High hopes were met with a reality check on Friday night when the Michigan Panthers welcomed the defending UFL champion Birmingham Stallions to Ford Field in a matchup that would have serious implications for the USFL conference early into the 2025 season.
The Panthers entered their home opener coming off a 26-12 victory over Memphis, helmed by a standout performance from quarterback Bryce Perkins. Meanwhile, the Stallions’ start to the season had not been a ceremonious continuation of last year’s dominance. Now without their MVP playmaker, Adrian Martinez, under center, Birmingham suffered a surprising 11-18 loss to the DC Defenders – a performance that Stallions head coach Skip Holtz would describe as “probably our worst performance in three years in this league.”
Michigan came into Friday’s game with a clear understanding of the implications. Last year, the Panthers went 0-3 against Birmingham – including an 18-31 loss in the conference championship.
“Birmingham’s had our number for the last couple of years, so our guys are motivated,” Michigan head coach Mike Nolan told the media ahead of the game.
Beyond touching on a point of pride for the team, the Panthers also knew that a win on Friday would give them an early leg up over the rest of the conference. With only ten games in the regular season, claiming a two-game lead on your toughest competition could provide Nolan’s roster with some room to experiment – possibly offering both Perkins and Danny Etling a longer leash to establish their distinct play styles over the course of games.
But whatever bluster and cloak of invulnerability the Panthers might have projected in the season opener, it didn’t find its way back to Detroit against Birmingham. Throughout the course of Friday’s affair, this was made apparent by two key factors. We’ll get the first one out of the way because of just how stark the contrast is, but the Showboats’ defensive front, which Michigan ran with ease and was able to make in-rhythm pass plays from the pocket against – is simply not in the same class as the Stallions’ front seven.
After having a banner day in Memphis, Bryce Perkins struggled through much of the early goings in the matchup with Holtz’s Stallions. To properly illustrate this point, with less than a minute remaining in the first half and facing a 4th & 1 from the Panthers’ 3 yard line, Holtz elected to settle for a 21-yard field goal to put Birmingham up 6-0 going into halftime. It seems almost unthinkable to be so frugal in modern football, but the Holtz saw the same game we were all watching – and it was one in which the Panthers were struggling to come up with any answers against his defense.
At halftime, Michigan had 63 total yards of offense (roughly half that of their opponents) and was averaging a mere three yards per play. Perkins, who had completed 84% of his passes last week and averaged 8.5 yards per attempt, was 4-9 for 39 yards. The Panthers would go scoreless for the first three quarters of the matchup.
The other factor that weighed heavily in the loss was arguably more glaring than a rough day at the office for the pass protection. Michigan’s special teams woes were apparent throughout the night – and would ultimately extinguish any hopes of a comeback late in the ballgame. Perhaps the most glaring stat line of the night, Birmingham averaged 56.3 net yards per kickoff to the Panthers…-9.5.
Not counting the final drive (victory formation), the Stallions’ average field position to start the drive was at their own 40 yard line, with four of their first five possessions beginning past their own 45. Michigan’s special teams unit surrendered nearly 500 total return yards to Birmingham (482) between punts and kickoffs, compared to just 285 return yards for the Panthers.
“They played a better game than we did, without question,” Nolan told the media, referring to the Stallions dominance in the return game, after the team’s 21-12 loss to Birmingham.
Despite fighting an uphill battle for much of the night, the Panthers did find some semblance of their stride in the fourth quarter. After being turned away at the goal line on a 4th & 1 opportunity late in the third (which gave way to a crushing 52-yard bomb by Matt Coral to wideout Deon Cain to bring the score to 18-0), Perkins and the offense mounted their best showing on the following drive, eventually connecting with Marcus Simms for a 9-yard touchdown pass. Michigan would benefit from an ill-advised penalty from the Stallions, allowing them to execute a 3-point conversion from the two-yard line, making it a one-possession game with under ten minutes remaining.
Then, another break from the home side. On 3rd & 9 just inside their own 20, Coral heaved another deep ball – this time intended for Jalen Camp, but the 6’2 receiver would get tangled up in a hand fight with Panthers’ corner DJ Miller Jr. – who had already hauled in an interception earlier in the game. Miller would add to his collection, coming up with the jump ball and giving Michigan possession near midfield.
But that’s where the momentum would come to a halt. The Panthers’ offense would go 3 & out, with Nolan electing to exercise discretion when faced with a 4th & 3 from his team’s 49, ultimately punting.
The move seemed primed to pay off. Michigan’s defense forced a 3 & out of their own – forcing the Stallions to punt from their own 16 yard line. The opportunity would be squandered before it was even realized, with Panthers’ return man Devin Ross muffing the punt, ultimately allowing Birmingham’s Kyahva Tezino to make the recovery in Panthers’s territory. The Stallions would score another field goal to go up 21-9 with under two minutes remaining, ultimately putting the game away.
Despite the missed opportunity in front of their home fans, Nolan kept the door open to the notion that a loss like this might be just what his team needed to get locked in.
“I do believe that we’ll learn from this particular game,” Nolan said after the defeat. “We’re 1-1. It’s early in the season – it might be the best thing to happen. Last year we had that loss to San Antonio to fall to 2-2…we came back and won five straight.”
Final. Panthers 12, Stallions 21.
