It was quite an opening weekend of NFL Europe play for New England-allocated wide receiver Scott McCready and the Scottish Claymores.
McCready, who finished the regular NFL season on the Patriots practice squad, led all receivers with five catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Claymores to a record-setting 45-17 victory over F.C. Barcelona. The 28-point win was the largest margin of victory on opening weekend in league history. McCready did his damage in the first half, scoring on pass plays of 4 and 26 yards. He only played a handful of snaps after halftime.
Also helping their team win in Week One were offensive linemen Pat Downey and Mike Clare, who started at left and right guard respectively for the Frankfurt Galaxy. The two Patriot allocations helped the Galaxy running game grind out 154 rushing yards, a major reason Frankfurt held nearly a 12-minute advantage in time of possession en route to a 27-24 overtime win over Berlin. The Galaxy line opened holes all game long as the offense ran 30 times, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt.
Linebacker Maugaula Tuitele, playing for Berlin, was the only New England allocation to lose in Week One. However, he did produce, finishing second on the team with six tackles, including four solo stops.
