Week two of the UFL will wrap up on Sunday evening, with the St. Louis Battlehawks taking on the San Antonio Brahmas at The Dome.
It’s poised to be another intense matchup between two of the UFL’s best. San Antonio and St. Louis developed quite the rivalry a year ago, as the Brahmas ended up knocking St. Louis out of the playoffs on their home turf.
This season has, so far, told a different story. The Battlehawks looked as dominant as ever, rolling over the Houston Roughnecks in a 31-6 shellacking. However, San Antonio was embarrassed on the road against Arlington, falling 33-9 against a team they had no issues beating a season ago.
Let’s take a look at the key factors in this game, and what we can expect from the two organizations.
Quarterback Play
Manny Wilkins burst onto the scene last week for St. Louis, and played outstanding football. Now, there are still areas of his game that need to show growth. He missed multiple reads when passing the football – opting to either run with it, or check down when he had open receivers down the field.
With that in mind, Wilkins managed the game much better compared to a season ago. He protected the ball, controlled the tempo of the game, and had no issue relying on the ground game rather than forcing the issue when it wasn’t needed. Seeing San Antonio’s struggles to slow Perez down a week ago, expect Manny to once again utilize his legs to make things happen against this Brahmas defense.
In San Antonio, we can expect a heavy dose of Kellen Mond once again. Kellen has undeniable talent, but will need to find a way to settle in and get more comfortable this weekend. St. Louis’ defense is one of the top units in the league, and will no doubt be throwing different looks and pressures in his face. On Saturday, Mond looked like a quarterback who hadn’t started in pro football for quite some time. Arlington’s fierce pass rush made his life difficult, as he could never fully get through his progressions before having to scramble away.
Mond has a big arm, and can make the throws at difficult angles that most QB’s can’t. His back shoulder throws to Jacob Harris were a thing of beauty, and we need to see more of that out of Mond in order for San Antonio to have a chance in this one.
Standout Playmakers
Both St. Louis and San Antonio feature no shortage of talent. For the Battlehawks, their backfield duo of Jarveon Howard and Jacob Saylors is shaping up to be one of the best duos in the entire UFL. The two combined for over 200 rushing yards and two scores in the win over Houston – and are poised to see more success on the ground considering the Brahmas’ struggles to slow down the run against Arlington.
At wide receiver, Frank Darby, Jahcour Pearson, and Hakeem Butler lead the way for St. Louis. Butler has been battling a hamstring injury, hence why his production was down against Houston. Jahcour Pearson, who didn’t see enough touches last year, is someone who stepped up in week one. Despite his size, Jahcour’s unbelievable speed and agility allows him to create separation with ease, both inside and outside the lines.
For San Antonio, they have to find a way to get their running backs going. Anthony McFarland carried the ball only three times, but rushed for 32 yards along the way. He needs to have the ball in his hands more often, especially considering the success he had against St. Louis in their postseason matchup a year ago.
Jontre Kirklin will be a receiver to watch on San Antonio’s side. He had eight targets, with just four receptions as Kellen and Jontre look to build chemistry with one another as the season progresses.
Offensive Line: Two Different Stories
For the St. Louis Battlehawks, their offensive line played outstanding football. The entire O-Line was named as the UFL’s Offensive Player of the Week, paving the way for St. Louis to rush for 273 yards (6.7YPC), with 460 total yards of offense. With four returning starters, and the addition of Abdul Beecham (who spent last season with the team as a reserve/rotational piece), this Battlehawks unit is loaded. Not to mention, both TE’s Jake Sutherland and Chase Allen provide the team with quality blocking as well.
On San Antonio’s side, it wasn’t as pretty. Kellen Mond was pressured on 10 of his 26 dropbacks last week, with Arlington’s defenders in his face more often than not. With a couple of new additions to the Brahmas offensive line, they struggled to gel right out of the gate, and now will have their work cut out for them against a tough Battlehawks defensive line.
In the trenches is exactly where St. Louis can have success. Pita Taumoepenu had another sensational performance, closing out the game against Houston with back to back sacks. Watch for Austin Faoliu on the interior as well, who’s coming off of one of his best outings as a Battlehawk – consistently closing the gaps in the middle when Houston attempted to run the football.
