San Antonio at St. Louis: Brahmas Bully Battlehawks, Advance To UFL Title Game
ST. LOUIS — The third time was the charm for Wade Phillips’ Brahmas. After two regular-season losses to the Battlehawks — including a 13-12 heartbreaker last week for home-field advantage — San Antonio put together its most complete performance yet for a 25-15 victory and a spot in next week’s inaugural UFL Championship Game.
The Brahmas never trailed, outgained the Battlehawks by 410 yards of offense to 239, and led by as much as 19-3 in the second half.
St. Louis made things interesting in the third quarter with an A.J. McCarron touchdown pass to Jace Sutherland and Pita Taumoepenu’s scoop-and-score on the next play. A stifling Brahmas defense, however, kept the Battlehawks out of the end zone the rest of the game, and Ryan Santoso broke his streak of five consecutive misses with a pair of field goals to put the game away.
RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE!!! 🦵
— San Antonio Brahmas (@XFLBrahmas) June 10, 2024
HAVE A DAY RYAN SANTOSO!!! pic.twitter.com/6y9QbU3x0X
Now, three keys to the Brahmas' win.
1. Run Game
The Brahmas amassed an absurd 213 yards on the ground, including 198 combined yards from Anthony McFarland (11 carries for 115 yards) and John Lovett (18 carries for 83 yards), both of whom missed last week’s matchup with injuries. McFarland gave San Antonio its biggest cushion of the night with a 69-yard score in the third quarter, the longest touchdown run from anyone this season.
69-YARD TOUCHDOWN 😤
— United Football League (@TheUFL) June 10, 2024
Anthony McFarland with the longest touchdown run of the season 👏 @XFLBrahmas pic.twitter.com/45Vg4BlwF7
2. Offensive Line
Obviously, the Brahmas’ offensive line played a massive role in the success of San Antonio’s ground game. They allowed just one sack, freeing up Chase Garbers to put together his season-best performance. After throwing a pick in the end zone on the Brahmas’ opening drive, Garbers rebounded for a 15-of-21 showing, finishing with 197 yards and touchdown passes to Marquez Stevenson and Justin Smith.
3. Defense
San Antonio has been stellar on defense all year, leading the league in sacks (32) and scoring defense (15.3 points per game) in the regular season. The Brahmas certainly benefitted from the limited mobility of an injured McCarron, but it’s tough imagining any quarterback having all that much success against the unit that showed up today for San Antonio.
The Brahmas defense finished with nine tackles for loss and four sacks — two from standout defensive tackle Prince Emili from Penn, the Buffalo Bills, and New Orleans Saints, and a sack each from Caeveon Patton and Wyatt Ray. Additionally, San Antonio stopped St. Louis on third down on the Battlehawks' first eight attempts.
ANOTHER SACK BY @Cpatton88 😤
— San Antonio Brahmas (@XFLBrahmas) June 10, 2024
VAMOS, BRAHMAS! 🤘#UFL | #TorosUnidos pic.twitter.com/kyEOsFDsuK
Up next: The Brahmas face the Birmingham Stallions in the inaugural UFL Championship game at The Dome At America's Center in St. Louis. It's the third consecutive week that San Antonio has played in St. Louis. The championship is set for 5 p.m. ET on June 16 and airs on FOX.
You can find Kacy Sager on X (Twitter) at @THESagerbomb.
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