The New Jersey Generals and Birmingham Stallions tied 9-1 for the best regular season record a year ago, and in USFL Week 2 showed why they’re likely to be among the best teams this season – namely, a smothering defense.
The Generals held the Pittsburgh Maulers to just 3 points on Sunday, but that wasn’t their best performance of the week as the Stallions held the Memphis Showboats to just 2 the day before.
The USFL’s other game so far saw the New Orleans Breakers and Houston Gamblers get into a back and forth offensive showdown as the week wraps up Sunday night with the Michigan Panthers taking on the Philadelphia Stars in Canton, Ohio.
We’ve got takeaways from all of Week 2’s games below; first look at the scores.
Saturday
New Orleans Breakers 38, Houston Gamblers 31
Birmingham Stallions 42, Memphis Showboats 2
Sunday
New Jersey Generals 20, Pittsburgh Maulers 3
Michigan Panthers at Philadelphia Stars (in Canton) | 7 p.m. ET
Sunday’s games
Generals bounce back, Pittsburgh
The New Jersey Generals may have gone 9-1 last year, but they were looking for their first win since last year’s regular season finale after losing in the playoffs and dropping the 2023 opener to Birmingham.
New Jersey got the win on Sunday and did it on defense. As rain poured down in Canton, the Generals recovered two fumbles and intercepted while also recording five sacks and holding the Pittsburgh Maulers to just three points. The Generals held Pittsburgh to just 166 total yards.
Last season’s USFL lead Darius Victor had 71 yards and a touchdown to start the Generals’ offense. Backup quarterback Dakota Prukop had the game’s only passing touchdown.
Saturday’s games
Stallions show against Memphis
The Birmingham Stallions are the defending USFL champions and if there’s any doubt they’ll be in the mix to repeat, they’ve won their first two games by a combined score of 69-12.
It was all Stallions on Saturday night against a Memphis Showboats team that looked competitive in Week 1, losing to a Philadelphia Stars team that reached last year’s championship game by just four points.
Stallions quarterback Alex McGough went 21 of 28 for 301 yards and four touchdowns, including a 47-yard scoring to tight end Jace Sternberger.
ZaQuandre White, running back at Birmingham, contributed 8 plays for 72 yards and two touchdowns, including a 35-yard score.
The Showboats’ lone points came from a safety in the third quarter.
Breakers win shootout against Gamblers
The weekend started well as the New Orleans Breakers and Houston Gamblers got into a back-and-forth battle, with New Orleans holding on for a 38-21 win to move to 2-0 after making the playoffs last season.
The game’s biggest star was New Orleans running back Wes Hills, who rushed for 110 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries.
Breakers quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw for 251 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Gambler’s quarterback Benji Bahar threw three TDs in a 266-yard effort, but was also knocked out three times by the Breakers’ defense. Bethel-Thompson didn’t throw a pickaxe.