Week seven in the United Football League’s (UFL) season wrapped up on Sunday. The Houston Gamblers hosted the Orlando Storm on Mother’s Day, in a game that had some major implications regarding the postseason.
For Orlando, they had lost their previous two games – dropping from their 4-0 start. The team felt more like they were beating themselves, with uncharacteristic mistakes in both losses. Meanwhile, Houston was fighting for their lives a 2-4 – desperately needing a win to stay alive in the playoff race.
Let’s take a look at what went down at Shell Energy Stadium on Sunday evening.
First Quarter
Orlando received the opening kickoff, but Houston’s defense came out of the gate with energy. Kenny Dyson Jr. sacked Jack Plummer on third down, forcing an early punt.
Unfortunately, Houston would suffer from some of the same self-inflicted wounds they’ve been dealing with all year long. John Hoyland made a 55 yard field goal – but a penalty pushed them backwards five yards. Hoyland missed the 60 yard attempt, and Houston came up empty-handed.
It was a quick response from Orlando, capitalizing on the field position. Plummer found Elijhah Badger for a touchdown, who beat Damon Arnette on the 35 yard house call.
Hunter Dekkers, who hadn’t played since week two, did look sharp in his opening minutes. He pushed the ball down the field, and also utilized his legs to extend the drive. Houston had to settle for a short field goal, making it 7-3.
Second Quarter
Orlando had to punt it away, but the Gamblers weren’t able to take advantage. Dekkers was intercepted by D.J. James, who took it to the end zone for the Storm.
Dekkers showed some serious poise, despite the mistake. A strong return from Jalen Moreno-Cropper set up the Gamblers with momentum. Hunter marched Houston right back down the field, calling his own number to run it into the end zone, making it a 14-10 ball game.
The Storm had some chances deep in the red zone, but couldn’t come away with touchdowns. On 3rd and 4, Christopher Allen and Rashard Lawrence combined for a sack, and the Storm settled for three.
Houston shot themselves in the foot with another turnover. After they once again found themselves inside Orlando’s red zone, Marcus Yarns coughed it up – and the Storm recovered.
Offensively, the Storm were a bit stagnant at times. They punted it back to Houston, and the Gamblers got into field goal range for John Hoyland, who made it 17-13 heading into halftime.
Third Quarter
The Gamblers came out flat to begin the 3Q. They went three and out, sending it straight to Orlando. It was the same story for Anthony Becht’s offense, as they punted it right back to the Gamblers. Two more three and outs for each team resulted in what was a sluggish period of action.
That all would change in the late third quarter. John Rhys Plumlee entered the game at quarterback, providing a spark for Houston. On 4th and 9, he somehow evaded pressure to find Jalen White wide open down the field, who waltzed into the end zone to give Houston their first lead of the evening.
Heading into the final fifteen minutes, Orlando had the football – and they were marching.
Fourth Quarter
The Storm opened up the fourth period with fireworks. Plummer found Badger for yet another long score, and just like that, Orlando was back on top.
Houston would respond, but not in the exact way they were hoping. Another long possession resulted in a field goal from inside the red zone, and Orlando maintained a one point lead.
The final several minutes were a tale of “who actually wants to win this game?”. Both Houston and Orlando could not get anything going at all, going backwards on multiple occasions. Malik Fisher came up with a sack of Plummer to give Houston some life, but it resulted in another punt.
Houston’s last possession was crazy. Dekkers was intercepted by Avery Young, but a defensive offsides penalty on Keshawn Banks kept the drive alive. This time, on 4th and 5, the pass was incomplete, but again a defensive penalty gave the Gamblers life.
Even though the Gamblers couldn’t move the football, they still had a chance. John Hoyland attempted a 63 yard field goal to win the game, but came up short – and that would do it. The Orlando Storm would hang on for the key victory on the road, 24-23.
Standout Playmakers
WR Elijhah Badger: Badger continues to be a star in the UFL, and is well on his way back to the NFL. He had four receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown in this game.
WR Chris Rowland: While Chris wasn’t targeted much, he provided the Storm with multiple momentum-swinging kickoff returns. He had four of them for 156 yards on the night, with a long of 66 yards.
