With 6 weeks in the history books the playoff picture begins to solidify. Only four weeks of the regular season remain before the UFL kicks off its first playoffs. In the USFL Division 2 teams now find themselves 3 games out of a playoff position.
Week 6 saw the DC Defenders win at home after suffering their first loss on home soil in franchise history in week 5. The Defenders are now 1 game out of a playoff spot in the XFL Division.
#1 Birmingham Stallions (6-0)
Week 1 result: Defeated Arlington on the road 27-14.
Week 2 result: Defeated Michigan on the road 20-13.
Week 3 result: Defeated Memphis at home 33-14.
Week 4 result: Defeated DC at home 20-18.
Week 5 result: Defeated Houston on the road 32-9.
Week 6 result: Defeated Memphis on the road 39-21.
Previous rank: #1
The Stallions are playing at a level that makes them seem invincible. They have dominated every game this season outside of 2 close games. When they are at their best they look like a team that could give an NFL team a run for their money. The Stallions had 466 net yards in week 6, more than double Memphis’ 220 yards.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez set the stats sheet on fire completing 23 of his 36 passes (64%) for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns. Kevin Austin Jr. led the team in receiving with 108 yards over 4 catches including an 80-yard touchdown. Marlon Williams had 4 catches for 58 yards and 2 touchdowns. Marcus Baugh and Deon Cain both had 2 catches for 45 yards.
Both running backs scored as Ricky Person Jr. had a touchdown on the ground and C.J. Marable had a receiving touchdown.
The Stallions enjoyed another great game from their pass rush. Defensive linemen Jonathan Garvin, Taco Charlton, and Dondrea Tillman all had a sack and 6 total pressures or more each. Memphis’ quarterback Case Cookus was pressured on 16 of his 27 dropbacks against Birmingham last week per Pro Football Focus.
The Stallions will host the 5-1 St. Louis Battlehawks on Saturday.
#2 St. Louis Battlehawks (5-1)
Week 1 result: Lost to Michigan on the road 16-18.
Week 2 result: Defeated Arlington at home 27-24.
Week 3 result: Defeated San Antonio on the road 31-24.
Week 4 result: Defeated Memphis at home 32-17.
Week 5 result: Defeated DC on the road 45-12.
Week 6 result: Defeated Houston 22-8.
Previous Rank: #2
The Battlehawks have extended their win streak to 5 games after a decisive victory over the Houston Roughnecks. Additionally, they have won all 3 of their last games by 2 scores.
Quarterback AJ McCarron completed 24 of his 37 passes for 255 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception. Hakeem Butler led the team in receiving catching 6 passes for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Battlehawks defense had a great game against the pass. Houston’s quarterback Reid Sinnett was pressured on 15 of his 35 dropbacks. Sinnett was held to 135 yards on 34 pass attempts (3.9 yards per attempt).
Linebacker Willie Harvey led the team in tackles with 9 with Mike Rose close behind with 7. Both players had a forced fumble.
The Battlehawks will travel to Birmingham to take on the Stallions on Saturday.
#3. San Antonio Brahmas (4-2)
Week 1 result: Defeated DC at home 27-12
Week 2 result: Defeated Memphis on the road 20-19.
Week 3 result: Lost to St. Louis at home 24-31.
Week 4 result: Defeated Michigan at home 19-9.
Week 5 result: Defeated the Arlington Renegades on the road 25-15.
Week 6 result: Lost to DC on the road 12-18.
Previous rank: #3.
The San Antonio Brahmas were unable to win on the road in DC as they fell to the Defenders 12-18.
Quarterback Quinton Dormady was limited to just 79 yards and a touchdown as he completed 16 of his 26 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown with 1 interception in what was his least productive game of the season.
The Brahmas had a lot of success on the ground as they handed the ball off to running back John Lovett 23 times for 153 yards (6.7 yards per carry).
On defense, Jordan Mosley led the team in tackles with 10 including 1 for a loss. Jordan Mosley was second in tackles with 8 including 4 run stops.
With the recent loss to DC, the Brahmas now find them in 2nd place in the XFL Division with only a 1-game lead over DC. The Brahmas will travel to Houston to take on the Roughnecks this Sunday.
#4 Michigan Panthers (4-2)
Week 1 result: Defeated St. Louis at home 18-16.
Week 2 result: Lost to Birmingham at home 13-20.
Week 3 result: Defeated Houston at home 20-34.
Week 4 result: Lost to San Antonio on the road 9-19.
Week 5 result: Defeated Memphis on the road 35-18.
Week 6 result: Defeated Arlington at home 28-27.
Previous rank: #4
For the first time this season, the Michigan Panthers have won 2 games in a row as they defeated the Arlington Renegades 29-27. It was the 2nd time the Panthers won thanks to a game-winning field goal as he made a 42-yarder on the final play.
Last season the Panthers lost their first 4 home games. This year they have won 3 of their first 4 home games.
Quarterback Danny Etling played well completing 16 of his 28 passes (57%) for 201 yards and a touchdown. He often did a good job distributing the ball quickly with good reads. He also led the team in rushing yards with 55 on 7 attempts in large part due to a 40-yard rush in the 4th quarter.
Marcus Simms led the team in receiving with 4 catches for 67 yards. Siaosi Mariner caught 4 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Kedrick Whitehead Jr, Corrion Ballard, Javin Whitehead, and Kai Nacua all had 6 tackles. According to PFF, defensive end Breeland Speaks had 7 total hurries with Kenny Willekes close behind him with 6.
Michigan currently sits comfortably in 2nd place in the USFL Division with a 3-game lead over third place. The Panthers will hit the road in week 7 to take on the DC Defenders. The Defenders have only ever lost 1 home game out of 12 at Audi Field.
