Tampa Bay continued its strong start to the 1985 season, cruising to a 41-21 victory over the winless Las Vegas Ace at Sam Boyd Stadium. Quarterback John Reaves was in fine form, throwing four touchdown passes, three of which went to wide receiver Eric Truvillion, who racked up 191 yards on 9 receptions. The Bandits’ defense also played a key role, with Alvin Bailey’s third-quarter interception return for a touchdown helping to seal the win.
The Las Vegas Ace showed signs of life in the second half, with quarterback Cunningham connecting on two long touchdown passes, including a 41-yarder to Byron Brown and a 35-yard strike to Ray Taylor. Cunningham also led the team with 133 rushing yards, but the Ace were ultimately undone by turnovers and relentless pressure from the Tampa Bay defense, which sacked Cunningham 11 times and forced five turnovers.
With this win, Tampa Bay improved to 6-1 on the season, continuing to assert themselves as a dominant force in the league. Las Vegas, still searching for their first win, dropped to 0-7, but the Ace will look to build on their flashes of offensive success as they regroup for the second half of the season.
