Week seven in the UFL continued on Saturday night, with a major clash between two teams on opposite sides of the coin. The Birmingham Stallions (2-4) hosted the Dallas Renegades (3-3), in a game that had major implications for the playoff push.
Birmingham is fresh off an impressive road win over the Orlando Storm. With Dorian Thompson-Robinson at the helm, they’ve been completely re-energized across the board. The attitude and confidence he brings to Birmingham has embedded itself throughout this Stallions organization.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Renegades are on a three game skid. They’ve had a tough time getting out of their own way – and desperately need to get back on track before they lose their fourth seed in the playoffs.
Let’s take a look at what went down at Protective Stadium today.
First Quarter
Dallas received the opening kick, and went three and out. A pass breakup from Bump Cooper stifled their first drive, and the Renegades punted it away. Unfortunately for Dorian Thompson-Robinson, his first possession was far from ideal. A fumbled ball landed back in DTR’s hands, and while he tried to throw it away, the ball was intercepted by Steven Jones Jr.
Dallas turned it into points. Luke Lehnen was utilized in a couple of short yardage situations, and Ellis Merriweather eventually punched it in to give the Renegades a 7-0 lead.
Birmingham’s offense struggled, as Dallas generated some early pressure to knock DTR off his rocker. They punted again, and Dallas was in business with a couple of completions to Baylor Cupp. With one quarter down, the Renegades held a 7-0 lead, with momentum.
Second Quarter
Dallas put together a cohesive, long drive – spanning several minutes. Lehnen was involved again, picking up a key first down with his legs. After a defensive penalty on Kyahva Tezino set them up inside the five yard line, but Tyler Vaughns dropped a touchdown – and they settled for three. Colton Theaker connected from 35 yards out to make it 10-0.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson and the Stalions would respond. They crossed midfield, and while it appeared like the drive stalled, DTR somehow connected with Daewood Davis, who broke free for a 46 yard touchdown to make it 10-7.
Birmingham’s defense finally put together a great possession. Isaiah Coe beat Mike Novitsky for a sack, putting Dallas behind the numbers – and they had to punt it away. After what looked like a promising possession for the Stallions, they also had to punt it back to to Dallas and we went into halftime with a 10-7 ball game.
Third Quarter
It was a slow start to the second half. Birmingham’s offense didn’t do much, punting it away to Dallas. The Renegades were able to get past the mid-field mark, but stalled out. Tae Crowder made an excellent tackle on a scrambling Austin Reed on fourth down, preventing a conversion.
The majority of this third quarter involved both teams sending it back and forth. DTR had a tough time getting down the field, while Dallas’ offense simply fell flat. A nice play from Lance Boykin stuffed Ellis Merriweather before the line to gain, and the Renegades punted again.
With one quarter left to play, Dallas held a 10-7 lead.
Fourth Quarter
Birmingham’s ensuing possession was a frustrating one. DTR extended a couple of plays, finding Jaydon Mickens for a large gain – and they were in a rhythm. Dallas upped the pressure, though, and the Stallions had to settle for a 40 yard field goal, courtesy of Anders Carlson
On Dallas’ next drive, they utilized Lehnen quite a bit again, which was the right move. Birmingham had a tough time stopping the run, and the Renegades took advantage. Ellis Merriweather ran it in from 15 yards out, and Dallas took a 17-10 lead.
Birmingham responded efficiently. Dorian Thompson-Robinson marched the Stallions right down the field, connecting with Mickens on a clutch 4th and 4, who broke off two tacklers for the touchdown.
Dallas had a couple of minutes to work with, and they used all of it. A methodical two minute drive put the Renegades in a position to score. The Renegades couldn’t squeeze inside the 30 yard line, though, and Colton Theaker’s field goal attempt from 53 yards out was tipped, and came up short.
We went into Overtime – with a 17-17 ball game.
Over Time
Dallas could have been gifted two points early on with Birmingham committing two defensive penalties, but the OT rules changed – so they had to try again. Luke Lehnen appeared to cross the line, but Dean Blandino decided that it wasn’t a score.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson called his own number. He ran through multiple defenders into the end zone, putting Birmingham on top 19-17.
DTR TAKES IT IN HIMSELF 🤯
— Birmingham Stallions (@UFLStallions) May 10, 2026
Austin Reed made a key mistake, taking a sack from Isaac Ukwu on their next attempt. Then, DTR hit Jaydon Mickens (who else) in the end zone, for the conversion – winning Birmingham the game 21-17.
Standout Playmakers
WR Jaydon Mickens: The veteran continues to be a standout for this offense week in and week out. Jaydon had six receptions for 82 yards, and scored two clutch “touchdowns” (technically OT was a PAT) – but his presence was very much needed for DTR with Justyn Ross struggling.
LB Tae Crowder: Crowder has been a steady force defensively all year long. He racked up 11 tackles (leading the team), along with one pass breakup.
CB Ryan “Bump” Cooper: Cooper had himself a nice night, with four tackles, a TFL, and a pass breakup. Bump took on some tough assignments all night long, excelling when his number was called upon.
Dallas
RB Ellis Merriweather: It wasn’t an explosive night for Dallas offensively, but Ellis did make a couple of big plays – scoring two touchdowns to keep Dallas in the game.
Major Takeaways
Neither one of these offenses performed up to the level that they would have hoped. This was another game where the Dallas Renegades had plenty of opportunities, but could not capitalize. They averaged just 3.8 yards per play offensively – unable to take advantage of the stops their defense was producing.
The end of this game was simply a nightmare. Colton Theaker’s field goal was tipped and no good, and then in overtime, Lehnen was arguably robbed of a score. Rick Neuheisel was very vocal about that overtime possession – as it appeared as if Luke had crossed the line to gain.
Birmingham is a team that you simply don’t know what to expect. The last two weeks, their offense has been excellent, but defensively, they’ve struggled. Then, against a Dallas defense that was reeling – they couldn’t put points on the board until the final couple of drives. DTR deserves plenty of credit, never losing confidence despite a slow start.
Kevin Sherrer’s defense answered the call. Dallas got off to a fast start, but the Stallions quickly quieted Austin Reed and the air attack. Reed threw for just 168 yards, now tossing any touchdowns. Birmingham had two sacks and five TFL’s, creating havoc in the backfield. And then, on special teams, Anders Carlson made every kick – and DT Jayden Peevy came up huge with that semi-block on the game winning field goal attempt for Dallas.
The Stallions are a legitimate threat. Once they learn how to play a complete game in all three phases, something they have yet to do on the season – it could get scary down in Birmingham once again.
Final Thoughts
This win for Birmingham completely alters the playoff picture. Dallas now drops all the way down to sixth in overall seeding, while the Stallions have claimed the fourth playoff spot (for now). It gets confusing if Houston wins tomorrow, but for the time being, A.J. McCarron and DTR have Birmingham back on track after an abysmal start to the season.
Week seven will finish up tomorrow evening. The Houston Gamblers host the Orlando Storm at 5pm ET on FOX.
What are your thoughts on this matchup between the Birmingham Stallions and Dallas Renegades? Which players impressed you the most? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