#5 DC Defenders (3-3)
Week 1 result: Lost to San Antonio on the road 12-27.
Week 2 result: Defeated Houston at home 23-18.
Week 3 result: Defeated Arlington on the road 29-28.
Week 4 result: Lost to Birmingham on the road 18-20.
Week 5 result: Lost to St. Louis at home 12-45.
Week 6 result: Defeated San Antonio at home 18-12.
Previous Rank: #5
The DC Defenders made good on their name once again defending their home field successfully after suffering a humiliating loss at home in week 5. DC has now won 11 of their 12 home games in the franchise’s history.
Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu completed 14 of his 22 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. Kelvin Harmon led the team in receiving catching 8 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.
The Defenders’ offense saw a lot of success on the ground as Darius Hagans rushed 13 times for 63 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and Cam’Ron Harris rushed 9 times for 39 yards and a touchdown (4.3 average).
On defense, cornerback Michael Joseph led the team with 13 tackles and also had a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Linebacker Anthony Hines III was second in tackles with 9. Cornerback Deandre Baker was targetted 5 times in coverage and only allowed 2 receptions for 10 yards and an interception.
The Defenders will wrap up a 3 game homestead as they host the Michigan Panthers on Sunday.
#6. Houston Roughnecks (1-5)
Week 1 result: Lost to Memphis at home 12-18.
Week 1 result: Lost to DC on the road 18-23.
Week 3 result: Lost to Michigan on the road 20-34.
Week 4 result: Defeated Arlington at home 17-9.
Week 5 result: Lost to Birmingham at home 9-32.
Week 6 result: Lost to St. Louis 8-22.
Previous rank: #6
The playoff hunt in the USFL Division is beginning to look a little bleak for the Houston Roughnecks as well as the Memphis Showboats. Both teams find themselves 3 games out of a playoff position with only 4 games remaining.
One positive in last week’s game for Houston was that both of their running backs finished with decent numbers which has not consistently been the case for them this season. Mark Thompson rushed 13 times for 45 yards (3.5 average) and a touchdown. T.J. Pledger rushed 7 times for 38 yards.
Quarterback Reid Sinnett was limited to 135 passing yards as he completed 19 of his 34 attempts. His performance was greatly impacted by the Battlehawks’ pass rush which was able to pressure him on 15 of his 35 dropbacks. When pressured his completion percentage dropped from 70% when kept clean to 35.7% when pressured.
One positive was Houston’s defense only allowed 28 rushing yards from the Battlehawks’ running backs. From a purely total yards perspective, it was not a bad game as Houston had 217 to St. Louis’ 242 yards.
Houston will host the San Antonio Brahmas on Sunday. They will need to win their final 4 games to have any realistic hope of making the playoffs.
#7. Arlington Renegades (0-6)
Week 1 result: Lost to Birmingham at home 27-14.
Week 2 result: Lost to St. Louis on the road 27-24.
Week 3 result: Lost to DC at home 28-29.
Week 4 result: Lost to Houston on the road 9-17.
Week 5 result: Lost to San Antonio at home 15-25.
Week 6 result: Lost to Michigan on the road 27-28.
Previous Rank: #7
The Arlington Renegades might just be the best 0-6 team I have ever watched. The majority of their games have been very close such as this past week where a field goal on the final play handed them their 6th loss.
Quarterback Luis Perez looked sharp as he completed 24 of 37 passes (65%) for 180 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Sal Cannella led the team in receiving catching 6 passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. Runningback De’Veon Smith rushed 14 times for 55 yards (3.9 average). Dae Dae Hunter and J.P. Payton both had a rushing touchdown.
Jamal Carter led the team in tackles with 9. Anree Saint-Amour had 4 total pressures including a sack. Vic Beasley had 2 QB hurries and a sack. LaRon Stokes and Will Clarke shared a sack. It was a fairly successful day for the Renegades against the run as they held runningback Matthew Colburn II to 3 yards per carry on 8 rushes and Wes Hills to just 1.7 yards per carry although he did score a touchdown.
The Renegades will have a good opportunity to get their first win on Saturday as they host the 1-5 Memphis Showboats.
#8. Memphis Showboats (1-5)
Week 1 result: Defeated Houston on the road 18-12.
Week 2 result: Lost to San Antonio at home 19-20.
Week 3 result: Lost to Birmingham on the road 14-33.
Week 4 result: Lost to St. Louis on the road 17-32.
Week 5 result: Lost to Michigan at home 18-35.
Week 6 result: Lost to Birmingham at home 21-39.
Previous rank #8
I was honestly surprised that Memphis only lost by 18 points against Birmingham. Pass protection continues to be an issue for the Memphis Showboats. According to Pro Football Focus, quarterback Case Cookus was pressured on 16 of his 27 drop backs. On the 11 times he was kept clean he completed 11 of his 11 pass attempts for 80 yards and a touchdown. When he was under pressure he recorded 4 completions for 35 yards on 12 pass attempts.
Troy Williams also played a portion of the game completing 6 of his 13 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown with 1 interception. Daewood Davis led the team in receiving catching 5 passes for 43 yards.
One positive was running back Darius Victor was able to average 3.8 yards per carry rushing for 42 yards on 11 carries. He only had 2 games in which he had a yards per carry over 2 yards prior to this week.
Memphis’ defense was able to keep running back Ricky Person Jr. to 29 yards on 11 carries. However, they allowed 368 passing yards. Birmingham had over double the amount of net yards with 466 compared to Memphis’ 220.
The Showboats will try to put an end to their 5-game losing streak Saturday on the road against the Arlington Renegades.
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