After claiming a thrilling 18-16 win over the St. Louis Battlehawks in Week 1, the Michigan Panthers hosted the back-to-back USFL champion Birmingham Stallions for an afternoon matchup at Ford Field. And while there were a lot of differences between last week’s game and this one, the similarities were far more glaring.
The Panthers’ defense, especially on third down, remains a major strength. Jake Bates’ leg is slowly forging a path that could take him all the way to Canton. And EJ Perry, when he finds a rhythm, can do some fantastic things.
But the negatives reared their head just a much.
The offense’s slow starts and turnover-prone plays continue to put them in the position of playing catchup at halftime, and it’s time to question whether or not Mike Nolan needs to lean on his star place kicker sooner in games to compensate.
While he’s still the best signal caller the Panthers have at their disposal currently, Perry now has back-to-back weeks where he’s thrown an interception in the first quarter. This week, the Michigan QB can at least be given some understanding. The pass in question, intended for Marcus Simms, was deflected at the line by Stallions defensive tackle Jordan Thompson, causing it to come behind Simms and into the hands of safety A.J. Thomas. It’s Perry’s third turnover of the season already.
But Perry wasn’t without his wow moments in the first half, either.
Panthers quarterback EJ Perry is tackled by a Birmingham Stallions defender. (Tony Patroske/The Pit Media)
Trailing 9-0 in the second quarter, the Panthers’ leader under center corked off what is easily the best trick in his toolbox — a go route connection for Simms. Perry found his favorite receiver on a similar play early in the second half of last week’s performance against St. Louis, leading to a 30-yard completion. This time, however, was a whole different story. Starting at the Panther’s 26-yard line, Simms got inside leverage on Birmingham corner Mark Gilbert, worked back towards the outside, and caught the ball around the Stallions 45-yard line – and he would not be brought down. It was a 76-yard touchdown for the Panthers; their biggest offensive play of the season.
Two of the biggest strengths Michigan showed in their near-walkoff win over the Battlehawks was their run game, helmed by Wes Hills, and a highly advantageous special teams unit. Today, however, it was Birmingham that demonstrated an ability to gouge the Panthers on the ground, both with their backs and legs of quarterbacks Matt Corral and Adrien Martinez — with the latter proving especially effective at making the home team pay for empty box looks in the early goings.
After the Stallions made their first (and only) trip to the endzone off a 1-yard touchdown run from Ricky Person Jr., Michigan got the ball back with 26 seconds left in the first half. Hmm, isn’t that about the same amount of time that the Panthers had at the end of last week’s game to get Bates in position to hit a 64-yard field goal? Well, don’t worry, Bates didn’t hit from 64 again to make it a one-score game going into halftime.
This time, he only hit it from 62 yards, cutting the Stallions’ lead to 17-10 at the half.
You’d have a hard time arguing that these aren’t currently the two best defenses in the UFL. Birmingham managed to stifle the Panthers’ run game early and often. Out of thirteen total first downs for the home side, only one came on the ground — and it came late in the fourth quarter with Perry scrambling. The Stallions did a fantastic job in coverage and containing any attempts from the Michigan ground game to move laterally to a minimum gain. Even more impressive – Wes Hills led the team with 7 total carries, which only resulted in 10 yards rushing.
What kept the Panthers in this game, aside from two field goals from 50+ by Bates and a massive touchdown haul from Simms, was this team’s consistent play on the defensive end. Michigan held the defending USFL champs to 2-for-10 on 3rd down attempts. If there was a notable area of improvement from Week 1, it was an even better showing from their secondary; especially the likes of Brooks, Nacua, and Gipson. Gipson continues to show areas of his game that need development, but he also made one of the biggest plays of the day for the defense. On third-and-goal from the nine, Corral was looking for Gary Jennings, but Gipson came underneath him for the interception in the endzone – the first turnover of the season for the Panthers defense.
As for arguably the Panthers’ biggest start on that side of the ball, Breeland Speaks likely left Sunday’s game shaking his head. The star DT only recorded four tackles, but got called for two massive penalties in the game: roughing the passer for a late hit on Martinez and a facemask grab on Amari Rodgers. Both penalties set up the Stallions’ offense deep in Panthers’ territory, with the two drives resulting in 11 of Birmingham’s 20 points on the day.
The Panthers’ linebackers were another area that shined, most notably Frank Ginda. Both he and Noah Dawkins made it incredibly difficult for the Stallions to find success through their running attack on 3rd & short looks.
Ultimately, Michigan found themselves in the driver’s seat for the final drive of the game, down by only a touchdown with 2:27 left to play and the ball on their 27-yard line. The Birmingham defense would commit two separate roughing penalties that brought the Panthers past midfield, and eventually reaching the red zone with 50 seconds left in the ballgame. But after dropping back on 1st and 10 from the Stallions 17, Perry would be dropped for a five-yard sack by Carlos Davis, forcing Michigan to burn their final time out. On the Panthers’ final play from the offense, Perry would be sacked again on 4th & 7 for a 13 yard loss – by none other than former Michigan Wolverine, Taco Charlton. It was the second sack of the game on Perry.
Final score: Panther 13, Stallions 20
