High-flying Battlehawks highlight biggest storylines from UFL Week 2

Jacob Saylors led all running backs last season on his way to earning All-UFL honors, and it appears the 25-year-old is picking up right where he left off, finishing with 79 scrimmage yards and three scores in the St. Louis Battlehawks‘ 26-9 victory over the visiting St. Louis Brahmas in front of 32,115 fans at the Dome at America’s Center in Week 2.

“Jacob is playing his ass off because he’s trying to get back somewhere (the NFL),” St. Louis quarterback Manny Wilkins said. “That’s the one thing I keep reiterating to these guys, and this league is doing such a good job of creating an opportunity. That’s what this league is — it’s a chance for guys to go out there and show who you are.”

[MORE: What is the UFL? Everything to know about the 2025 United Football League]

Through two weeks, Saylors leads the league in touchdowns (four) and is second in rushing yards (144). 

Week 2’s game was a rematch of last year’s XFL Conference final, a game that the Battlehawks lost by double digits, 25-15. So, St. Louis earned a measure of revenge and continues to look like the team to beat in the UFL this season. 

Here’s a look at other storylines from Week 2:

Battlehawks offensive coordinator Phil McGeoghan is on a heater

St. Louis has the top scoring offense through two weeks, averaging a league-high 28.5 points a contest.

At the forefront of the Battlehawks’ success is the creative play calling of new offensive coordinator Phil McGeoghan, who replaced Bruce Gradkowski when he left to become an offensive assistant for the Detroit Lions. A longtime receivers coach in the NFL, McGeoghan worked as an offensive assistant for four seasons with the Miami Dolphins alongside one of the brightest NFL offensive innovators in new Chicago Bears head coach, Ben Johnson.

St. Louis has scored seven touchdowns on 18 possessions and punted just three times through two weeks. It also leads the UFL in total yards (388.5 per game), third down conversion percentage (59.3) and rushing yards (217.5 per game). What’s more, the Battlehawks’ offense has accomplished that with 2024 UFL Offensive Player of the Year Hakeem Butler having zero catches on target over that same span.

“I’m really proud of the way Phil McGeoghan has called plays the last two weeks,” St. Louis head coach Anthony Becht said. “He’s done an incredible job in the short amount of time he had to get this playbook together and get us rocking and rolling.”

Becht also said don’t sleep on St. Louis’ defense, led by former NFL defensive back and current defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham. The Battlehawks are holding teams to a league-low 15.0 points a game. 

“Donnie is a guy to me who never speaks to the media,” Becht said. “He’s very unsung. Nobody wants to talk about him. Everybody else gets a lot of credit around the league for being good coordinators, but Donnie Abraham is the best coordinator in the league, in my opinion. He’s got them prepared. He’s got buy-in, and he’s got credibility with the players because he played in the league at the highest level.”

Subbing for injured Alex McGough, Matt Corral helps Stallions rebound

In his second game back with the Birmingham Stallions, McGough had to leave the game early due to a right shoulder injury he suffered on their first offensive play on a quarterback run.

Corral was solid in McGough’s absence. The Ole Miss product finished 18-of-29 for 198 yards, including a dazzling 52-yard touchdown to Deon Cain that landed at the top of our list of the 10 best plays of the week.

“When the opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to be ready,” Corral said. “And that’s on nobody else but yourself.” 

Corral was picked off twice, but more importantly for Birmingham, head coach Skip Holtz got the running game going. Last year’s leading rusher, Ricky Person Jr., totaled 55 rushing yards and a score. Corral and Person’s efforts helped Birmingham defeat the Michigan Panthers (1-1) on the road, 21-12, evening their record after a shocking season-opening loss to the D.C. Defenders.

Defenders start with a surprising 2-0 record

Speaking of the Defenders, interim head coach Shannon Harris’ squad continued their winning ways, earning a 17-12 home victory over the visiting Memphis Showboats (0-2).

Returning from a season-ending ACL knee injury a year ago, running back Abram Smith led the Defenders with 55 rushing yards on 16 carries, while Chris Rowland added three catches for 66 receiving yards.

Showboats receiver Jonathan Adams continued his strong early-season performance, posting nine catches for 128 receiving yards. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt returned to the sidelines for the Showboats in the loss.

No surprise here: Luis Perez leads league in passing 

With 375 yards passing through two games, last year’s UFL passing leader is once again sitting atop the league. The San Diego native completed 19-of-27 passes for 211 yards and a score in an 11-9 victory over the Houston Roughnecks (0-2). 

At 2-0, the Arlington Renegades are a game away from their three-game win total of a year ago. Playing against his former team in Houston, Renegades pass rusher Chris Odom finished with three combined tackles and a sack. Donald Payne led Arlington with nine combined tackles. 

Defense dominates, as points are down 

The UFL averaged 43.7 combined points during the regular season in 2024, which was more than both the legacy USFL (42.3 combined points) and XFL (42.9 combined points) the previous year before the merger.

However, through two games this year, scoring is down, with games averaging 32.8 combined points. Quarterback play has been an issue, as they’ve combined to throw 10 touchdown passes and a head-scratching 13 interceptions. 

With four touchdowns already this season, Saylors has more touchdowns than all but three teams in the league through two games.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams.

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