Takeaways from Stallions’ Home-Opening Win Over Renegades

After losing for the first 59 minutes and 27 seconds, Birmingham Stallions quarterback Matt Corral connected with Cade Johnson on a game-winning 20-yard touchdown and run in the extra point to give the Stallions a 10-9 win over the Arlington Renegades on Friday night.

Arlington dominated the time of possession, as the Renegades held on to the ball for over 34 minutes in the loss. The Renegades made four trips to the red zone and scored three field goals.

The Stallions struggled to run the football, gaining only 74 yards, and were shut out in the first half for the first time in franchise history. Their defense was great, though, with seven tackles for loss and three sacks in the win.

Birmingham improved to 2-1 on the season, while the Renegades lost their first game, dropping them to 2-1. This is the second straight year the Stallions have beaten the Renegades, as Birmingham head coach Skip Holtz is 2-1 against Arlington head coach Bob Stoops.

3 Takeaways From Stallions’ Win Over Renegades

What is Going On With Offenses?

The number of UFL games in which teams do not score their first touchdown until the third or fourth quarter is getting out of hand. Only two teams have scored 30 or more points in a game this season: the St. Louis Battlehawks and Renegades. Last week, the Battlehawks were the only team in the league to score 22 or more points in a game.

It just feels off that offenses are taking too long to ramp up. Is it because of the short training camp? Did quarterbacks not showing up to the quarterback camp before training camp hurt the league? Are players still feeling bitter about the labor dispute issues before the season? Are defenses simply better?

For those who feel like the league can’t step in and do something, well, if the league can’t improve the product on the field, it will hurt the UFL's attendance and ratings, so they better figure out the problem and fix it. It destroyed the XFL in 2001, and no one wants to repeat history.

Quarterback Play Was Rough

For 58 minutes of this game, Corral looked terrible on the field. He completed just 46% of his passes and threw an interception. Credit him for coming through in the biggest moment and driving his team down the field for the game-winning touchdown. So many times we wondered when Case Cookus was coming in, but Holtz stuck to his guns and let Corral play it out. Corral must get better as the starter, but the final drive at least saves him the job for another week.

Perez wasn’t bad, completing 68% of his passes for 204 yards. It was an efficient day, but he struggled in the red zone. He takes bad sacks in the red zone three times that push them to either a field goal or entirely out of the red zone. It was all quick passes, which is fine, but maybe once he took a shot downfield. When a team has a speedster like JaVonta Payton and does not even try to burn a banged-up secondary with him, some work needs to be done with play calling, and Perez needs to take more shots to the end zone instead of holding the ball too long or throwing it short of the first down.

Birmingham’s Defensive Line Won The Game

Let’s give credit where credit is due: the Stallions’ front four has been great all season. Bradlee Anae and Ronnie Perkins have been welcomed additions to the defensive line as those two off the edges have dominated offensive lines through three games. Anae had two tackles for loss and one sack while Perkins had a tackle for loss and one sack.

This roster was beaten up severely, with five starters not playing in the game due to injuries or personal reasons. Anae and Perkins have been the constants on this team and continue to show why they might be the best edge duos in the UFL.

Did the Officials Get it Right?

Many angry UFL fans feel the referees had too much control over the outcome. The two biggest calls of the night came in Renegades tight end Sal Cannella’s fumble in the fourth quarter, the false start call on Birmingham in the fourth, and one on the game's final drive that was called after Arlington got an interception.

Speaking from someone who has covered the Renegades since 2019, this opinion will not be liked: Mike Pereira got it right.

The Cannella fumble was close, and I have replayed it at least 10 times. It’s very close. Fans say they saw an elbow down. That could be true, but it was hard for me to see. Go ahead and call me blind, but Pereira was right to let the call stand on the field.

As for the false start call, it 100% needed to be called. It was clear as day, so Pereira was right to change it. Since it was a pre-snap penalty, Arlington was not allowed to decline it. Is that how it should be? Probably now. The Renegades should have the option to do so, but the rules are the rules, and it will be something the league will have to look into. Any NFL fan will tell you that not all rules are perfect. It’s football. It’s just a part of it.

Ultimately, I think Arlington had four trips to the red zone and only got nine points. The Renegades had plenty of opportunities to score just one touchdown and put the game away. They didn’t do it, and Birmingham scored a touchdown when they needed it the most. That’s championship football, folks.

We can feel dirty that officials controlled part of the game's outcome, but the blame has to be put on the Arlington offense for not executing well for the second straight week. The Renegades’ defense allowed a touchdown with less than two minutes to go in the game for the second straight week. Arlington must learn to finish games first if it wants to be considered a legitimate contender.