Week 2, September 11th, 1988, Chicago Bears (1-0) @ Indianapolis Colts (1-0)

Sunday, September 11th, 1988 1:00PM
Chicago Bears (1-0) @ Indianapolis Colts (1-0)
Hoosier Dome
Weather: Dome
Line: Chicago -1.5 (chicago), O/U 42 (over)

Attendance:  60,503 (60,127)

Chicago 27, Indianapolis 24

The Colts decided to keep QB Gary Hogeboom inactive and instead went with Jack Trudeau in their tilt with the Chicago Bears, who were playing their 2nd consecutive AFC East opponent.

The Bears took the opening possession the distance behind 46 rushing yards from running back Neal Anderson.  Jim McMahon (16-24, 149 Yards, 3 TD, 1 Int, 105.7 Rating) connected with tight end Emery Moorehead for the 5 yard touchdown connection to jump ahead 7-0.

On Indianapolis' chance to answer, Chicago Safety Dave Duerson intercepted a Trudeau (21-41, 257 Yards, 1 TD, 3 Int) pass to give McMahon a 25 yard field to work with.  4 Plays later, McMahon hit Anderson in stride for a 14 yard touchdown, giving the Bears a lightning quick 14-0 lead barely halfway into the 1st quarter.

Early in the 2nd quarter, Colt DB Willie Tullis intercepted a Jim McMahon pass in Bears territory, which led to a 17 yard run by Eric Dickerson (26-108 2 TD) to make it a 14-7 game.

Later in the 2nd however, Trudeau would again provide the Chicago offense with an abbreviated field, throwing an interception to Mike Richardson, who returned it 35 yards to the Colt 14.  The Colts defense held, leading to a 23 yard Kevin Butler Field Goal that brought the game to the eventual halftime score of 17-7.  Trudeau brought the Colts down the field at the end of the half, however, Dean Biasucci missed a 47 yard field goal attempt.

The 2nd half started without much offense.  The teams exchanged punts and Chicago slowly pushed the Colts back in the field position battle.  Rohn Stark got off a 52 yard punt from his 5 yard line, but Bear returner Dennis McKinnon ran it back 14 yards to the Indianapolis 43.  The Bears took 7 plays to score on a Dennis Gentry reception of Jim McMahon's 3rd touchdown strike.

The Colts answered quickly, 3 offensive plays later with a 54 yard long touchdown strike from Trudeau to Bill Brooks (7-130 TD) to cut the lead to 24-14 late in the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter began with a long Bear drive halted by a John Hand fumble recovery of a Neal Anderson fumble.  The Colts then had their own methodical drive, capped by a Dean Biasucci 26 yard field goal to bring the Colts within a touchdown of tying it with just over 5:00 to play.

The Bears surprised the Colts, who were cheating up to stop the rush, by hitting Dennis McKinnon (3-49) with a long 31 yard pass.  However, Neal Anderson again put the ball on the Hoosier Dome turf, this time recovered by Duane Bickett with 3:23 to play, and to the delight of the electric standing-room-only crowd.

Jack Trudeau converted on a 4th and 7, passing it to Brooks for 10 yards.  The same 2 players then connected on a 30 yard pass to the Bear 25 on the 1st play after the 2 minute warning.  Eric Dickerson ran off the remaining 25 yards on 2 plays for the Colts touchdown and the improbable 24-24 score.

Eric Dickerson cuts around the end for a game tying 11 yard run to tie the game with 1:30 remaining

Thomas Sanders took a short kickoff by Biasucci 38 yards to the Bear 48 yard line for a wonderful drive start.  Behind 19 tough yards from fullback Brad Muster, another reception by McKinnon, and a small contribution by Anderson, the Bears were in position for a 35 yard field goal attempt by Kevin Butler.  The kick sailed through the uprights with 1 second left and the Chicago Bears claimed the 27-24 victory for a 2-0 start.

Kevin Butler celebrates with teammates after hitting the last-second game-winning field goal

Player of the Game

Jim McMahon - Bears

McMahon had 3 touchdown passes and a 105.7 rating to lead the Bears offense to a gutsy road victory

1988 Chicago 27, 1988 Indianapolis 24
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	OT	Total
1988 Chicago	14	3	7	3	0	27
1988 Indianapolis	0	7	7	10	0	24

