The Memphis Showboats and San Antonio Brahmas will both look to remain undefeated this week, as both won their United Football League opener last week.
Memphis is coming off an 18-12 win on the road in Houston, while San Antonio defended the Alamodome with a 27-12 victory over D.C. The Brahmas’ defense comes into the game without allowing a touchdown in the opener. Meanwhile, San Antonio was able to defeat D.C. by holding the Defenders to four field goals and an 0-for-3 mark on red zone trips.
San Antonio racked up 270 yards of offense in the contest and hit on a 40-yard touchdown pass from punter Brad Wing to offensive lineman Alex Mollette just before halftime.
What do we know?
Last week, the San Antonio Brahmas looked good in a manhandling of the D.C. Defenders. The first drive of the game for San Antonio resulted in a touchdown when rookie quarterback Chase Garbers connected with running back Anthony McFarland Jr. for a 28-yard touchdown to cap off a 5 minute and 52 second opening drive. Running back John Lovett converted the one point conversion attempt with a one-yard rush and gave the Brahmas a 7-0 lead over the D.C, Defenders with 9:08 remaining in the first quarter.
In his UFL debut, Chase Garbers threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns and added another score on the ground. Garbers’ 155.5 rating was the highest among quarterbacks across the league on opening weekend. Wide receiver Jontre Kirklin led the UFL with eight receptions in opening weekend adding 61 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Cornerback Darius Phillips came up with one of the biggest plays, and a momentum killer for the D.C. Defenders. Down only one score early in the fourth quarter, D.C. managed to drive down the field and found themselves in the red zone. Phillips stepped in front of D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu’s pass to the sideline and intercepted the ball, returning it 88 yards to just inside to the D.C. five-yard line.
While the Brahmas were only 1-for-7 on third down, they made up for it by converting on 3-of-4 fourth down attempts. The highlight being the 40-yard touchdown pass from Brad Wing to Alex Mollette.
Inside linebacker Jordan Williams picked up right where he left off from 2023 in the 2024 UFL opener. Williams recorded a game-high 10 tackles (three solo, seven assisted) in the win over the D.C. Defenders. San Antonio recorded four sacks in the opener, including three in the second half which helped hold off a D.C. Defender rally.
OLB Wyatt Ray led the way with two sacks, while Tim Ward and Prince Emili each added a sack. Ray picked up sacks for the Brahmas in each half. Ward, who was picked up off waivers from the D.C. Defenders after final cuts of training camp, immediately made an impact for the Brahmas with a third quarter sack. Ward played with the Houston Roughnecks in 2023 so he was already familiar with the Phillips defense.
Kicker Donald De La Haye’s much anticipated debut on the football field resulted in five kickoffs for 371 yards, which was a 74.2 yard average. Kicking off from the 20-yard line, his kickoffs landed at the D.C. 2-yard line, 15-yard line, end zone,7-yard line and 5-yard line.
For Memphis, quarterback Case Cookus finished the game against Houston 23-of-40 for 204 yards with one touchdown
and one interception. He was also the team’s leading rusher, carrying four times for 16 yards. So far, we have not seen the play of backup quarterbacks Josh Love and Troy Williams, but they are very capable pivots who are waiting in the wings.
San Antonio racked up 270 yards of offense in the contest and hit on a 40-yard touchdown pass from punter Brad Wing to offensive lineman Alex Mollette just before halftime. While the Showboats’ running game produced just 34 yards, running back Darius Victor contributed with five receptions for 33 yards.
The Brahmas’ defense comes into the game without allowing a touchdown in the opener. San Antonio was able to defeat D.C. by holding the Defenders to four field goals and an 0-for-3 mark on red zone trips.
What should we look for?
The oddsmakers like the Brahmas in this game despite being the visitors. They are probably looking at how San Antonio handled the vaunted D.C. Defenders last weekend, and are predicting them to do the same against the Showboats. They could beright, as the Brahmas are on a high after last week. If the Showboats’ defense can put pressure on the rookie Garbers they might be able to force him to make rash decisions and turn over the ball.
On the other hand, the Memphis Showboats know how to play against a stiff defense as they were the victors in a defensive struggle against the Houston Roughnecks last week. The Showboats had an early 15-3 lead at halftime, which was more than enough to get the win. Quarterback Case Cookus was impressive last week, and he is healthy this week and ready to do it all over again. However the Showboats lacked a ground game in week one, and that could be their undoing in week two.
