San Antonio Brahmas Game #2
Visiting Team: San Antonio Brahmas (0-1) 4th place in the XFL Conference
Home Team: Saint Louis Battlehawks (1-0) Tied for 1st in the XFL Conference
Game Location: The Dome at America’s Center, Saint Louis, Missouri
Date and Time: Sunday April 6th, 2025 at 6:30 pm EDT
Channel: FS1
DraftKings Betting Line: San Antonio Brahmas (+8), Saint Louis Battlehawks (-8), O/U 40 points
The last time the San Antonio Brahmas faced the Saint Louis Battlehawks, both teams were battling for the XFL Conference championship. In that game, the Brahmas were the ultimate underdog after losing both regular-season matchups to the Battlehawks in 2024. Despite those regular-season losses, the Brahmas were able to play a fundamentally sound game and made the Battlehawks pay for uncharacteristic errors.
Coming into the 2025 UFL season, the Brahmas found themselves in an unfamiliar position; the Brahmas seemed to be weighed down by championship expectations built on the projected strength of their defense. Being a favorite in the UFL was short-lived for the Brahmas after losing to the Arlington Renegades 33 to 9, with the Renegades dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. For head coach Wade Phillips and the Brahmas, the pressure they potentially felt should be relieved, and now they need to make their first of two regular season trips to Saint Louis to level the playing field in the XFL Conference.
The Saint Louis Battlehawks come into this game hoping to string together two dominant performances after blowing out the Houston Roughnecks. Success for the Saint Louis Battlehawks starts and ends with their ability to control the running game. Offensively, the Battlehawks will look to get running backs Jacob Saylors and Jarveon Howard running downhill behind an offensive line that received honors as the Offensive Player of the Week in Week 1. Defensively, the Battlehawk’s defensive line shut down the Roughneck’s running game and forced the Roughneck’s quarterbacks into making bad decisions.
On Sunday, we will see if both teams come in and give us more of the same as Week 1 or if one or both of these teams show significant improvements after Week 1.
Depth Charts and Rosters
Key to Victory #1: The Brahmas Defensive Front Seven needs to shut down the Battlehawks Running Game
The success of the Battlehawks offense starts with establishing their running game. Last week, the Battlehawks offensive line dominated the Roughnecks defensive front seven, allowing Saint Louis to control every aspect of the game. Battlehawks quarterback Manny Wilkins is an excellent game manager at quarterback when the running game of the Battlehawks keeps the Saint Louis offense out of situations in which their offense is behind the chains and makes a big play in the passing game.
The Brahmas defensive line has experienced several personnel changes since the 2024 season, which has not led to improvements. San Antonio will need to use more line stunts and blitz schemes to allow their linebackers to impact the game significantly. The downside of more dynamic line movements and blitz schemes is that the Brahmas will become more susceptible to explosive play-action pass plays, but if they do not stop the Battlehawk’s run game, they will not need to worry about the passing game nearly as much.
Key to Victory #2: The Brahmas Edge Rushers need to contain and pressure Battlehawks QB Manny Wilkins
An apparent weakness for the Brahma’s defense last week against the Arlington Renegades was their lack of competent play from their edge rushers. Throughout the game, the Brahmas often did not have to contain players to keep Renegades quarterback Luis Perez from escaping the pocket. By escaping the pocket, Perez had time to look for holes in the Brahmas pass coverage and allowed receivers to find a way to get open against the Brahmas secondary.
This week, the Brahmas need to bring edge pressure early and often. Battlehawks quarterback Manny Wilkins is an excellent game manager at quarterbacks, but the history of Wilkins shows that he does not handle pressure well. If the Brahmas can put hits on Wilkins, they will find him making mistakes in his read progression and missing throws, especially throws downfield.
Key to Victory #3: The Brahmas Offense needs to be efficient in the Running and Passing Game
During the 2024 UFL season, the Brahmas were never very efficient when running offensive coordinator AJ Smith’s offense. Many excused the Brahmas offense’s lack of efficiency due to their lack of continuity at the quarterback position and experience running a new offense. The Brahma’s solution to the problem was to run a myriad of trick plays and take risky shots, which allowed the Brahmas to produce enough explosive plays each game to give the Brahmas a chance to win every game.
This year, the Brahmas continue to struggle to run their base offense, which could reflect a lack of detailed coaching, especially along their offense line, or it could be the product of non-elite personnel with an offense designed for elite players. While there is not an easy solution to improving the Brahma’s woes on offense, it would benefit the Brahmas to open the offense up and take some chances. While those changes could lead to mistakes, not taking chances will result in Brahma’s chances of winning and dying a slow death every week in 2025 behind the inconsistent passing of quarterback Kellen Mond.
Game Prediction: Saint Louis Battlehawks 24, San Antonio Brahmas 18
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