Takeaways From Defenders Early Season Upset Over Stallions
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The stunner of the first week of the 2025 UFL season came in the nation’s capital with the D.C. Defenders upsetting the three-time champion Birmingham Stallions 18-11 on Sunday afternoon.
Last season’s number one offense in Birmingham was held to just 211 total yards of offense and just 89 passing yards in the loss. D.C.’s defense played as perfect a game as the Defenders could have, thanks to eight sacks, nine tackles for loss, and two turnovers.
The Defenders improve to 1-0 on the season, and the Stallions drop under .500 for the first time in modern franchise history.
Takeaways From Stallions-Defenders Game
Shannon Harris, Coaching Staff Standing Strong in Barlow’s Absence
A week ago, former head coach Reggie Barlow took the Tennessee State job and bolted from the Defenders. Now the team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the modern spring football era. All the credit should be given to interim head coach Shannon Harris and the coaching staff for keeping things together.
Harris got the offense rolling in Week 1 as he put more trust in his quarterback Jordan Ta’amu’s hands, as he threw for 211 yards and a touchdown. During the game, Harris found a good balance of passing and running to help the team maintain possession for nearly three minutes longer.
No assistant coach had a better game plan for Week 1 than the Defenders' defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, who got his defense to add eight sacks, with Anthony Hines III and Derick Roberson each recording two in the game. Stallions quarterback Alex McGough never seemed to have any time in the pocket, and it was the pressure schemes from Williams that helped the Defenders put on a clinic on defense.
Turbulent Return for Alex McGough
Speaking of McGough, it wasn’t quite the return to spring football he was hoping for. McGough threw for just 89 yards with one touchdown and completed just 43% of his passes. He did add 84 yards on the ground to help propel the running game, with most of those coming on scrambles.
Throughout the broadcast, Skip Holtz was coaching McGough hard and was sometimes frustrated with his star quarterback. Some of it can be attributed to McGough, as it’s about making quicker decisions and not always trying to create something with his feet.
Birmingham has a significant problem with its offensive line, though, as without McGough’s rushing yards, the team had 12 carries for 39 yards. Whether it was run blocking or pass blocking, the Stallions have a rare problem: their offensive line is not executing, which will hurt them in the future if it cannot be fixed.
Too Early to Hit Panic Button in Birmingham
There are nine more games in the regular season, so those who want to start counting out the Stallions should put a pause on that. Holtz has been wildly successful in spring football for the last four years, and there is good reason for it.
Remember back in 2023 when the Stallions lost to the Curtis Johnson-led Houston Gamblers in Week 5, dropping Birmingham to 3-2 on the season. Many people were starting to question whether the Stallions were really that good. The result? They never lost again for the rest of the season, and McGough won the USFL MVP award with the Stallions, who went on to win the league title.
Let’s give Birmingham time before fans are counting them out. If anyone can fix them, it’s Holtz.
