Birmingham vs San Antonio: Stallions Clinch Third Straight League Title with UFL Championship Victory Over Brahmas
ST LOUIS — Skip Holtz and his Birmingham Stallions are champions for the third straight year following an emphatic 25-0 victory over the San Antonio Brahmas in the inaugural United Football League Championship.
It took 29:20 of game time for the Stallions to break the 0-0 tie, getting on the board with MVP Adrian Martinez’s touchdown pass to Gary Jennings — his first score of the year — and two-pointer to Amari Rodgers. From there, Birmingham never looked back.
Martinez added a pair of rushing scores in the third, bookending Kenny Robinson Jr.’s recovery of a San Antonio fumble, and Chris Blewitt’s 49-yard field goal provided the game’s final points in the fourth. Meanwhile, Birmingham’s defense pitched the first shutout of the UFL season to seal the victory.
🔊🆙 @MartinezTheQB was HYPED after his touchdown pic.twitter.com/69bNPazIJS
— United Football League (@TheUFL) June 16, 2024
Now, three keys to the Birmingham win.
1. Egregiously Undisciplined Play from San Antonio
Not to take anything away from Birmingham, but the Brahmas never had their heads in this one. Between multiple penalties for 12 men on the field, an early timeout burned to avoid a uniform violation on Teez Tabor, quarterback Chase Garbers repeatedly sliding half a yard before the first-down marker, a delay-of-game flag that turned third-and-inches into third-and-six…
2. Stallions Defense
Going back to last week's USFL title game against Michigan, the Birmigham defense held opponents scoreless through the final six quarters of the season. OLB Kyahva Tezino was especially brilliant on Sunday, leading the Stallions with nine tackles and two forced fumbles.
A week after amassing 213 yards on the ground against the Battlehawks, San Antonio gained just 52 rushing yards against Birmingham, which boasted the league's best run defense in the regular season.
STOPPED ON 4th & 1 😱🔒
— United Football League (@TheUFL) June 16, 2024
The @USFLStallions are getting it done on both sides of the ball tonight 🐎 pic.twitter.com/6IvLUavR7E
3. Martinez Back to MVP Ways
The league's MVP hadn't looked like himself the past couple of weeks, eventually getting benched for backup Matt Corral last week and watching the comeback from the sideline.
He got his mojo back Sunday with the touchdown to Jennings just before the break, ultimately finishing the game with 98 yards on 13-of-23 passing, 52 yards on 11 carries, three total touchdowns and the UFL Championship MVP trophy, presented by NFL legend (and new FOX broadcast member) Tom Brady.
The 🐐 @TomBrady presents Adrian Martinez the UFL Championship MVP Trophy 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fU4g7MLhIu
— United Football League (@TheUFL) June 17, 2024
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