DEFENDERS ARE THE LAST UNDEFEATED TEAM STANDING

The last two undefeated teams in the UFL collided on Sunday afternoon in the 2-0 St. Louis Battlehawks and the 2-0 DC Defenders. Both teams enter Sunday's tilt undefeated, but only one can remain undefeated after the much anticipated contest. 

 

St. Louis boasts both the top-ranked offense and defense in the league through two games, while the Defenders are led by the emerging QB-WR tandem of signal-caller  Jordan Ta’amu and standout Chris Rowland. 

 

The Defenders would be without defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, a key figure on the defenders coaching staff, who left the team to join DC's former head coach Reggie Barlow at Tennessee state. 

 

Williams' replacement is his son Blake Williams, a defensive line coach for the Defenders, who will step in to serve as defensive coordinator.

 

DC is holding opposing offenses to 10.5 points per game and leads the league with eight sacks heading into Week 3.So what would happen when arguably the best two teams in the face off in front of St. Louis’s crowd ! 30,000 in attendance?

 

Defenders came out of the gate with ANOTHER FANTASTIC defensive play ! This is a team led by their defense. Defensive end Andre Mintze stripped-sacked St. Louis quarterback Manny Wilkins and recovered the loose ball. The play gave the Defenders the ball at the Battlehawks' 12-yard line, allowing them to take an early 3-0 lead.

 

Then DC had a BEAUTIFUL PLAY in an absolute dime from Ta'amu to extend DC's lead in St. Louis. The Defenders were able to find the end zone for the first time when quarterback Jordan Ta'amu threw a deep pass to Ty Scott for a 62-yard touchdown. 

 

The score gave the Defenders a 9-0 lead late in the first quarter as they weren't able to convert on the ensuing two-point try. Battlehawks QB Manny Wilkins appeared to finally get his team on the scoreboard after the Defenders extended their lead to 12-0. 

 

He ran around the sideline on a scramble before running into the end zone for a would-be 58-yard touchdown run. However, a replay review determined he stepped out of bounds at the Defenders' 31-yard line, and the Battlehawks eventually punted the ball after an intentional grounding put them back several yards.

 

Unfortunately DC couldn’t add points to the board after that. St. Louis was finally able to get its first score of the game early in the second quarter when Battlehawks QB Manny Wilkins connected with Frank Darby for a 35-yard touchdown to make it a 12-6 game. 

 

Alas, Jordan’s weekly turnovers finally showed up. Defensive back Kameron Kelly dove right in front of Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta'amu's throw over the middle on second-and-6 from their own 31-yard line, giving the Battlehawks the ball at their opponent's 29-yard line. 

 

St. Louis was able to get a field goal out of it, making it a 12-9 game roughly midway through the second quarter. Thankfully Ta'amu responds to INT with a TD.

 

Jordan Ta'amu wasn't bothered by his interception. On the next drive, the Defenders' quarterback led them on an eight-play, 76-yard drive that ended with him throwing a 10-yard touchdown to Briley Moore- McKinney with just over two minutes remaining in the half. 

 

They weren't able to convert on the two-point try, keeping their lead at 18-9. The Battlehawks were able to make it an 18-12 game right before halftime when Rodrigo Blakenship kicked a 47-yard field goal. 

 

Despite the deficit, Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht felt good about his team.

 

"That's as bad as we can play in a half and we're down six." - Coach Bechet 

 

At halftime we got some exciting news:

UFL Championship heading back to St. Louis ! 

 

We don't know who will play in this year's title game quite yet, but we do know where it will be played. UFL co-owner Dany Garcia, along with president/CEO Russ Brandon, announced at halftime that the 2025 UFL Championship Game will be played at The Dome at America's Center for a second straight year. This makes the most sense because of their incredible attendance .

 

The third quarter starts with a game of makes and misses..

 

Rodrigo Blakenship did his part to help the Battlehawks make it a three-point game, draining a 56-yard field goal to make it an 18-15 game roughly midway through the third quarter. 

 

Defenders kicker Matt McCarne wasn't able to do the same. He missed a 27-yard field goal late in the third quarter, keeping DC's lead at 18-15. Matt is too good to be missing chip shots like that. 

 

Thankfully, the DC Defenders' defense stepped up big again. The Battlehawks were in striking distance to either tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter, getting down to the Defenders' 32-yard line. 

 

Facing a 3rd and six, QB Manny Wilkins made an ill-advised throw on the run, getting picked off by Willie Drew Jr. to give the Defenders the ball back with just over eight minutes remaining while holding a three-point lead.

 

The Defenders were able to go on a long drive after getting the interception, but they still had three yards to go before scoring a touchdown that would likely seal the game. Facing a third-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Jordan Ta'amu got a lucky bounce, with his pass ricocheting at the goal line before landing in the arms of Cornell Powell. 

 

With this Battlehawk stop on the 1 point attempt, we have a one score game with 2:21 to go. We have an INT to seal it for the Defenders. Right when they needed it, the Defenders forced Battlehawks QB Manny Wilkins to throw his third pick and commit his fourth turnover of the day.  Sam Kidd jumped in front of Wilkins' pass to give the Defenders the ball back at the Battlehawks' 47-yard line with 1:38 remaining. The Defenders were able to kick a field goal following the pick, giving them a 27-15 lead to seal the victory. 

 

The DC defenders are now the last remaining undefeated team in the league at 3-0. Huge win for DC, they can make a strong case as the best team in the UFL  Beating both the Stallions and the BattleHawks. Again, both teams that were considered the two teams to beat 

 

If you add in the strength of schedule, I think it makes it even more obvious that DC is clearly the best team in the league. This was a huge win on the road.

 

DC's next game will be back at home on April 20th.