Jordan Ta’amu #10 of the DC Defenders throws the ball during the third quarter against the San Antonio Brahmas at Alamodome on March 31, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/UFL/Getty Images)
D.C. Defenders at San Antonio Brahma
Sunday March 31, at 11:00 AM Central (12:00 ET)
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX.
Attendance: 13,164
Broadcaster: ESPN
Announcers: Mike Manaco (Play-by-Play), Sam Acho (Analyst), Cole Cubelic (Field Analyst), Stormy Buonantony (Sideline)
The Brahmas and the Defenders opened up their 2024 UFL season with a road matchup in the Alamodome, a place where both teams’ 2023 XFL seasons ended. The Brahmas lost at home in their regular-season finale to the Defenders, 29-28, while D.C. fell to the Arlington Renegades, 35-26, in the neutral-site XFL Championship played in San Antonio.
Both teams were hoping for a win in this divisional matchup, however the oddsmakers gave a large edge to D.C. Would they prevail in their second sttraight visit to the Alamadome?
Mike McCrane kicked off for D.C and Anthony McFarland returned the ball to the San Antonio 41-yard line.
Brahmas quarterback Chase Garbers passed to Marquez Stevenson for 8 yards and then passed incomplete to Jontre Kirklin. Garbers then handed to McFarland for a short pickup and then ran it himself for 1 yard and a first down.
Garbers passed short to Smith for 14 yards, and then passed deep to Kirklin for a touchdown. Unfortunately, an illegal use of hands penalty brought the touchdown back.
Garbers handed the ball to John Lovett for a 2 yard loss, and then tried a pass to Lovett that was incomplete. Another short pass to Lovett was good for 9 yards and then Garbers passed to Stevenson for the first down.
A pass to Kirklin spotted the ball on the D.C. 28-yard line, and then a pass to McFarland was made, and McFarland scampered the rest of the way into the end zone for a touchdown. The one-point conversion was made with a 2-yard run by Lovett. The score was now 7-0 for San Antonio.
Donald De La Haye kicked off 79 yards to the D.C. 1 and Pooka Williams returned the kickoff to the Defenders 40. Jordan Ta’amu handed to Keke Coutee for 4 yards, and then Cam’Ron Harris rushed for 5 more yards. The Defenders’ drive stalled and they were forced to punt.
San Antonio started on their own 12-yard line. Garbers handed to McFarland for 1 yard and then passed to Kirklin for 14 yards and a first down. After a penalty, the Brahmas faced first and 15. Garbers handed to McFarland for 3 yards and then passed incomplete to McFarland. On third down, Garbers was pressured by Davin Bellamy and had to throw the ball away. The Brahmas punted.
Pooka Williams returned the punt past midfield to the Brahmas 45-yard line. Ta’amu slung a pass out to Harris who gained 4 yards. Then, a handoff to Harris gained zero yards, but a pass to Kelvin Harman moved the chains. A pass to Ellis was good for 7 yards and then Ta’amu passed 27 yards to Coutee for a touchdown. Unfortunately, the Defenders were called for an illegal downfield pass and the touchdown was negated.
Ta’amu could not move the ball and the Defenders settled for a 50-yard Matt McCrane field goal, which was drilled down the middle of the uprights, making the score 7-3 for San Antonio.
To start off the second quarter Garbers passed 16 yards to Jontre Kirklin, and then completed a 7-yard pass to Latimer. A catch by Stevenson was good for 8 yards more, and a first down on the D.C 17-yard line.
Garbers handed to Lovett for 5 yards and then to Stevenson for 9 more yards. On first and goal from the D.C. 4-yard line, a handoff to Lovett was stuffed for a 1-yard loss, and then Garbers passed to Kirklin who ran it into the end zone. The one-point conversion pass to Justin Smith was good to make the score 14-3 for San Antonio.
Ta’amu started on the D.C. 16 and passed to Smith for 13 yards, and then to Briley Moore-McKinney for 12 more yards. The Brahmas defense started to pressure Ta’amu with a sack, which was called back because of a defensive offside penalty, and then sacked him again on the very next play. Then, an offensive holding call gave D.C. third and 20. Ta’amu unloaded and passed 23 yards to Ty Scott to the Brahmas 26-yard line.
A handoff to Harris was only good for one yard, and then a pass to Moore was good for 4 more yards. On third down, Ta’amu rushed 4 yards and was 14 inches short of the first down. The Defenders chose to kick a field goal and McCrane was good on a 34-yard attempt. The score was now 14-6 for San Antonio.
Brooks kicked off 75 yards and Alleyne returned the ball to the San Antonio 29. Garbers passed to Kirklin for 4 yards, and then completed another pass to Kirklin that was fumbled when D.J. Swearinger made the tackle. The Defenders recovered the ball on the D.C. 44.
Ta’amu was pressured and managed to pass the ball to Ellis for a 5-yard gain. A pass to Coutee was good for 1 yard, and then a pass to Ellis was incomplete. A roughing the passer call gave the Defenders a first down on the San Antonio 35. The Brahmas defense came up strong and Ta’amu could not get another first down. The Defenders Matt McCrane kicked a 48-yard field goal to make the score 14-9 for San Antonio.
After the two minute warning, D.C. kicked off to Brycen Alleyne who returned the ball to the San Antonio 30-yard line. Garbers handed to McFarland who ran for 4 yards, and then passed to Stevenson for 7 yards and a first down. Garbers handed to McFarland on a draw play and he broke the run into the secondary for 20 yards. A pass to Stevenson was incomplete, a pass to Smith lost 1 yard, and a pass to Kirklin was dropped.
