Gridiron

It's the birds against the fish in this year's Cryptic Bowl football classic. The feathered Fantails, with their name in the left end zone, march across the field four times from left to right in Across rows; the scaly Sockeyes do the same from right to left. Each of these eight drives consists of three or four words clued in order, but the eight drives themselves are clued in random order; to locate the Across answers in the grid, use the eight-letter Downs (which are normal) as guides. Five of the eight drives "score" by having a final letter cross into an end zone. By circling these five letters in the finished grid and reading them in order (the left end zone first, then the right), solvers will confirm the winning team. Answers include one proper noun; the words clued last in drives D and G, and also the first Down answer, are less than common.

The instructions above are for this month's puzzle only. See a complete introduction to clue-solving.

See the solution to last month's Puzzler.

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A.Improve Giant broadcast (7)

Kick catches a referee out of uniform somehow (8)

Work hard except when gaining 50 (5)

B.Rams' erratic throwers (4)

Large, like this Cowboy equipment (5)

Saint, while covering yard, hardly seems to budge (5)

L.A.'s importing German beers (6)

C.Right guards initially seem to do well (7)

Ran after a member of Miami and didn't exactly rush (6)

Official tumbling past in fight (8)

D. Coveted lineman comes around to compete (6)

Running back, about to fall down (5)

Center of Raiders split pile-up (5)

Coin flipped in Tangelo Bowl (4)

E. Starr, at first down, put in a ringer? (6)

Blowout in Florida uniform (4,4)

Place for a reserve of Georgia wasn't too great (3,4)

F. At last, football stadium worker gets richer (6)

By year's end, Elway's missing with passes on the run (6)

Cowboy ace or bum carrying pigskin (9)

G. Line shuffled in to take a breather and get back in the action (8)

Pound Kenneth forward and Leonard backward (6)

Spotted Buffalo player's diving duck (7)

H. Arena I'd renovated for an unamazing figure? (7)

Camera shots of hike from the rear (4)

A neurotic wacko seizes article about Jets' operations? (10)

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1. Fat Fitzgerald fans

2. Gold ring lying in westward stream for so long (two words)

3. Programs about completely wet spots

4. Education established in intimate base

5. Ornamental figures in reference penned by drudges

6. Hurried back, bearing stories and laments

7. They illuminate most of shore next to seabirds

8. Try beets cooked a secondary way

9. A town has Herb beheaded for sarcasm

10. Scarcity caught by camera Rene's shooting

11. Bad report finished off the Cuban cigar

12. Chuck keeps tree for cutting

13. Orthodontist's work fee

14. Modern playwright's engaging right publishers