Week 7 UFL Power Rankings. The Arlington Renegades found their first victory in week 7. In the USFL Division, the playoff births are already secure with the Birmingham Stallions currently in first and the Michigan Panthers in second. In the XFL Division, the St. Louis Battlehawks are currently tied for first with the San Antonio Brahmas.
#1 Birmingham Stallions (7-0)
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.
Week 7 result: Defeated St. Louis at home 30-26.
Previous rank: #1
The Birmingham Stallions are the clear king of the United Football League at this present moment. With the Stallions’ recent victory over St. Louis, they have now beaten every team in the league this season except for the San Antonio Brahmas who they will face on the road in week 9. Birmingham is now on a 14-game win streak that started in week 6 of last year’s USFL season.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez passed for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions while also adding 60 yards on the ground. Running back Ricky Person Jr. added 42 rushing yards on 10 rushes (4.2 average) with C.J. Marable adding 31 yards on 7 rushes (4.4 average) and a touchdown.
On defense defensive end Dondrea Tillman had a great game gathering a sack as well as making 3 run stops. Defensive tackles Marvin Wilson and Jordan Thompson also had a sack. It was an impressive day for the Stallions’ defense as they held St. Loius to just 214 total yards.
The Stallions will host the 1-6 Houston Roughnecks on Saturday.
#2 St. Louis Battlehawks (5-2)
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.
Week 7 result: Lost to Birmingham on the road 26-30.
Previous Rank: #2
The Battlehawks are coming off a close loss on the road to the Birmingham Stallions which saw the XFL and USFL Division leaders face each other for the first time in franchise history. The time of possession was very close in this one similar to the score, however, the total yards were far in Birmingham’s favor as the Battlehawks had 214 total yards to Birmingham’s 349.
Quarterback A.J. McCarron completed 19 of his 32 passes for 161 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Hakeem Butler once again led the team in receiving catching 7 passes for 89 yards. Running back Jacob Saylors had a hat trick as he had 2 rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown. Saylors had 38 yards on 10 carries (3.8 average) and added 20 receiving yards.
On defense, defensive end Pita Taumoepenu had the highest grade from Pro Football Focus as he had 4 total pressures and a sack. Safety Cole Qwynnterrio led the team in tackles with 12. Linebacker Willie Harvey had 2 sacks and 10 tackles.
The Battlehawks will host the DC Defenders on Sunday.
#3. San Antonio Brahmas (5-2)
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.
Week 7 result: Defeated Houston on the road 15-12.
Previous rank: #3.
The Brahmas bounced back with a win on the road against Houston after losing in week 6 to the DC Defenders. San Antonio now finds themselves tied for first in the XFL Division in a playoff position with a 2 game lead over the DC Defenders in the standings with only 3 games left.
Quarterback Quinton Dormady has seen a pretty significant decrease in production over the last 2 weeks. He has under 200 yards over the last 2 games combined although his 142 yards in week 7 were significantly better than the 55 he had in week 6. However, week 7 was his lowest graded performance out of his 4 games this season which saw him complete only 41.7% of his passes with 1 interception and no touchdowns.
Runningback John Lovett was also limited compared to his previous production as he rushed 18 times for 37 yards (2.1 average) with 1 touchdown. Lovett had averaged 6.88 yards per carry over weeks 5 and 6 combined. Landen Akers led the team in receiving yards with 72 over 3 receptions.
San Antonio’s pass rush had a great day against Houston as the team had 6 sacks. Defensive end Caeveon Paton had 2 shared sacks as well as 2 QB hurries. Defensive tackle Taron Vincent contributed to keeping Houston’s run game in check with 3 run stops. Overall it was a great game for San Antonio’s defense as they held Houston to 185 total yards.
San Antonio will host the Arlington Renegades on Sunday.
#4 Michigan Panthers (5-2)
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.
Week 7 result: Defeated DC on the road 22-9.
Previous rank: #4
The Michigan Panthers handed the DC Defenders their 2nd loss at home in franchise history in week 7 winning by a score of 22-9. It was the first meeting between these clubs. The Panthers had 332 total yards to DC’s 235 and also won time of possession with 34 minutes to DC’s 25.
Brian Lewerke had the start at quarterback and completed 5 of his 13 passes for 37 yards and added a rushing touchdown. Bryce Perkins completed 11 of his 13 passes for 116 yards and added 13 rushing yards. Samson Nacua led the team in receiving catching 6 passes for 45 yards. Matthew Colburn II had a big day on the ground rushing 16 times for 137 yards (8.6 average).
On defense, Michigan eliminated DC’s run game although one might say DC’s playcalling deserves some credit for that as they only gave it to their RBs 4 times. Michigan held Darius Hagans to minus 2 yards on 1 rush and Cam’Ron Harris to -4 yards on 3 rushes. Safety Kai Nacua led the team in tackles with 8. Defensive ends Breeland Speaks, Kenny Willekes, and Ron’Dell Carter all had a sack.
Michigan will look to extend their winning streak to 4 as they host the Memphis Showboats on Saturday.
#5 DC Defenders (3-4)
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.
Week 7 result: Lost to Michigan at home 9-22.
