The USFL chose to schedule a pair of games against the third day of the NFL draft. Both games were televised nationally by FOX. The viewership information will be very interesting, since most football fans may have forgotten about alternate football when the focus fell on the NFL’s annual sorting-hat ritual.
Both games were close and exciting. In the nightcap, which featured the 2-0 New Orleans Breakers and the 2-0 Birmingham Stallions, the Stallions moved to 3-0 with a 22-13 victory.
As usual, the Birmingham residents tend to show up in far more significant numbers for the game involving the Birmingham team. That’s actually a good sign for 2023, if the league decides to shift from the no-travel/all-Birmingham option to all eight teams playing in one place.
The game featured a showdown between two of the better quarterbacks in the four-letter league, Kyle Sloter of the Breakers and J’Mar Smith of the Stallions. Sloter completed 26 of 47 passes for 240 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Sloter led a pair of long, sustained touchdown drives. For the Stallions, Smith connected on only 15 of 38 throws (39.5 percent) for 197 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick. Smith added 59 rushing yards on eight attempts.
The game included (as the embedded highlights show), a goal-line stand, an acrobatic interception, a nifty catch-and-run for a long TD, some late first-half drives that led to points, a great gain on second and 25, a failed fourth-down conversion that required the use of the digital measurement, a strip sack in the end zone that was ruled a touchdown but became a safety, a blocked punt, and a couple of great defensive plays from DeMarquis Gates (a/k/a the Floss Pick guy).
Action continues today, with the 0-2 Pittsburgh Maulers and 0-2 Michigan Panthers on USA at 2:30 p.m. ET and the 1-1 New Jersey Generals taking on the 1-1 Philadelphia Stars at 8:00 p.m. ET, exclusively on Peacock.