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Commissioner Allen called an emergency meeting of the Executive Council on Monday night to discuss the Detroit crisis. The council met via teleconference and it was determined that a search for a viable replacement would take place and the new team would be in place by Friday. Other perspective members included Brain Cook, an upstart Madden player with a bright future and Anthony Smith, one of the founding members of THE LEAGUE. For more information on this story, tune in Friday at 8:00 pm EST for the weekly premiere of Inside The PFL.


GAME RECAP
Jacksonville Nips Kansas City in Expansion Bowl I

The Jacksonville Jaguars came back from a 24-17 deficit early in the fourth quarter to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24. Elvis Grbac threw a crucial tide turning interception late in the game that allowed the Jaguars to kick the game winning field goal. Kansas City seemed to have the game in control throughout the latter part of the first half and early in the second half. But just as they did most of the preseason, the Jaguars put on a furious second half rally to tie the game at 24 before Grbac threw his only interception of the game. The Chiefs looked solid and are steadily improving, adding more depth and quality to what seemed to be a weak conference. Jacksonville goes to to 1-0 and they were to face the Lions in week two. However, the Jags may want to start making plans for a trip to Tampa.


Late Games: San Fran @ Detroit, Miami@ Denver

New England Tops Oakland

In a mild upset, the Patriots, with two key scores off of turnovers, made the Raiders pay for their mistakes as they held on to win 35-28. Curtis Martin and Ben Coates both had sensational games as the Patriots were explosive on offense. The Raiders surprisingly allow 35 points with a defense many thought would be one of the toughest in THE LEAGUE. But this was not the case as Alex Smolka used Martin on screens and plays in the flats to exploit the soft Raider defense for big plays. Alvin Barrow in turn was extremely disappointed after the loss, because of such high expectations during the off season. And with good reason the Raiders should have had high expectations after defeating quality opponents such as Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh in the preseason. But this game belong to Alex Smolka as he coached brilliantly. The difference may have been the Pat's ability to cash in the Raider miscues, and Oakland not capitalizing on the mistakes the Pat's made. Both teams face big games in week two as the Pat's take on the Eagles, whom are coming off a severe thrashing at the hands of the Cowboys, and Oakland faces San Francisco.


Pittsburgh Upsets Green Bay

The top ranked Green Bay Packers rolled into Pittsburgh and rolled out with a defeat Sunday as they were upended by the Steelers 24-16. The key to the game was the play of Kordell Stewart. Stewart carved up the Green Bay secondary for 188 yards passing and ran for another 46. The scrambling Stewart broke down the coverage in the Packer secondary and allowed him to pick and choose his receivers as they smartly returned to the ball.

The Steelers presented a text book game plan on how to beat the Packers as they exposed the weakness of Green Bay's 3-4 defense. Reggie White, usually a terror to offensive lines, was not even a factor in the game as the Steelers threw when they wanted to whom they wanted. Defensively, the Steelers were stellar, picking Brett Favre off five times and registering four sacks. The win was a huge one as Brown finally got Fox's monkey off of his back. This was Brown's first time defeating Fox in the regular season. "Now we have the ups on them at least for the rest of the regular season," a confident Brown stated after the game. Next up for Pittsburgh in week 2, the Miami Dolphins.


Dallas Lambaste Philadelphia

The Eagles problems continued with Dallas Sunday, as the Cowboys rolled to a 35-7 walloping. Joe Hilton was frustrated and mystified with his team play as Dallas virtually did what ever they wanted throughout the game. The Cowboys jumped out to a 21-0 lead as the Eagles turn the ball over on their first three drives of the game. This was a deficit they could not overcome. Once the game was out of reach for the Eagles, Dallas simply milked the clock with the running game for most of the second half. Ty Detmer threw 6 interceptions and was sacked 6 times. It was a tough lost for the Eagles, for they have yet to get by the Cowboys in a regular season game, and each loss has been a blowout. "If you think this is an indication of the type of ball club the Eagles have, you better think again," stated a jubilant Israel Charles after the Cowboy victory. "There will not be very many teams that can do this against Hilton. This team is much improved from last year, you better believe that. We just got some breaks today. Everyone else better be ready to play these guys, because they are good." Next week, the Eagles face New England while Dallas goes to Green Bay.