Scoring Plays
Qtr	Clock	Poss	Scoring Description(Extra Point)	Score
1	9:12	1988 Chicago	E.Moorehead 5 yd. pass from J.McMahon (K.Butler kick)	7-0 CHN
1	5:44	1988 Chicago	N.Anderson 14 yd. pass from J.McMahon (K.Butler kick)	14-0 CHN
2	9:46	1988 Indianapolis	E.Dickerson 17 yd. run (D.Biasucci kick)	14-7 CHN
2	3:17	1988 Chicago	K.Butler 23 yd. field goal	17-7 CHN
3	3:24	1988 Chicago	D.Gentry 7 yd. pass from J.McMahon (K.Butler kick)	24-7 CHN
3	1:08	1988 Indianapolis	B.Brooks 54 yd. pass from J.Trudeau (D.Biasucci kick)	24-14 CHN
4	5:21	1988 Indianapolis	D.Biasucci 26 yd. field goal	24-17 CHN
4	1:30	1988 Indianapolis	E.Dickerson 11 yd. run (D.Biasucci kick)	24-24 INA
4	0:01	1988 Chicago	K.Butler 35 yd. field goal	27-24 CHN

Other Highlights
Qtr	Clock	Poss	Event	Player	Yards
1	7:35	1988 Chicago	Intercept	Dave Duerson	15
2	13:06	1988 Indianapolis	Intercept	Willie Tullis	0
2	5:17	1988 Chicago	Intercept	Mike Richardson	35
2	0:45	1988 Indianapolis	Missed Field Goal	Dean Biasucci	47
3	13:24	1988 Chicago	Intercept	Mike Richardson	10
4	12:12	1988 Chicago	Fumble	Neal Anderson
4	6:14	1988 Indianapolis	QBSack	Dan Hampton	-7
4	4:31	1988 Chicago	Pass	Dennis McKinnon	31
4	3:23	1988 Chicago	Fumble	Neal Anderson
4	1:52	1988 Indianapolis	Pass	Bill Brooks	30
4	1:22	1988 Chicago	Return	Thomas Sanders	38

Team Statistics
	1988 Chicago	1988 Indianapolis
First Downs by Rush-Pass-Pen-Total	9-10-3-22	10-11-0-21
Third Down Efficiency	2-8-25%	8-18-44%
Fourth Down Efficiency	0-1-0%	3-3-100%
Red Zone Efficiency (pts-poss-pct)	27-35-77%	17-21-81%
Total Offense-Plays-Avg Yards Per Play	321-62-5.2	359-71-5.1
Total Net Yards Rushing	172	109
Total Rushes	38	29
Average Per Rush	4.5	3.8
Passes Completed/Attempted	16/24 (66.7%)	21/41 (51.2%)
Net Yards Passing	149	250
Avg Yards Per Pass	6.2	6.3
Sacked/Yards Lost	0/0	1/7
Punts/Average	2/36.0	3/40.3
Punts Received/Return Yardage	2/22	0/0
Kickoffs/Returns	4/95	3/79
Interceptions/Returns	3/60	1/0
Penalties/Yards	4/20	10/76
Total Fumbles/Fumbles Lost	2/2	0/0
Time of Possession	29 mins 22 secs	30 mins 38 secs
Average Drive Start	CHN 41	INA 28

Passing Stats
	Att	Comp	Yds	Comp %	Yds/Att	TD	TD %	INT	INT %	Long	Sack	Rating
1988 Chicago
Jim McMahon	24	16	149	66.7	6.2	3	12.5	1	4.2	31	0/0	105.7
1988 Indianapolis
Jack Trudeau	41	21	257	51.2	6.3	1	2.4	3	7.3	54	1/7	48.5

Rushing Stats
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	2 Pt Conv	Fumbles/Lost
1988 Chicago
Neal Anderson	23	108	4.7	15	0	0	2/2
Matt Suhey	7	18	2.6	6	0	0	0/0
Thomas Sanders	4	25	6.3	15	0	0	0/0
Brad Muster	4	21	5.3	14	0	0	0/0
1988 Indianapolis
Eric Dickerson	26	108	4.2	17	2	0	0/0
Albert Bentley	3	1	0.3	2	0	0	0/0

Receiving Stats
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	2 Pt Conv
1988 Chicago
James Thornton	3	19	6.3	9	0	0
Brad Muster	3	25	8.3	14	0	0
Dennis McKinnon	3	49	16.3	31	0	0
Neal Anderson	3	34	11.3	15	1	0
Thomas Sanders	1	3	3.0	3	0	0
Emery Moorehead	1	5	5.0	5	1	0
Matt Suhey	1	7	7.0	7	0	0
Dennis Gentry	1	7	7.0	7	1	0
1988 Indianapolis
Bill Brooks	7	130	18.6	54	1	0
Eric Dickerson	4	36	9.0	10	0	0
Clarence Verdin	3	24	8.0	18	0	0
Mark Boyer	3	29	9.7	16	0	0
Albert Bentley	2	20	10.0	11	0	0
Pat Beach	1	5	5.0	5	0	0
Matt Bouza	1	13	13.0	13	0	0

