Chicago 28 at Washington 7

1983 Week 1 - Sunday, March 6, 1983
Chicago Blitz(0-0)(-6) at Washington Federals(0-0)
Attendance: 38,010, TV: ABC

Greg Landry rolls out against the Feds WASHINGTON (AP) - Rookie Trumaine Johnson caught one touchdown pass and set up a second to lead Chicago past Washington and give Coach George Allen a triumphant return to the nation's capital.

Greg Landry, a veteran of 14 years with the NFL's Detroit Lions and Baltimore Colts, repeatedly found the seams in the Federal secondary, completing 19 of 26 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

The Blitz's No. 1 draft choice out of Grambling, Johnson ran away from the Washington secondary to catch 11 passes for 158 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown reception.

Allen, who was fired in 1977 after leading th Washington Redskins for seven years, was greeted warmly by the 38,010 fans who ignored a steady drizzle and a regional TV telecast to attend the new league's inaugural game in Washington.

"I wasn't particularly happy about playing our opening game here in Washington because of all the distractions. I would have rather played in Birmingham," Allen said.

He added, however: "I love Washington. I was very emotional out there during the National Anthem."

1st Q

Complete Game

Highlights

MARCH 6 
SCORE BY PERIODS 
Chicago  ..................  7  14  0  7--28 
Washington  ...............  0   0  0  7-- 7 

SCORING 
Chicago--Buggs fumble recovery in end zone 
(Corral kick). 

Chicago--Long 4 run (Corral kick ). 

Chicago--Johnson 23 pass from Landry 
(Corral kick). 

Chicago--Ricker 10 pass from Landry (Cor- 
ral kick). 

Washington--Lee 19 pass from Hohensee 
(Ariri kick ). 

TEAM STATISTICS 
                                          Chicago   Wash. 
First downs  ...........................     24       11 
Rushes- Yards  .........................4.5-143    15-36 
Passing yards  .........................    212      172 
Sacked- Yards Lost  ....................   5-39     2-30 
Return yards  ..........................     54       90 
Passes  ................................  19-27-0  18-35-2 
Funbles- Lost  .........................    1-0      3-1 
Penalties-Yards  .......................   6-55    .5-45 
Time of possession  ....................  38:55    21:05 
Attendance--38,010. 


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing--Chicago, Spencer 17-69, Long 
13-37, Dennison 3-9, Stone 8-24, Buggs 1- 
2, Landry 2-5, Koegel 1-minus 3; Washing- 
ton, James 14-34, Hohensee 1-2. 

Passing--Chicago, Landry 19-27-0--251; 
Washington, McQuilken 2-7-0--24, Hohen- 
see 16-28-2--178. 

Receiving--Chicago, Johnson 11-158, 
Ricker 3-32, Buggs 1-15, Willis 1-10, Long 
1-12, Spencer 2-24; Washington, R. Smith 
4-62, Walters 5-72, M. Brown 1-18, James 
4-16, Hardeman 1-3, Lee 2-32, Mayberry 
1- minus 1. 

Kickoff Returns--Chicago, Stone 1-23; 
Washington, R. Smith 5-83. 

Punt Returns--Chicago, Brown 1-11, 
Willis 1-16; Washington, R. Smith 1-7. 

Interceptions--Chicago, Bradley 2-4. 

Punting--Chicago, Corral 4-41.5; Wash- 
ington, Hoffman 9-33.7. 

Field Goals--Chicago, Corral 0-2; Wash- 
ington, none attempted. 

Sacks--Chicago, Ah You 1-22, Ehrmann 
1-8; Washington, Estay 1-13, Taylor 1-6, 
Greene 1-5, B. Smith 1-11, Bacon 1-4.

Archived news report

Supplemental information courtesy of Chris Blackburn

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