardly mattered. He also added another six points in the third quarter on a ten-yard run, although the attempt to pass for a two-point conversion failed.

Pittsburgh finally scored a touchdown two minutes into the fourth quarter as Carano tossed a four-yard pass to WR Shawn Potts. Ten minutes later, Cribbs rushed for a 13-yard TD and the Maulers followed with one last score as FB Walt Easley plowed over from a yard out. Both teams attempted two-point conversions after each of their touchdowns, failing in each instance. Pittsburgh came close to one final, meaningless TD but Rozier was stopped inches short of the goal line on the last play of the game. Birmingham comfortably came away as the winner by a final score of 30-18.

The yardage totals were deceivingly close as the Stallions outgained Pittsburgh by just five yards (263 to 258). However, the breakdown showed Birmingham with 242 yards on 52 rushing plays to just 46 on 20 attempts for the Maulers. The Stallions had only 21 net passing yards to Pittsburgh’s 212 that were accumulated in a vain attempt to come from behind. Birmingham led in first downs (19 to 15) and dominated the time of possession (37:07 to 22:53). There weren’t many turnovers, but both of Pittsburgh’s led to Birmingham scores while the Stallions turned the ball over once, and the Maulers were penalized 8 times to 4 flags thrown on the visitors, often in key situations.

Joe Cribbs was the offensive star for the Stallions with 191 yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns. Cliff Stoudt was successful on only two of 17 passes for 29 yards and had one intercepted. Jim Smith’s 23-yard catch was the longest of the game for Birmingham and RB Leon Perry had the only other reception, for six yards. The Stallions went for two-point conversions after their remaining touchdowns but were only successful on one.

For the Maulers, Mike Rozier was held to 52 yards on 16 rushing attempts but caught 7 passes for 68 more, although with the one costly fumble. Glenn Carano went to the air 33 times and had 18 completions for 221 yards and a TD with one intercepted. WR Greg Anderson gained 96 yards on his 4 receptions.

“Cliff did the things that he had to do, and we won,” said Coach Dotsch in response to the comfortable win despite Stoudt’s miniscule passing performance.

“All I have to do is please my teammates, my fans, and my coaches,” added Stoudt, who also said, “the crowd really fired me up. I was just excited out there. I was having fun and I wanted them to know it.”

“The interception didn’t set things back as much as the second turnover,” said Joe Pendry regarding the early plays that put Pittsburgh in a deep hole. “That forced us to throw the ball more than we wanted.”

Pendry, whose team fell to 0-3, added “They’re (Birmingham) an excellent football team, too good for us to make mistakes against. If they didn’t stop us, we had a penalty to stop ourselves.”

The Maulers won their first game the following week, against the equally-hapless Washington Federals, but it was hardly a case of turning a corner. They and Washington ended up the season at 3-15 and at the bottom of the Atlantic Division. Coach Pendry was gone after ten weeks.

Birmingham, on the other hand, went on to win nine straight games and topped the Southern Division at 14-4. They easily defeated the division-rival Tampa Bay Bandits in the First Round playoff game but lost to the Philadelphia Stars, who had also ended their season winning streak, in the Eastern Conference Championship game.

Joe Cribbs led the USFL in rushing with 1467 yards on 297 carries (4.9 avg.) and 8 touchdowns. Cliff Stoudt had far better passing days than he did against the Maulers and ended up ranking second in the league with a 101.6 rating that included 3121 yards and 26 TDs to just 7 interceptions.

1984: Outlaws Defeat Maulers in USFL Debut Game for Each

The United States Football League added six new franchises for its second season, and two of those teams were matched up on February 26, 1984 at Tulsa’s Skelly Stadium to open their regular season.

The host Oklahoma Outlaws, coached by the former defensive coordinator of the NFL Steelers, Woody Widenhofer, featured a veteran quarterback in Doug Williams (pictured above). Williams, dissatisfied with his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was lured to the Outlaws and provided instant credibility at the key position on offense.

The visiting Pittsburgh Maulers, under Head Coach Joe Pendry, also had a marquee name on the roster, although it was a rookie rather than veteran player. RB Mike Rozier won the 1983 Heisman Trophy at Nebraska and would be starting his first pro game. The team’s quarterback was Glenn Carano, a veteran backup with the Cowboys.

The weather conditions were far from ideal, as the contest was played in a steady downpour with gusty winds and a wind chill that dipped into the 20s. It certainly dampened the turnout, as 11,638 attended the game; there were 4300 reported no-shows.

The bad weather induced sloppy play. Three first half drives by the Outlaws ended in fumbles, but the Maulers were unable to capitalize on the turnovers despite making it inside the Oklahoma 30 on two occasions. The first ended with Mickey Barilla missing a 40-yard field goal attempt, and the second came up empty when Rozier was thrown for a two-yard loss in a fourth-and-one situation at the Oklahoma 29.

Pittsburgh finally scored on a Barilla field goal from 32 yards out with eight seconds left in the half, finishing a drive that was highlighted by a 20-yard Carano scramble to the Outlaws’ 28 yard line. Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s offense was unable to advance at all into Pittsburgh territory during the first half, and the Maulers held a 3-0 lead at the intermission.

Oklahoma finally put together a scoring drive in the second half, going 80 yards for the only touchdown of the game. In a key play, former Steelers RB Sidney Thornton ran 34 yards on a trap to the Pittsburgh 8. At just over a minute into the fourth quarter, Williams threw a swing pass to FB Derek Hughes that covered 12 yards for the TD.

Pittsburgh responded by driving to the Oklahoma 19 yard line as Carano completed a 13-yard pass to WR Greg Anderson on a fourth-and-six play along the way, but the Maulers were stopped when Carano threw incomplete on a fourth-and-12 pass intended for WR Reggie Butts.

