The USFL’s first game weekend isn’t quite over yet. Sunday’s triple-header was hit due to weather in Birmingham, Alabama. It started when the first game between the Michigan Panthers and the Houston Gamblers was postponed by an hour and ended with the nightcap being postponed between the Tampa Bay Bandits and the Pittsburgh Maulers (the game will now be played Monday at 7 p.m. ET) .
The two games on Sunday did not disappoint. The first saw the Houston Gamblers narrowly fend off a furious comeback from the Michigan Panthers, whose supposedly winning touchdown in the endgame was incompletely juggled in the endzone. The Gamblers won Sunday’s opener 17-12 when Mark Thompson rushed 13 times for 71 yards. Shea Patterson went 17 of 25 for 192 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers, but the quarterback also had three fumbles (one loss) in the loss – part of nine fumbles Michigan had that day.
In the second of three scheduled games Sunday – before the postponement – the New Orleans Breakers capitalized on mistakes by the Philadelphia Stars in the first half to build an early lead, then found their offensive flow in the second half and held in a 23-17 Victory. Jordan Ellis got the go-ahead for the touchdown from two yards to start the fourth quarter that finally gave the Breakers the lead. The Stars faced a 9-0 deficit before reconciling in the third quarter for a 17-17 draw. Darnell Holland hit a 42-yard score in the third quarter to level the game as the Stars scored 10 points in the quarter.
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Miscues doomed Philadelphia all afternoon. Stars quarterback Bryan Scott threw to Vontae Diggs for an interception that was returned 37 yards for a touchdown to give the Breakers a 7-0 lead. New Orleans also blocked a punt by Matt Mengel for safety reasons. Mengal also missed two field goals, one from 45 yards and the other from 44 yards. The Breakers had six sacks in the win, with Davin Bellamy recording three of them.
We had already seen a thriller in the season opener on Saturday night with the win of the Birmingham Stallions and the two games on Sunday were also close. All three winners so far have come from the league’s South Division – here’s a look at the rankings – and all results have been within six points. Here’s a look at the Sunday list results:
SATURDAY
Birmingham Stallions 28, New Jersey Generals 24
SUNDAY
Houston Gamblers 17, Michigan Panthers 12 (Finals)
New Orleans Breakers 23, Philadelphia Stars 17 (finals)
MONDAY
Tampa Bay Bandits vs. Pittsburgh Maulers, 7 p.m. ET, FS1, fuboTV (PPD from Sunday due to rain)
Here are our takeaways from Sunday’s games (you can relive highlights and updates in the live blog below).
Why the Houston Gamblers won
The Gamblers capitalized on two turnovers from a Panthers offense that didn’t score in the first half, with a fumble from Shea Patterson and another fumble from Paxton Lynch to score two touchdowns that built a 17-0 lead at halftime. Michigan had nine fumbles in the loss, losing two from the quarterbacks who faced them with a two-ball deficit (in the USFL, a team can score up to nine points on one ball possession).
Why the Michigan Panthers lost
The Panthers had three fumbles in the second quarter, highlighting inconsistent quarterback play between Patterson and Lynch throughout the afternoon. The Panthers actually completed as many passes as they fumbled (five) in the first half, resulting in 14 points for the Gamblers. The second-half comeback was too big to overcome due to the mistakes made in the first half.
Why the New Orleans Breakers won
Give the New Orleans offense credit for finding their rhythm in the second half after going scoreless in the first six possessions. The Breakers grounded a Stars defense and rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns en route to touchdowns on back-to-back possessions for the win; 58 of those rushing yards came from those two scoring drives.
Why the Philadelphia Stars lost
Mistakes made by special teams cost stars in this game. Two missed field goals took six points off the board and a blocked punt led to a breaker safety — undoing all the offensive advances Philadelphia had made in the first half. Bryan Scott also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to put the Stars in a 7-0 hole early in the game. The Stars gave the Breakers nine points and missed an opportunity for six of them on offense. They lost at six.
game of the day
The Gamblers led 3-0, with the Panthers driving in the red zone before defensively Ahmad Gooden forced a fumble from Shea Patterson when Reggie Northrup took the rebound 87 yards the other way for the goal and Houston hit a commanding 11 :0 lead brought the second quarter start.
Patterson stumbled to start the game, but Gooden took advantage of the situation. He ended up with three forced fumbles and two sacks.
Next
The Panthers (0-1) play the New Jersey Generals (0-1) on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET, while the Gamblers (1-0) play the Birmingham Stallions (1-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The Stars (0-1) will play the Pittsburgh Maulers (0-0) at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, while the Breakers (1-0) will play the Tampa Bay Bandits on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. All USFL regular season games are played in Birmingham, Alabama.