Field Goals
	1-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	Totals	% Made
1988 Chicago
Kevin Butler	0/0	1/1	1/1	0/0	0/0	2/2	100
1988 Indianapolis
Dean Biasucci	0/0	1/1	0/0	0/1	0/0	1/2	50.0

Punting
	No	Avg	Net	Tb	Inside 20	Long	Blocked
1988 Chicago
Bryan Wagner	2	36.0	26.0	1	1	38	0
1988 Indianapolis
Rohn Stark	3	40.3	33.0	0	1	52	0

Kickoff Returns
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 Chicago
Dennis Gentry	2	42	21.0	25	0
Thomas Sanders	2	53	26.5	38	0
1988 Indianapolis
Albert Bentley	3	79	26.3	28	0

Punt Returns
	Ret	FC	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 Chicago
Dennis McKinnon	2	0	22	11.0	14	0
1988 Indianapolis

Individual Defense
	Tackles	Sacks	Fum Rec
1988 Chicago
Mike Singletary	10	0	0
Jim Morrissey	7	0	0
Vestee Jackson	6	0	0
Mike Richardson	6	0	0
Al C. Harris	5	0	0
Ron Rivera	4	0	0
Richard Dent	3	0	0
Maurice Douglass	2	0	0
Dan Hampton	2	1	0
Troy A. Johnson	1	0	0
Dave Duerson	1	0	0
Steve McMichael	1	0	0
1988 Indianapolis
Fredd Young	9	0	0
Duane Bickett	8	0	1
Barry Krauss	8	0	0
O'Brien Alston	6	0	0
Eugene Daniel	4	0	0
Mike Prior	4	0	0
Craig Swoope	3	0	0
Joe Klecko	3	0	0
Jon Hand	2	0	1
Donnell Thompson	2	0	0
Willie Tullis	2	0	0

Interceptions
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 Chicago
Mike Richardson	2	45	22.5	35	0
Dave Duerson	1	15	15.0	15	0
1988 Indianapolis
Willie Tullis	1	0	0.0	0	0

Game Story

In a tightly fought contest the visitors from Chicago got past Indianapolis by the score of 27 to 24. Chicago controlled the ground game, out-rushing Indianapolis 172 to 109 yards. Chicago took the early lead outscoring Indianapolis 14 to 0 in the first quarter. They took the lead into the locker room at the half 17 to 7. Chicago led after three quarters 24 to 14. Jack Trudeau passed 41 times for 257 yards with a touchdown for Indianapolis.

Week 2, September 11th, 1988, Miami Dolphins (0-1) @ Buffalo Bills (1-0)

Sunday, September 11th, 1988 1:00PM
Miami Dolphins (0-1) @ Buffalo Bills (1-0)
Rich Stadium
Weather: 60 degrees, relative humidity 64%, wind 9 mph
Line: Buffalo -3 (miami), O/U 44 (push)

Attendance:  79,520 (80,290)

Miami 28, Buffalo 16

This AFC East Divisional rival began with some offense.  Miami won the toss and decided to put the ball in quarterback Dan Marino's (24-33, 265 Yards, 3 TDs, 126.5 Rating) hands to start. Marino went 6 of 7 for 54 yards and a touchdown to Lorenzo Hampton to draw 1st blood.  

Jim Kelly (29-47, 254 Yards, 1 Int, 67.2 Rating), coming off a 3 touchdown opening day went to work engineering his own scoring drive, getting to Miami's 28, but a key double team on TE Pete Metzelaars on 3rd and 6 forced a 45 yard field goal by Scott Norwood to cut the lead to 7-3.  It was the closest the game would get for the rest of the afternoon.

The Bills got the ball back quickly, but a Thurman Thomas fumble was recovered by Miami Linebacker John Offerdahl at midfield. This set up a quick strike offense by the Dolphins and Marino.  2 Catches by Mark Clayton (6-127 TD) for 37 yards and a touchdown, including the scoring play where it looked like Bruce Smith had a step for the sack but Tackle Ronnie Lee picked him up at the last moment, allowing Marino the time for the scoring strike to take a commanding 14-3 lead.

Woody Bennett powers for a 7 yard gain

Later in the half, after a missed 39 yard field goal attempt by Norwood, Miami took over at their own 20.  Marino went 3 for 3 for 71 yards as the Dolphins scored in only 5 plays, capped by Lorenzo Hampton's 2nd touchdown of the day, a 1 yard blast to take a 21-3 lead.