With 2:56 remaining, Pittsburgh’s last shot came up short when Carano was intercepted by LB Terry Beeson at the Oklahoma 37. The Outlaws came away the winners of the sloppy contest by a final score of 7-3.

Neither team mounted much offense, with the Maulers outgaining Oklahoma (219 yards to 172) and accumulating the most first downs (11 to 9). The Outlaws also turned the ball over four times, to three by Pittsburgh.

Doug Williams completed just 9 of 22 passes for 62 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Sidney Thornton paced the running game for the Outlaws with 66 yards on 12 carries. WR Lonnie Turner led the team with a mere 17 yards on two catches.

For the Maulers, Glenn Carano was successful on 10 of 21 passes for 101 yards, and was picked off twice. Greg Anderson led all receivers with three catches for 45 yards. Carano also was the team’s leading rusher with 29 yards on 10 carries. Mike Rozier (pictured below) had a rough debut, running for only 27 yards on 16 attempts - he had just two carries for four yards in the second half. Having joined the team late, his lack of familiarity with the offense’s plays proved a hindrance.


“This is the first time we've won and if feels great,” Woody Widenhofer said. “We needed to win the first game to get the feeling of what it's like.”

Widenhofer stated further, “They are an excellent football team defensively, but our offense broke open their defense in the second half. We made adjustments after halftime. We ran the ball very well in the second half against their five defensive backs.”

“I sure can't complain about how it turned out,” summed up Doug Williams. “I can't complain at all. I wanted to win this game as bad as I've ever wanted to win a game.”

“I thought our defense did extremely well,” said Coach Pendry of the Maulers. “With a good passing game like Oklahoma has with Doug Williams, sometimes you're .going to break a draw or a trap and that's exactly what happened.”

However, Pendry wasn't happy with the offense. “We have to go back to Pittsburgh and look at the films and see what happened,” he said. “We made lots of first-game mistakes out there.”

Pendry failed to last the entire season as the Maulers compiled a 3-15 record, tying the Washington Federals not only at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, but for the USFL's worst record. Mike Rozier ultimately rushed for 792 yards on 223 carries (3.6 avg.).

Oklahoma got off to a promising 6-2 start, but lost the remaining 10 games to end up at 6-12 and in fourth place in the Central Divison. The lack of an effective running attack, combined with the collapse of the defense and late-season loss of Doug Williams to a knee injury, ultimately did the Outlaws in.

1984: Gold Overcomes 3-TD Deficit to Defeat Maulers

The Pittsburgh Maulers were one of six new teams in the United States Football League’s second season, and were experiencing plenty of difficulties as they got off to a 2-5 start. Coached by Joe Pendry, the offense was directed by former Cowboys backup QB Glenn Carano and featured rookie Heisman Trophy-winning RB Mike Rozier. However, the defense was mediocre, Rozier got off to a slow start, and Carano struggled (at least, prior to a 388-yard passing performance the week before in a losing effort at New Orleans).

Pittsburgh’s opponent at Three Rivers Stadium on April 14, 1984 was the Denver Gold. Under Head Coach Craig Morton, the Gold had gotten off to a 6-1 start and sat atop the Pacific Division. It hardly seemed likely that the Maulers would mount a strong challenge.

However, at halftime the score was 21-0 in favor of Pittsburgh. Carano had thrown touchdown passes of 21 and 24 yards to WR Greg Anderson and, in between, connected for a 65-yard TD to WR Jackie Flowers.

Denver finally got on the board in the third quarter as QB Craig Penrose threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to WR Kevin Williams. Shortly thereafter, Penrose went down with torn knee ligaments, but reserve QB Bob Gagliano stepped in and narrowed the margin to 21-13 with a 25-yard TD throw to WR Leonard Harris (the extra point attempt failed).

In the fourth quarter, Gagliano connected with Harris for another score, this one from five yards out, and the quarterback ran for a successful two-point conversion to tie the contest. The Gold pulled ahead thanks to an 18-yard touchdown run by Williams on an end-around, and Brian Speelman’s 20-yard field goal with under two minutes to play sealed the 31-21 Denver victory.


The game had been all Pittsburgh in the first half, all Denver in the second. The Maulers outrushed the Gold, 176 yards to 97, and controlled the ball for almost 34 minutes to Denver’s 26. However, Carano (pictured at left) threw three interceptions and was sacked six times (three times apiece by defensive ends Dave Stalls and Bruce Thornton), as opposed to Denver suffering one sack and neither quarterback having a pass picked off. Pittsburgh also committed 12 penalties, adding up to 100 yards, to Denver’s four for 26 yards.

A bright spot for the Maulers was the performance of Rozier, who had his first pro hundred-yard game with 137 yards on 24 carries. Carano’s numbers reflected his inconsistency as he threw three touchdowns, three interceptions, and completed just 14 of 34 passes. Greg Anderson caught 6 passes (for 96 yards) while Jackie Flowers led the team in receiving yards with 125 on three catches.

For Denver, Bob Gagliano’s solid relief performance was summed up by his completing 8 of 9 passes for 90 yards and the two TDs. Prior to that, Craig Penrose was successful on 7 of 16 passes for 106 yards and a score. Leonard Harris was the top receiver with 5 catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns. RB Harry Sydney led the runners with 60 yards on 15 carries.

The win marked the high point of the season for the Gold – they lost their next five contests and won only two more games the rest of the way to finish at 9-9 and in third place in the Pacific Division. Pittsburgh never got on track, ending up at the bottom of the Atlantic Division (along with the Washington Federals) with a 3-15 record. The Maulers folded following the season while the Gold changed ownership and Morton was replaced as coach by Darrell “Mouse” Davis, who had popularized the “run-and-shoot” offense.