Battlehawks Dominate Roughnecks 31-6 in UFL Opener
Image via X @XFLBattlehawks
The 2025 UFL season debuts without much of a battle as the St. Louis Battlehawks took care of business in H-Town against the Houston Roughnecks 31-6 Friday night.
St. Louis’ offense was impressive with 460 total yards, converting 8-of-12 third downs in the win. The defense created two turnovers and held the Roughnecks’ offense to 170 total yards.
Houston rolled out two quarterbacks, and it took the Roughnecks nearly 58 minutes to score their first points of the game. They averaged 3.5 yards per play on offense and only allowed one sack.
The Battlehawks improved to a 1-0 record while the Roughnecks dropped to a 0-1 record.
3 Takeaways from Battlehawks Win Over Roughnecks
Manny Wilkins Makes St. Louis Forget McCarron
Newly promoted offensive coordinator Phil McGeoghan deserves a ton of credit for taking over for Bruce Gradkowski and calling a perfect game for Wilkins. McGeoghan didn’t ask much from Wilkins, but gave him easy pass calls to connect on and let him run with the ball when needed.
Wilkins completed 77% of his passes for 189 yards with 43 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. Adding in the fact that he didn’t turn the ball over makes this performance as good a start to a season as a quarterback can have.
Battlehawks Running back-Offensive Line Combo Dominates ROughnecks Defense
St. Louis just ran, ran, and ran some more on a Houston defense that allowed over five yards a carry. The Battlehawks ran for a staggering 273 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
Jacob Saylors was a star in this game with 98 rushing yards and one touchdown, averaging over six yards a carry. Saylors was running over multiple Roughneck defenders in the game. His backup, Jarveon Howard, had 13 carries for 115 yards and sealed the game with a 74-yard touchdown run.
Credit is due to the offensive line, which has four of its five starters returning from last season. While the first drive was rough for the running game, the offensive line bounced back, opening up hole after hole for the backs. They straight-up bullied the Houston defensive line.
Houston, We Have a Problem
What’s there to say about Houston that most fans aren’t thinking? Let’s start with the offense.
Anthony Brown’s debut in Houston was something out of a horror movie (and not the classics like Halloween). Brown managed to complete just five passes for 21 yards and threw two interceptions before getting replaced by the much better Nolan Henderson. The rushing attack wasn’t that great either, with just 55 yards on 14 carries.
Defensively, it appeared to be marked by more missed tackles, inadequate coverage, and a lack of pressure on the quarterback. The front seven has always been a concern for this football team, and it may be more significant than fans initially thought.
Worst of all, the coaching was deplorable. Roughnecks head coach Curtis Johnson had offensive line coach Tom Cable coaching him before the half on what to say to the team on the FOX broadcast. That should tell fans all they need to know about Johnson’s leadership of this franchise.