The Bills were able to pick up the pace and drove down the field inside of 2 minutes.  Jim Kelly, however, fumbled the snap on 1st and goal from the 8 with 1:07 left.  It was a crushing moment for the home sellout crowd.

John Offerdahl breaks up a Bills pass leading a bend but don't break Dolphin defense.  Offerdahl had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery

The Bills took the opening drive of the 2nd half and marched down field, aided by two Miami penalties on 3rd down, and converting a 4th and 3 from the Miami 46 yard line by way of a 3 yard Thurman Thomas (15-78) run.  On 3rd and goal from the 5, Ronnie Harmon (8-37 TD) ran it in to cap the tenuous drive and provide the Bills some hope at 21-10.  The drive took a lot off the clock, over 9:00.  The Dolphins took the time off the remainder of the 3rd quarter getting into Bills territory and punting, Reggie Roby pinned the Bills at the 4 yard line.

  

Miami's defense kept Jim Kelly and the Bills on edge the entire game

The Bills were able to move the ball behind some passes from Kelly to Metzelaars and Andre Reed.  It was 1st and 10 from the Miami 46 and it looked as though the Bills were poised to make it a 4 point game, but that was when all was lost.  CB William Judson stepped in front of a Kelly pass intended for Trumaine Johnson and he darted down the field for 52 yards to the Bills' 13.  One play later, Marino connected on his 3rd touchdown pass of the day, an 8 yard connection to Ferrell Edmunds to cap Miami's scoring and take a 28-10 lead with 9:42 to play.  

Buffalo drowve down to score what amounted to be a pride touchdown, a 7 yard run by Robb Riddick,  Miami got the ball back with over 6 minutes left and was able to bleed out the clock past the 2 minute warning, making any chance of a Bills comeback impossible.  

It was a game where the Bills held a statistical advantage in many categories.  They lost the turnover battle though 3-0 and Miami scored 21 of 21 points in the Red Zone while the Bills converted only 14 of 35. 

Player of the Game:

Dan Marino - Dolphins

Marino was true to form, especially in the early going 9-13 for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns on the Dolphins' 1st 3 possessions

1988 Miami 28, 1988 Buffalo 16
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	OT	Total
1988 Miami	7	14	0	7	0	28
1988 Buffalo	3	0	7	6	0	16

Scoring Plays
Qtr	Clock	Poss	Scoring Description(Extra Point)	Score
1	10:04	1988 Miami	L.Hampton 5 yd. pass from D.Marino (F.Reveiz kick)	7-0 MIA
1	5:13	1988 Buffalo	S.Norwood 45 yd. field goal	7-3 MIA
2	14:42	1988 Miami	M.Clayton 26 yd. pass from D.Marino (F.Reveiz kick)	14-3 MIA
2	3:34	1988 Miami	L.Hampton 1 yd. run (F.Reveiz kick)	21-3 MIA
3	5:36	1988 Buffalo	R.Harmon 5 yd. run (S.Norwood kick)	21-10 MIA
4	9:42	1988 Miami	F.Edmunds 8 yd. pass from D.Marino (F.Reveiz kick)	28-10 MIA
4	6:23	1988 Buffalo	R.Riddick 7 yd. run (kick blocked)	28-16 MIA

Other Highlights
Qtr	Clock	Poss	Event	Player	Yards
1	1:53	1988 Buffalo	Fumble	Thurman Thomas
2	6:02	1988 Buffalo	Missed Field Goal	Scott Norwood	29
2	4:56	1988 Miami	Pass	Mark Clayton	54
2	1:00	1988 Buffalo	Fumble	Jim Kelly
3	0:26	1988 Miami	QBSack	Fred Smerlas	-7
4	10:36	1988 Miami	Intercept	William Judson	52
4	0:08	1988 Buffalo	QBSack	Hugh Green	-12

Team Statistics
	1988 Miami	1988 Buffalo
First Downs by Rush-Pass-Pen-Total	5-14-1-20	12-13-4-29
Third Down Efficiency	6-10-60%	10-15-67%
Fourth Down Efficiency	0-0-0%	1-1-100%
Red Zone Efficiency (pts-poss-pct)	21-21-100%	14-35-40%
Total Offense-Plays-Avg Yards Per Play	315-52-6.1	410-81-5.1
Total Net Yards Rushing	57	168
Total Rushes	18	33
Average Per Rush	3.2	5.1
Passes Completed/Attempted	24/33 (72.7%)	29/47 (61.7%)
Net Yards Passing	258	242
Avg Yards Per Pass	8.0	5.4
Sacked/Yards Lost	1/7	1/12
Punts/Average	4/37.3	1/44.0
Punts Received/Return Yardage	1/3	0/0
Kickoffs/Returns	1/24	3/59
Interceptions/Returns	1/52	0/0
Penalties/Yards	7/80	8/56
Total Fumbles/Fumbles Lost	0/0	2/2
Time of Possession	24 mins 50 secs	35 mins 10 secs
Average Drive Start	MIA 32	BUA 24

