1985 USFL Houston Gamblers vs Tampa Bay Bandits

In week two of the last USFL season 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. Houston Gamblers: Years of existence: 1984-1985 Owner: Jerry Argovitz Stadium: Gastronome (50495) Colors: Black, Gambler red, gray, white and yellow gold Overall Regular Season Record: 23-13 (.639) Overall Playoff Record: 0-2 Yearly Standings and Average Home Attendances: 1984: 13-5 (28152) 1985: 10-8 (19120) Most football fans had not heard the term Run and Shoot before Jim Kelly and the Houston Gamblers took the field in 1984. Houston rolled up 1162 points in two seasons, and Kelly was the trigger man. He threw for an unbelievable 5219 yards and 44 touchdowns in his rookie season, and followed that up with 4623 yards and 39 TDs in 1985 <b>…<b>