USFL Week 3: Birmingham Stallions outlast New Orleans Breakers
Week 3 of the USFL season continued Saturday with a highly anticipated battle between the Birmingham Stallions and the New Orleans Breakers, as both teams fought to keep their perfect records alive.
Both teams entered Saturday's contest undefeated, but it was the Stallions that came out on top.
Here are the top moments between Birmingham and NOLA:
Birmingham Stallions 22, New Orleans Breakers 13
On the move
New Orleans QB Kyle Sloter connected with tight end Sal Cannella for an 18-yard gain to move the Breakdowns down the field.
Coming up short
What started as a promising drive for New Orleans early in the first frame ended in a turnover for the Breakers, as Sloter fumbled the ball at the goal line, and it was recovered by Birmingham's DeMarquis Gates at the Stallions' 1-yard line.
Scooby Wright, Stallions' defense pull off goal-line stand
The Stallions weren't able to capitalize on the turnover, however, and punted on the following drive.
Breakers' defense makes waves
Stallions QB J'Mar Smith was picked off near midfield, courtesy of Aashari Crosswell, as the first quarter came to a close.
Breakers' Aashari Crosswell makes an acrobatic interception
Stallions strike first
Smith found wideout Marlon Williams for a 47-yard touchdown, ending the scoring drought in this one.
Marlon Williams breaks several tackles en route to 47-yard TD
New Orleans enters the chat
Sloter found a rhythm with Breakers receiver Johnnie Dixon, who came up with a clutch catch in traffic to get New Orleans in scoring position late in the second frame.
Seeing it through
Sloter capped off the 13-play, 85-yard drive with a TD pass to Dixon to get the Breakers on the board ahead of the break. It was a one-point game, 7-6, after a missed extra point.
No quit
Stallions QB Smith scrambled for 31 yards in the final moments of the second frame, setting Birmingham up for a short field goal to extend its lead ahead of the break, 10-6.
Breakers marching in
The Breakers capped off a whopping 17-play, 77-yard drive that latest nearly nine minutes with a touchdown on their opening drive of the second half to take their first lead of the game, 13-10.
It was apparent that the Sloter-Dixon connection continued to heat up as the game went on.
Kyle Sloter and Johnnie Dixon connect for their second TD
Stallions respond
Birmingham fired back with an eight-minute, 15-play drive of its own to open the final frame, but the Stallions weren't able to seal the deal and turned the ball over on downs.
Stallions regain lead
Birmingham QB Smith once again connected with WR Victor Bolden, but this time it ended with six points.
J'Mar Smith finds Victor Bolden Jr. to put the Stallions ahead
Just like that, the Stallions led 17-13 midway through the fourth quarter.
Chaos ensues
Things got chaotic on the following drive.
Sloter was sacked in the end zone and lost the ball, which was picked up by New Orleans' OL Kai Absheer, who then fumbled the ball in the end zone once again.
Stallions strip sack Kyle Sloter in the end zone for a safety
It was recovered by Birmingham's Scooby Wright for a touchdown, which was overturned and deemed a safety after a booth review, bringing the score to 19-13.
Block party
New Orleans bounced back on the following drive, as DE Nigel Chavis blocked the Stallions' punt.
Denied
The Breakers weren't able to capitalize on the big play, however, as New Orleans failed to move the ball down the field before missing a field goal to close out the drive.
More of the same
Sloter was picked off on New Orleans' own 33-yard line as the two-minute warning approached.
The Stallions turned that into three points after a quick field goal, good for a 22-13 edge, and things ended there.