LB Tavante Beckett: Beckett did some dirty work for Orlando in the win. The trusty veteran had five tackles, to go with two pass breakups.
S Jason Taylor II: After being brought back just a week and a half ago, Jason Taylor made a huge impact. He led the team with six tackles, and forced a key fumble that prevented Houston from scoring in the red zone.
Houston
QB Hunter Dekkers: Dekkers played a pretty clean game overall, throwing for 261 yards and rushing for a score in the loss. He took accountability post-game, though, claiming that it was his fault that the team lost.
“Being the first game back, I felt alright. Assessing my performance, I feel like I lost us that game. Throwing an interception for seven points, and then throwing those two passes at the end of the game. If you give me 100 more of those throws, I’ll make them every time. Just something that’s going to be a hard pill to swallow for a while. I’ve got 24 hours, and then I need to move on to St. Louis.”
Major Houston Takeaways
This is a game that the Houston Gamblers easily could have, and should have, won. They out-gained the Storm by a large margin, with 415 Offensive Yards on the day. In fact, their defense stepped up to the challenge as well, allowing just 185 total yards out of Orlando.
The main story: Houston could not capitalize on red zone opportunities. It has haunted them all year long, and once again came back to bite them. The Gamblers were just 1-for-5 in the red zone, and 4-13 on third downs. Turnovers were an issue, with two of them – to Orlando’s zero. It’s the only category that the Gamblers were outplayed in (other than the final score), and it cost them the game.
“We found a way to lose this game. Again. It’s frustrating. We’ve been through multiple quarterbacks, and multiple situations, and we lose by one point. We had a pick six, and we fumbled while going in to score. Otherwise, it’s not a close game. Nobody in this league is good enough to overcome two turnovers and win a football game. We were one for five in the red zone. That’s an issue. Glaring issue.” – Gamblers HC Kevin Sumlin.
For those wondering as to why Plumlee didn’t see more action after that touchdown, Sumlin said post-game that they could not put the fate of the matchup in the hands of someone who had only been there for a few days.
Major Orlando Takeaways
Orlando is 5-2, but it certainly feels like they are far from playing their best football. Defensively, it was a struggle. That said, they bent but did not break – containing Houston when they needed to most. It’s also worth noting that they have had a lot of turnover on the backend. Jason Taylor, Mishael Powell, and Avery Young all took turns at safety – each of which had had zero, or very few snaps this year, at the position.
“It’s nice when you can bend and not break, but not when it’s 95 degrees out. Unfortunately, you pay the price when you’re bending. Guys are getting hurt, and we have to go find guys who have played in our system in the past, or were with us in camp.” – Anthony Becht
The Storm ran with three backs today, in an effort to get their ground game rolling. That didn’t happen. Orlando had a tough time getting consistency, as Houston’s defensive front continued to dominate in the trenches. If the Storm want to be a Championship football team, that has to change. Jack Plummer needs more help on the ground, because Orlando put themselves in way too many third and long situations. The Storm punted the ball a whopping seven times in the win.
“They tackled us well. 19 carries for 55 yards, I think we’re better than that. Passing wise, we just have a lot of talented players. I’m not quite sure how we can’t get the ball to our guys. I have to tip my hat to Houston’s defense right now. Punting seven times, that’s a lot of times in this league. They didn’t force us to go for a fourth down, we couldn’t cross the 50. We’ve got a short week, so we have to find a way to get better.” – Anthony Becht
While they didn’t turn the ball over, the Storm still have some cleanup to do. Seven penalties for 65 yards is not what you would expect out of a well disciplined, Becht-Coached team. Also, they could have thrown the super challenge on Houston’s touchdown out of Plumlee, but Anthony simply didn’t see enough, in a timely manner, to throw the flag.
Final Thoughts
There is a ton of parity in the UFL this season. Houston, while 2-5, outplayed the 5-2 Storm on Sunday. They once again beat themselves, and it led to another loss that certainly was preventable. With their backs up against the wall, they now face off against a surging Battlehawks team twice in a row. Kevin Sumlin will have his hands full.
What are your thoughts on this game between the Houston Gamblers and Orlando Storm? Which players impressed you the most? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