With 0:14 on the clock, De La Haye was brought in to attempt a 58-yard field goal, and the Defenders iced him with a time out. Afterward, the Brahmas changed their play and brought in punter Brad Wing who faked the punt and passed deep to Alex Mollette for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 20-9 for San Antonio.
On the kickoff, Pooka Williams was wrapped up deep in the D.C. end which ran out the clock. The halftime score was San Antonio 20, D.C. Defenders 9.
To start the second half De La Haye kicked off 73 yards and Pooka Williams returned the ball to the D.C. 27-yard line. A 10-yard offensive holding penalty brought the ball back.
Ta’amu passed 7 yards short left to Smith to the DC 24, and then passed 4 yards to Moore-McKinney to move the chains. Ta’amu passed incomplete, and then a false start penalty set the Defenders back. Ta’amu could not get a drive going and D.C. punted.
Taking over on his own 35-yard line, Chase Garbers handed to McFarland who rushed for 5 yards, and then passed to Kirklin for 8 yards and a first down. A McFarland rush made 8 more yards and a Lovett run was good for 1 more. After another Lovett rush was stuffed for zero yards, the Brahmas were forced to punt.
Jordan Ta’amu took over on his own 43-yard line. A pass to Scott gained 14-yards and an illegal use of hands penalty against the Brahmas tacked on 15-yards. Ta’amu connected to Ellis with a 17-yard pass and then Williams rushed for 8 yards to the San Antonio 18.
The Defenders lost 5 yards on a delay of game penalty and then gained it back when the Brahmas were called on a neutral zone infraction. On third and one, Harris rushed for a first down. A handoff to Harris resulted in a 5-yard gain after he broke a tackle. Ta’amu passed incomplete, and on third down the pass was ricocheted off Ellis and nearly intercepted. Matt McCrane kicked a 28-yard field goal to make the score 20-12 for San Antonio.
Brooks kicked the ball 68 yards, and Alleyne returned the kickoff to the San Antonio 26. On first down, Garbers was pressured and sacked for a 3-yard loss. He passed to Stevenson on second down, who gained 12 yards. Lovett rushed 1 yard for the first down. The play was reviewed, and it was ruled Lovett had his knee down early making it 4th and inches. The Brahmas chose to punt.
The punt was returned to the D.C. 10 yard line, giving the Defenders poor field position. Ta’amu was sacked by Tim Ward on the 6-yard line, and then a handoff to Harris only made 2 yards. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Brahmas gave D.C. a first down.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter Ta’amu was sacked for a loss, and then he threw downfield 43 yards to Ty Scott on the San Antonio 35-yard line. Ta’amu went to Scott again, but was incomplete, and then passed to Harmon for a 12-yard gain.
Ta’amu rushed for 1 yard and then passed to Coutee for 13 yards and a first down on the San Antonio 8-yard line. A pass to Ellis was deemed to be incomplete, and then, after a timeout, a pass to Coutee in the end zone was caught for a touchdown. After the play, D.C.’s Jean Delance was ejected from the game for spitting on San Antonio’s Delontae Scott. The 15-yard penalty was to be added to the convert, however coach Wade Phillips suddenly decided to challenge the touchdown play for a false start on D.C., and he was successful, adding another 5-yard penalty to D.C.
The touchdown was negated and the ball was spotted on the San Antonio 28-yard line.
Ta’amu was pressured and fumbled. He picked up the fumble and managed to attempt a pass to Briley-Moore. After the play, Ta’amu lay on the field injured. San Antonio was given a 15-yard penalty and Ta’amu walked off the field.
Deondre Francois came in as a backup for Ta’amu. From the San Antonio 14-yard line, Francois handed to Harris for 3 yards, and then he was pressured and sacked for a two-yard loss. Ta’amu came back in to the game and threw an interception to Darius Phillips that he ran back 89 yards to the D.C. 5-yard line.
Garbers handed to Lovett for 1 yard and then passed to Alize Mack for no gain. After a timeout, Chase Garbers kept the ball and ran into the end zone for a Brahmas touchdown. The one-point conversion attempt was good with a John Lovett run, making the score 27-12 for San Antonio.
De La Haye kicked off 75 yards and Pooka Williams returned the ball to the D.C. 33. Ta’amu passed incomplete to Williams and then was sacked on his own 23-yard line. On third and 21, Ta’amu passed down field but was incomplete. The Defenders had no choice but to punt. D.C. was called for a false start on the punt and had to re-punt. Marquez Stevenson returned the ball to the San Antonio 45-yard line.
With 5:32 on the clock, Chase Garbers handed to McFarland for 3 yards, and then handed to McFarland again who broke open a long run. However, flags flew and the Brahmas were called for holding and were penalized 10 yards. Now second and 15, Garbers handed to Lovett and he found 7 yards, and then he threw incomplete to McFarland. The Brahmas were forced to punt.
The Brahmas had good punt coverage and tackled Williams on his own 11-yard line. Ta’amu completed a 9-yard pass to Scott and then ran just past the first down marker to move the sticks. Ta’amu passed incomplete down field as the two minute warning arrived.
Ta’amu connected a 12-yard pass to Smith for a first down on the D.C. 36. Then, Ta’amu threw two incomplete passes before almost completing a pass to Ellis over the middle. On fourth down, Ta’amu put the ball in the hands of Ty Scott but the defense came up big and forced the pass to be dropped.
With 1:19 remaining, the Brahmas took over and were able to run out the clock.
The final score was San Antonio Brahmas 27, D.C. Defenders 12.
