Above Image Credit: The Big Lead
When: Saturday, June 13th, 3:00 PM EST
Where: Audi Field (Washington, DC)
How to Watch: ABC (check your local listings)
After a season filled with controversies, surprises, upsets, and more, it all comes down to this.
The DC Defenders will look for back-to-back championships when they take on the Louisville Kings in the UFL United Bowl live from Washington, DC.
Kings Without A Crown…For Now
There is no doubt the Louisville Kings are the underdogs entering the United Bowl. Fans knew their journey wasn’t going to be easy since this was their spring football debut. However, I don’t think no one ever imagined they would be making the championship game in just their first season as a football team. Now they are one win away from history.
Louisville started their season with an 0-3 record. After trading Jason Bean to DC, the Kings slowly became a better team with QB Chandler Rogers as the new starter. Things were touch-and-go, but they finally pulled it all together in the final weeks of the season and kept winning until it was over. The defense became the best in the league, and Rogers quickly rose to become the quarterback Louisville needed to see.
Last week, the Kings defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks 29-20 and redeemed themselves after being dominated by them in Week 6. Rogers made 12 completions out of 20 for 162 yards and a passing touchdown. The win also wasn’t possible without TDs from WR Isaiah Winstead and RBs Ian Wheeler and James Robinson. However, you have to give more credit to the defense for holding St. Louis down.
Battlehawks’ Luis Perez was sacked four times, tackled five times for yard loss, and intercepted once. Cam Gill added another sack to his single-season record while Steele Chambers intercepted the ball with only 37 seconds left of the 4th quarter, sealing the Battlehawks’ fate. This was the third consecutive season St. Louis didn’t make the championship.
A Champions’ Crooked Path
The Defenders capped off their season with a 4-game losing streak that started with back-to-back losses against the Louisville Kings. As if that wasn’t unfortunate enough, they also lost starring QB Jordan Ta’amu to a season-ending injury.
It’s no surprise they had a 5-1 overall record before the collapse. They have an offense with top runners in Xazavian Valladay and Deon Jackson, and one of the best in Derick Roberson on the defense. They looked like they were on a straight route back to the postseason, but that wasn’t the case. DC’s losing streak started in Week 7 with consecutive losses to Louisville and losing Ta’amu for the rest of the season. It was followed by consecutive losses to the Orlando Storm.
Last week, DC denied Orlando a series sweep and eliminated the UFL’s top seeded team. Bean put up an impressive performance in his 5th UFL career start, recording 18 completions out of 33 attempts for 233 yards and a touchdown. Additional TDs by Abram Smith, Deon Jackson, and Briley Moore also contributed to DC’s victory. However, it was the defense that were always on the attack and hit Orlando’s offense at their weakest points. They even made QB Jack Plummer intercepted the ball, a rare feat this season. It would be his second-ever interception in the UFL.
UFL United Bowl: Final Thoughts and Prediction
A third meeting between these teams where the champions haven’t figured out a way to beat them? Jason Bean, once the Kings’ quarterback, will be starting for the reigning champions? So much drama, so little time.
Since being traded to the Defenders, Bean has recorded 31 completions out of 61 attempts for 398 yards and two touchdowns. So far, despite not being around the team for long, he’s been playing better than when he was with Louisville.
Just like last week against Orlando, this will be the third-ever meeting between DC and Louisville, and the reigning champions haven’t defeated them yet. The Kings’ powerful defense will be the main focus in DC’s path to retaining their title. If they want to survive, they have to avoid the storm of sacks, especially from Gill.
DC was dominated by Louisville in Week 7 (30-13). They got better against them but fell short in Week 8 (33-30). The champs are getting closer to figuring out the solution to victory. Louisville has to figure out how to outrun and outsmart the defense while slowing down their offense the way they did with Orlando.
Both sides have great offenses and defenses. Let’s not also leave out their amazing kickers, Matt McCrane and Tanner Brown. I feel like this championship game could go either way. May the best team win.