Looking At Last Season
When glancing back at the matchups between these teams from a season ago, there are some stark differences. A.J. McCarron is no longer the quarterback in St. Louis, so the Brahmas will have to prepare for the legs and playmaking abilities of Manny Wilkins. Additionally, Kellen Mond brings an entirely new slate of assets to San Antonio’s offense, compared to Chase Garbers and Quinten Dormady.
The key for St. Louis: can they convert their third downs? In their final two games against the Brahmas, the Battlehawks were a putrid 4-23 on third down attempts (17.4%). That cannot happen again. Will Reed’s defense is too good, even though they have stumbled to begin this current UFL season.
San Antonio’s defensive backs will have to once again play physical football. They were able to contain Hakeem Butler & Co. down the stretch a year ago, as they looked to initiate contact at the line of scrimmage, disrupting multiple routes.
In the playoffs, St. Louis shot themselves in the foot with poor play calling, boneheaded mistakes, and untimely penalties. They prevented themselves from winning that game, with San Antonio advancing to the Championship. This year, the Battlehawks need to be more disciplined – especially in crucial divisional games such as these.
Depth Chart
The San Antonio Brahmas are going to be missing quite a few starters on their side of the ball. CB Greedy Williams, RB John Lovett, EDGE Garrett Nelson, and DT Prince Emili are all inactive this week – after starting last week. CB Chris Steele will be making his first start for the Brahmas, with Williams inactive. Rashod Berry is also active at DE for San Antonio.
The Battlehawks don’t have as many changes on their end, but most notably, WR Hakeem Butler is out with a hamstring injury. Denzel Mims will be getting the start, so it’ll be interesting to see how the former 2nd round NFL draft pick settles into his new role.
Coaching Matchup
San Antonio Brahmas | Wade Phillips: Coach Phillips and his Brahams didn’t exactly get off to a hot start this week. Wade had to coach from the booth, as he was under the weather and did not want to deal with the heat on the field in Arlington. In his spring career, Wade is 1-3 against Anthony Becht. For the sake of the season, it’s imperative that this Brahmas organization gets a win on the road, in a hostile St. Louis environment. They’ve already done it once before, but this time, the odds seem a bit more stacked against them.
St. Louis Battlehawks | Anthony Becht: Becht brought the energy this past week, as the Battlehawks blazed past the Roughnecks on the road. St. Louis completely outmatched and outcoached Houston at every turn, and it’s that type of momentum that should push the Battlehawks to more success early on in the season. St. Louis had an explosive first half offensively – and generated turnovers on defense in week one. Those were two things they haven’t been able to do the last couple of years.
Coach Becht commented on this upcoming matchup against San Antonio, and what their expectations are as a group:
“We prepare for schemes. The running backs are key components to their team. Whether they were used or not last week, or what the score was, we have to stop the run. These are two of the best backs in our league, and they’re dangerous. They rushed for 213 yards against us in that Conference Championship game. That doesn’t sit well. So, we have to be better. We have to be in the right gaps, we hve to work hard in practice and make sure everything is precise, and put on film in practice. Our guys understand that this is an opponent who has had success against us on the road. Big picture, I’m 3-1 against these guys since the inaugural start of this. But the one that mattered, the one that took us away from our goal last year, is there. If we don’t show up and take care of business, it really doesn’t matter.”
Final Thoughts
Generally speaking, this game should be quite competitive between two of the XFL Conference’s best. St. Louis has the edge, being able to play at home, and riding the positive momentum of their week one win. Can Manny Wilkins put it together two weeks in a row? That remains to be seen. His week one film showed promise, and with the Battlehawks firing on all cylinders, they’re poised to continue stacking up wins.
San Antonio, on the other hand, seemingly has a lot to figure out. Their offense was all out of sorts, which was uncharacteristic for an A.J. Smith led group. Defensively, Will Reed’s group looked slow and beat down – especially in the second half. Their DB’s need to be more aggressive against a stout St. Louis WR core this week.
The action all kicks off on Sunday, at 6:30pm ET on FS1.
Full Roster Breakdowns: St. Louis, San Antonio
What are your thoughts on this upcoming matchup between the St. Louis Battlehawks and San Antonio Brahmas? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
