USFL Week 3 Best plays: An amazing pick, a lucky bounce, more
Week 3 of the USFL season saw some interesting movement in the standings.
The Birmingham Stallions established themselves as the lead horse with the league's only perfect record (3-0), the Pittsburgh Maulers remain the only team still seeking a win at 0-3, and a host of gritty squads are seeking momentum as they battle in the middle.
Meanwhile, several stars made their mark with a series of eye-opening moments — plays that stood out above all the rest.
Let's take a look.
The USFL's best plays of Week 3
Interception of the Weekend: Aashari Crosswell, New Orleans Breakers
Talk about never giving up on a play.
Crosswell refused to stop battling for the ball on this play against the Stallions. The New Orleans safety closed on the play, tipped it up and maintained focus while coming down with the pigskin.
"Check out the concentration from Aashari Crosswell with the interception," said Chris Broussard of "First Things First." "What a pick! Not enough, though, as my Breakers lose, 22-13."
"He didn't give up on the play," Shannon Sharpe said on "Undisputed." "That's what you always tell your defensive guys — play all the way through. He played all the way through, and he was rewarded for his hard work."
Breakers' Aashari Crosswell makes acrobatic interception
Best Tackle of the Weekend: Donald Payne, Houston Gamblers
It was a race to the running back between Tampa Bay Bandits quarterback Jordan Ta'amu and Houston linebacker Donald Payne. And while Ta'amu did get there first to make the handoff, Payne still made sure the runner had nowhere to go.
"Granted I'm 40 years old but sometimes I do think I can still play professional sports because I'm delusional," Kevin Wildes joked on "First Things First." "I'm glad that the helmet cam exists just to remind me that it's not only my arthritic back that's preventing me from playing football, it's also that I'm terrified of getting tackled."
Best Bounce of the Weekend: Anthony Ratliff-Williams, Houston Gamblers
Ratliff-Williams probably experienced every possible emotion on his long touchdown against Tampa Bay — the exhilaration of finding himself open the make the catch, the despair of his fumble, the elation when a perfect bounce popped the ball right back into his arms.
What a ride!
"Anthony Ratliff-Williams gets the catch, and the fumble recovery, and the touchdown," Nick Wright exclaimed on "First Things First." "It's an amazing play. Unfortunately they lost by one."
"I'm losing my mind on that play [if it's me]," Sharpe said. "I got a touchdown. Oh, no I don't, I fumbled it. Oh yeah, I got a touchdown again!"
Watch Anthony Ratliff-Williams' catch-fumble-touchdown
Most Elusive Run of the Weekend: Marlon Williams, Birmingham Stallions
In their huge win over New Orleans, the Stallions' Williams made an amazing play, catching a short pass and breaking FIVE tackles on the way to a 47-yard touchdown.
"This is my play right here," Sharpe said. "I love the jailbreak screen. You have to have courage, here. You've got big guys coming from the inside, guys trying to bring you down. He wanted this, that's how you hit your head on the goal post."
"Marlon Williams might have a little Deebo [Samuel] in him," Skip Bayless added. "He's 5-11, 204, so maybe not quite as physical as Deebo. I would like to see a little better tackling … but I'm gonna give him credit because he broke five."
Watch: Marlon Williams breaks tackles en route to TD