Passing Stats
	Att	Comp	Yds	Comp %	Yds/Att	TD	TD %	INT	INT %	Long	Sack	Rating
1988 Miami
Dan Marino	33	24	265	72.7	8.0	3	9.1	0	0	54	1/7	126.5
1988 Buffalo
Jim Kelly	47	29	254	61.7	5.4	0	0	1	2.1	28	1/12	67.2

Rushing Stats
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	2 Pt Conv	Fumbles/Lost
1988 Miami
Lorenzo Hampton	10	23	2.3	8	1	0	0/0
Troy Stradford	4	10	2.5	6	0	0	0/0
Woody Bennett	2	12	6.0	7	0	0	0/0
Ron Davenport	2	12	6.0	8	0	0	0/0
1988 Buffalo
Thurman Thomas	15	78	5.2	9	0	0	1/1
Robb Riddick	8	37	4.6	12	1	0	0/0
Jamie Mueller	4	22	5.5	14	0	0	0/0
Jim Kelly	4	21	5.3	10	0	0	1/1
Ronnie Harmon	2	10	5.0	5	1	0	0/0

Receiving Stats
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD	2 Pt Conv
1988 Miami
Mark Clayton	6	127	21.2	54	1	0
Ferrell Edmunds	6	44	7.3	15	1	0
Lorenzo Hampton	5	44	8.8	13	1	0
Troy Stradford	3	16	5.3	10	0	0
Jim C. Jensen	2	21	10.5	11	0	0
Ron Davenport	1	7	7.0	7	0	0
Mark Duper	1	6	6.0	6	0	0
1988 Buffalo
Andre Reed	8	84	10.5	23	0	0
Chris Burkett	7	81	11.6	28	0	0
Ronnie Harmon	4	33	8.3	11	0	0
Trumaine Johnson	4	27	6.8	15	0	0
Thurman Thomas	2	12	6.0	7	0	0
Pete Metzelaars	2	14	7.0	11	0	0
Carl Byrum	1	-3	-3.0	-3	0	0
Robb Riddick	1	6	6.0	6	0	0

Field Goals
	1-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	Totals	% Made
1988 Miami
1988 Buffalo
Scott Norwood	0/0	0/1	0/0	1/1	0/0	1/2	50.0

Punting
	No	Avg	Net	Tb	Inside 20	Long	Blocked
1988 Miami
Reggie Roby	4	37.3	32.3	1	1	48	0
1988 Buffalo
John Kidd	1	44.0	41.0	0	0	44	0

Kickoff Returns
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 Miami
Joe Cribbs	1	24	24.0	24	0
1988 Buffalo
Erroll Tucker	2	41	20.5	21	0
Flip Johnson	1	18	18.0	18	0

Punt Returns
	Ret	FC	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 Miami
Scott Schwedes	1	0	3	3.0	3	0
1988 Buffalo
Flip Johnson	0	1	0		0	0

Individual Defense
	Tackles	Sacks	Fum Rec
1988 Miami
Hugh Green	10	1	0
John Offerdahl	10	0	1
William Judson	8	0	0
Rick Graf	6	0	0
Paul Lankford	6	0	0
Jarvis Williams	5	0	0
Mark Brown	4	0	0
Liffort Hobley	4	0	0
Reyna Thompson	3	0	0
T.J. Turner	3	0	0
Brian Sochia	2	0	1
1988 Buffalo
Cornelius Bennett	9	0	0
Leonard Smith	5	0	0
Nate Odomes	5	0	0
Darryl Talley	5	0	0
Ray Bentley	4	0	0
Derrick Burroughs	3	0	0
Fred Smerlas	2	1	0
Shane Conlan	2	0	0
Bruce Smith	2	0	0
Mark Kelso	2	0	0

Interceptions
	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
1988 Miami
William Judson	1	52	52.0	52	0
1988 Buffalo

Game Story

Dan Marino led the way to victory as the visiting team from Miami defeated Buffalo by the score of 28 to 16. Marino threw for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns. Miami was great on third down, converting on 6 of 10 opportunities. The biggest play of the game was a pass to Mark Clayton that gained 54 yards with 4:56 left in the 2nd quarter. Buffalo out-rushed 0 168 to 57 yards. Despite the loss, Buffalo had the advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for 35:10.

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