The St. Louis Battlehawks and the San Antonio Brahmas will face each other for the second time in history. The two squads last met in the opening week of the 2023 XFL season, with the Battlehawks coming out on top 18-15 after erasing a 15-3 deficit in the final three minutes of the contest. These two teams will meet again on June 1, 2024, in St. Louis.
Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht and Brahmas head coach Wade Phillips will face off for the second time as head coaches. Phillips was the head coach of the Houston Roughnecks in 2023, and Becht’s Battlehawks beat the XFL South Division-champion Roughnecks, 24-15, when they met in Houston for a Week 7 matchup. Becht also previously played in two NFL games against a team led by Phillips. Becht was a rookie tight end for the New York Jets in 2000 when they beat the Phillips-coached Buffalo Bills, 27-14, in Week 3.
What do we know?
Last Saturday, St. Louis engineered a last-second, 27-24, victory over the 2023 XFL Champion Arlington Renegades, putting on a show for a spring football record-sized audience of 40,317 fans in attendance for their home opener at The Dome at America’s Center.
The Battlehawks offense took possession of the ball with 1 minute, 55 seconds left in the game and drove 59 yards in 7 plays, thanks in large part to a 41-yard rush by RB Mataeo Durant, to put K Andre Szmyt in position to kick the game-winning, 22-yard field goal as time expired to give St. Louis its first victory of the season.
Wide receiver Marcell Ateman is one to watch, as he led the Battlehawks in receiving yards for two consecutive weeks. Against San Antonio, he had the most productive single-game performance by a UFL receiver through the first two weeks of the season, making four catches for a career-high 114 receiving yards and a career-high two touchdowns.
Quarterback A.J. McCarron delivered another two-touchdown, zero-interception performance in a Week 2 win versus Arlington after doing the same in a Week 1 loss at Michigan. McCarron was 19-for-29 with a season-high 248 passing yards against the Renegades after going 24-for-37 for 216 yards in Week 1. He now leads all UFL quarterbacks with 464 passing yards, and his four touchdowns rank second in the league, behind only San Antonio’s Chase Garbers, who has five. McCarron is one of three quarterbacks in the UFL who has yet to throw an interception.
FS Qwynnterrio Cole led the Battlehawks defense with nine tackles (5 solo) in Week 2 vs. Arlington. ILB Callahan O’Reilly also had five solo tackles (7 total), his first career sack, and 2.0 tackles for loss. OLB Pita Taumoepenu stood out in the first half against the Renegades with a team-leading five tackles (4 solo), 2.0 sacks, and one tackle for loss in the 2023 XFL Defensive Player of the Year’s first home Battlehawks game. ILB Willie Harvey had another six tackles in Week 2, following his team-high seven tackles in Week 1 at Michigan. With 19 tackles this season, he ranks T-9th in the UFL.
The Battlehawks collectively are T-2nd in the UFL with nine pass breakups. OLB Travis Feeney registered a sack for the second straight game. The Battlehawks’ 2023 sack leader with 5.0 sacks is tied with OLB Pita Taumoepenu with 2.0 sacks for the team lead in 2024.
In their week two game against the Showboats, the Brahmas erupted for 20 points in the fourth quarter, rallying past the Memphis Showboats, 20-19. San Antonio scored 12 points in the final minute of the game. Quarterback Chase Garbers connected with Jontre Kirklin for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 48 seconds left. Then, San Antonio went for the fourth-and-12 conversion play to retain possession, and Garbers found Kirklin over the middle for just enough yards to move the chains. Seven plays later, Garbers scrambled right and found tight end Cody Latimer for the game-winner on a 10-yard connection with three seconds remaining.
Despite allowing a touchdown on the opening drive, the Brahmas defense settled in and did not allow a touchdown for the rest of the game. The Showboats drove the ball into the red zone four more times after their opening drive, but the Brahmas defense managed to hold them to field goals each time. The Brahmas have only allowed one touchdown in two games and are averaging 15.5 points.
Brahmas quarterback Chase Garbers completed 29-of-40 passes (72.5%) for 287 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception and finished the Memphis win with a QB rating of 152.5. The win marked Garbers second consecutive game with a passer rating over 150 and a completion percentage over 70 percent.
Through their first two games, San Antonio has one of the top receiving trios in the UFL. TE Cody Latimer, WR Marquez Stevenson, and WR Jontre Kirklin accounted for 247 of the Brahmas 287 receiving yards in the win over Memphis. Stevenson finished with six catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. Latimer ended up with eight catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, while Kirklin had seven catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
San Antonio had one of the best defenses in 2023 XFL ranking. With just two returning faces in linebacker Jordan Williams and outside linebacker Delontae Scott, who both earned All-XFL honors in 2023, and a host of new talent, the Brahmas coaching staff felt they were on pace to be just as good. They didn’t disappoint on opening weekend. Led by new defensive coordinator Will Reed calling the “Phillips Defense”, the Brahmas allowed just 253 yards of total offense, which was second-best in the UFL on opening weekend. San Antonio kept D.C. out of the end zone, despite D.C. having three red zone opportunities resulting in two field goals and one turnover. The defense followed up that performance, holding Memphis to 288 yards on offense, 1-of-6 in the red zone, and picking up eight tackles for loss and three sacks. On the season, San Antonio leads the UFL in tackles (131), ranks second in sacks (7), and tackles for loss (12). The Brahmas have yielded just one touchdown and eight field goals while ranking second in scoring defense (15.5 points per game). San Antonio is fourth in total defense, allowing 266.5 yards through two games.
San Antonio ranks second in the UFL in team sacks (7.0). The Brahmas recorded four sacks in the opener against D.C., including three in the second half, which helped hold off a D.C. Defender rally. OLB Wyatt Ray led the way with 1.5 sacks, while Tim Ward added a sack, and Prince Emili, Caeveon Patton, and Delontae Scott each added a half sack. Ray leads the team with 2.5 sacks and leads the UFL in tackles for loss (4).
What should we expect?
San Antonio has managed to eke out a win in both games they’ve played in the 2024 UFL season. They beat the D.C. Defenders in week 1 by faking a punt and scoring a touchdown, and in week 2, they scored 12 points in the final 48 seconds to engineer a comeback over Memphis. For these two reasons, the Battlehawks should be extremely wary of the Brahmas.
Meanwhile, if it wasn’t for an amazing 64-yard field goal by a relatively obscure kicker, A.J. McCarron and the Battlehawks offense would have been good enough to be 2-0 on the season.
Oddsmakers have given St. Louis a one-point edge in this game, which basically tells us they are not so sure of who will win. However, it is a home game for the Brahmas, and their boisterous fans will buoy the home team. It might be enough to give San Antonio the edge.