Week 2 Action

San Francisco Embarrasses Oakland

The Raiders are really having a reality check after two tough losses this week. After being upset by the Patriots in week one, the Raiders lost big the San Francisco 49ers 34-7. The Raiders were in control of the game after leading 3-0 at the end of the first quarter and trailing on 7-3 at the half. But whatever Wayne Allen said at halftime was the difference as the Niners came out and ran off 27 unanswered second half points. The Raiders now fall to 0-2 in the AFC while the Niners go to 1-0.

Philadelphia Bounces Back Against New England

Joe Hilton and the Philadelphia Eagles rebounded strong as they dominated the New England Patriots 30-14. After suffering an embarrassing lost to Dallas, the Eagles showed why they are legitimate contenders disposing easily of the Pats. Smolka's team was flying high after a week one upset of Oakland, but then crumbled at the hands of the mighty Eagle defense. Philly showed its power by holding the Pats offense to a mere 14 points, after scoring 35 against Oakland. Offensively against Dallas, the Eagles struggled miserably with 6 interceptions and only 7 points. However, this 30 point scoring Eagle team is the one you can look forward to seeing throughout the season. The Eagles step up to 1-1, while the Pats fall to 1-1.

Late Games: Den@KC, Jax@Det

Green Bay Stuns Dallas

After trailing 17-6 at the half, the Packers storm back to outscore Dallas 21-7 in the second half and rolled to a 27-24 win. The Cowboys were stunned after executing a nearly flawless game plan against Green Bay. The turning point of the game came late in the second half when Green Bay began to initiate pass interference calls on the Cowboys. The Pack rolled up chunks of yards on questionable interference calls. It was virtually the only offense the Packers had, and they used it to perfection. Green Bay started it's comeback scoring on theng drive of the second half to bring the game to 17-12, after missing the two point conversion. Dallas followed on it's ensuing possession with a 68 yard scoring strike from Aikman to Emmitt Smith. That's when Green Bay began to roll up chunks of yards out of desperation. And it worked to perfection. The Cowboys gave up big field position and let the Pack off the hook on crucial third and fourth down plays late in the game. After Green Bay pulled the game to 24-20, the Cowboys for the first time, made bad decisions on offense. With less than three minutes to go, instead of controlling the clock, Charles called two passing plays, stopping the clock and allowing the Packers to get the ball back with just under 2:00 remaining in the game. Had the Cowboys converted just one first down, the game would have been over, instead, they punted for the first time in the game and gave the Pack the ball with around 1:45 seconds left in the game. Green Bay pushed straight down the field on three pass interference penalties, the last resulting in a touchdown to Antonio Freeman. "It was one of the toughest losses I've faced as a player," a dejected Charles said after the game. "It reminded me of a loss I had against Allen and the 85 Bears in one of our earlier LEAGUE championships where we got an interception in the end zone stopping them from scoring the winning touchdown, and we got called for a safety. The 85 Bears won that game by 1 point." Charles had to be hurt after limiting the Green Bay Offense early and controlling the tempo most of the game. But, if its in the game, its in the game. And pass interference penalties are a part of the game. The Pokes just have to learn how to play better pass defense, and stay away from getting calls against them. Dallas falls to 1-1 and Green Bay rebounds to 1-1.

Pittsburgh Clips Miami in an Overtime Squeaker

The Dolphins nearly pulled off the upset of the week Sunday as they barely fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers 9-3 in overtime. The Dolphins tied the game late in the first half with an Olindo Mare chip shot. That's the way the game remained throughout regulation. Late in the fourth quarter with less than a minute to go, Pittsburgh was driving and threatening to score before Tim Bowens sacked Kordell Stewart at the Dolphin 38. Norm Johnson came on for the 55 yard attempt that fell short, thus we had our first overtime of the season. Pittsburgh won the toss in overtime and the Dolphins made what was possibly the biggest error of the game when Mare's kick was almost as short as an onside kick. Pro Player Stadium was stunned as the Steelers walked the ball straight down the field for an easy score, to end it quickly. That puts Pittsburgh atop the NFC with a 2-0 record as Miami fell to 0-1.

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