Previous Rank: #5
The DC Defenders have lost their 2nd home game in franchise history just 2 weeks after their first at-home loss. The Defenders lost 9-22 to the Michigan Panthers in week 7.
Jordan Ta’amu completed 10 of his 14 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown although he had to leave the game late after taking a sack late in the third quarter. Jalan McClendon came in relief of him and completed 9 of his 14 passes for 73 yards. Ty Scott had 2 receptions for 87 yards and Kelvin Harmon had 6 receptions for 37 yards.
It was a peculiar day on the ground as DC only handed the ball off to their runningbacks 4 times for a combined -6 rushing yards. DC had some success on some sweeps from their receivers such as on a 28-yard rush from Keke Coutee in the first quarter. However, based on the limited amount of rush attempts it seemed that DC had decided not to run the football before the game even started.
On defense cornerback Deandre Baker and defensive tackle Niles Scott were tied for the team lead in tackles with 6. Deandre Baker had 7 targets come his way per PFF and only allowed a 28.6 completion percentage on 2 passes for 20 yards. Linebacker Davin Bellamy had the lone sack for the Defenders.
The Defenders will travel to St. Louis to play in arguably the most difficult place to play in the UFL. The Defenders will need to find a win to win this weekend to maintain a realistic hope of making the playoffs. The Defenders currently have a -51 point differential and do not have a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over St. Louis or San Antonio. Thus it seems unlikely that they will secure a playoff birth on tiebreakers. They need to win their final 3 games and see either San Antonio or St. Louis lose their final 3 games.
#6. Arlington Renegades (1-6)
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.
Week 7 result: Defeated Memphis at home 47-23.
Previous Rank: #7
The Arlington Renegades finally have their first victory. They were in my opinion one of the most competitive winless teams over their 6 game losing streak to open the season. The team had only lost 2 games by 2 scores.
Last year’s XFL Champions have had a head-scratcher of a season where they have seemed to do pretty much everything right but win. Their point differential is only -12 which is significantly better than the 3-4 DC Defenders who have a point differential of -51. Despite their record, they currently have the 4th highest overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Luis Perez completed 27 of his 32 passes for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns. Lindsey Scott Jr. added 2 completions for 13 yards and a touchdown. J.P. Payton led the team in receiving with 82 yards and 2 touchdowns over 4 catches. Tight end Sal Cannella had the most receptions catching 9 passes for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns. Runningback De’Veon Smith had a monster game rushing 14 times for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns while adding 35 receiving yards over 5 catches.
On defense, defensive end Vic Beasley Jr. had a sack and 7 total pressures per PFF. Arlington had 4 sacks overall. Cornerback Ajene Harris saw 7 targets come his way and only allowed 4 receptions for 27 yards. Harris led the team in tackles with 8 in week 7.
The Renegades will look to take their redemption arc on the road as they play the San Antonio Brahmas on Sunday.
#7. Houston Roughnecks (1-6)
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.
Week 7 result: Lost to San Antonio at home 12-15.
Previous rank: #6
Houston now finds themselves eliminated from the playoffs as they are now on a 3-game losing streak for the 2nd time this season. Houston’s defense was able to hold San Antonio to 241 total yards but their offense was kept to 185 total yards.
Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano got the start in week 7 playing for the first time since sustaining an injury in week 2. He completed 11 of his 18 passes for 121 yards. Justin Hall led the team in receiving with 5 receptions for 69 yards. On the ground, Mark Thompson rushed 9 times for 38 yards in large part due to a 36-yard run in the third quarter. T.J. Pledger rushed 11 times for 30 yards (2.7 average).
On defense, linebacker Chris Odom had 2 sacks and 3 QB hurries. Against the run, the Roughnecks did a great job stopping John Lovett who has had a lot of success recently. Cornerback Corn Elder, defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks, and linebacker Marvin Moody all had 2 rn stops per Pro Football Focus.
The Roughnecks now have an atrocious record now at 1-6. In spite of losing a close game to one of the better teams in the league shows that they have the potential to compete and are arguably better than their record would indicate. However, run blocking and pass blocking continue to be an issue as it has been throughout the season.
Houston will host the Birmingham Stallions on Saturday.
#8. Memphis Showboats (1-6)
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.
Week 7 result: Lost to Arlington on the road 23-47.
Previous rank #8
Memphis had lost their last 4 games by 2 scores coming into week 7. They have now extended their losing streak to 6 as they lost by 3 scores to the only winless team in the league. While I have stated repeatedly that Arlington was better than their record and thus there is no shame in losing to them, losing 23-47 to them is a little bit shameful.
Even after Memphis’ week 1 victory, I suspected the season ahead was going to be rough waters after there were glaring issues in their pass protection and run blocking. Since then the defensive quality has gone down as well.
Memphis had 2 quarterbacks play in week 7. Troy Williams completed 14 of his 21 passes for 127 yards while Case Cookus completed 11 of his 17 for 103 yards. Both QBs had 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Daewood Davis led the team in receiving catching 7 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Runningback Darius Victor rushed 11 times for 33 yards (3 yards per carry).
Safety Lamont McPhatter led the team in tackles with 8 including, 4 of which constituted stops per PFF.
It’s hard to find many positives right now for Memphis. They will play the Michigan Panthers on the road on Saturday as they search for some redemption.
