Saturday’s loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks was a weird feeling.
Losing always sucks, but this loss doesn’t tell the whole story.
The Birmingham Stallions also clinched a playoff birth due to the Roughnecks’ loss.
They are also still playing for first place in the USFL Conference next week against the Michigan Panthers.
So it wasn’t a good day for the Stallions, but it wasn’t the end of the world either. There are still a couple of big games coming up before the playoffs.
Here are 4 interesting takeaways from the loss to the Battlehawks.
1. Offensive Identity?
Seven weeks into the season, it was hard to pinpoint the Stallions’ offensive identity.
That’s understandable considering all the QB turmoil.
They may have found that identity against the Battlehawks.
They used the run and short passes to open up the deep ball. It was a strategy that worked well.
The Stallions had 124 yards on the ground.
- J’Mar Smith: 10 rushes for 45 yards
- C.J. Marable: 11 rushes for 40 yards
- Ricky Person Jr.: 9 rushes for 39 yards
The commitment to the run opened up deep ball opportunities for Deon Cain (65 yards) and Cade Johnson (47 yards).
It also gave Deon Cain space to turn a slant into a 50-yard touchdown.
2. J’Mar Smith might be QB 1, or he might not
J’Mar Smith’s day was somewhat of a mixed bag.
- 14–26 (51.9%)
- 262 passing yards
- 3 tds
- 1 int
- 45 rushing yards
His first touchdown of the game was a reminder of why fans love him so much. With 2 defenders running at him unblocked, he didn’t flinch. He stepped into a big hit while throwing a 65-yard bomb to Deon Cain.
There were several other big plays for Smith throughout the game.
But, it wasn’t all good.
Coach Holtz consistently pointed out open receivers he felt Smith missed. That led to him holding the ball too long and taking sacks. He also had a bad pick-six.
His mistakes can easily be chalked up to rust. It was his first start since week 1 of 2023, after all.
He did more than enough to get fans excited about the prospect of him keeping the starting job. There are also two more games to knock off some rust before the playoffs.
But will he get the chance? We don’t know yet. Coach Holtz was noncommittal in the post-game press conference. We will all just have to wait and see.
3. Defensive Struggles
Coming into the game, the Stallions were first in the UFL in points allowed (15.3 per game).
For most of the season, the Sallions employed their “bend but don’t break” style with great success.
That was until the last two games. The defense has finally broken to the tune of 29 points vs the Battlehawks and 25 points to the Roughnecks.
A big part of the struggle was their # 1 rushing defense losing the matchup with the Battlehawks’ # 1 ranked rushing attack. The Stallions’ tackling looked the worst it has all season while giving up 173 yards rushing.
Have the last two weeks been a rough stretch of games? Or, is it the new normal?
With the playoffs right around the corner, there isn’t a lot of time for the defense to get back on track.
4. Penalties are a real problem
Good teams don’t usually have penalty problems. The Stallions seem to be the exception.
8 games into the season, we can’t pretend it’s a fluke. The Stallions have a huge penalty problem.
The 9 penalties against the Battlehawks bring the season total up to 60.
7.5 penalties per game isn’t good enough. The Stallions desperately need to clean it up before the playoffs.
