UFL 2025: Every touchdown from conference championship round
Just one game remains in the 2025 UFL season, as the Michigan Panthers and DC Defenders won their respective conference championship games last week.
Michigan beat the Birmingham Stallions on the road in the USFL Championship Game, and DC got a convincing victory on the road against the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL Championship Game on FOX. The 2025 UFL Championship Game will take place at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at The Dome at America's Center, home of the Battlehawks.
Let's take a look at every touchdown scored in the conference title round! Michigan Panthers 44, Birmingham Stallions 29
Michigan went three-and-out to open the game, but its offense fared much differently the rest of the way.
After forcing Birmingham to punt on its first possession, Michigan put together a six-play touchdown drive that ended with Toa Taua rushing for a 3-yard score. Quarterback Bryce Perkins then finished off a 13-play drive with a 1-yard rushing score on the Panthers' next drive. The Stallions responded three plays later with quarterback J'Mar Smith hitting wide receiver Deon Cain for a 65-yard completion and tight end Jordan Thomas for an 18-yard touchdown on the next play.
After forcing the Panthers to go three-and-out, Smith's pass was intercepted by safety Kai Nacua, who ran the pick back 25 yards for a Michigan touchdown. However, Birmingham finished the first half strong, as C.J. Marable's 1-yard rushing touchdown capped off a seven-play drive, and the Stallions trailed 21-14 at halftime.
Birmingham opened the second half with a field goal, but Michigan reached the end zone eight plays later, as Taua rushed for a 6-yard touchdown. And two plays after forcing the Stallions to go three-and-out, the Panthers went up 35-17, as Perkins hit wide receiver Malik Turner for a 76-yard touchdown. With Matt Corral under center, the Stallions got back into the game, with the quarterback finding wide receiver Davion Davis for a 3-yard touchdown, and Corral hitting Thomas for a 4-yard touchdown three plays after a Panthers fumble.
But Michigan got back on track on the ensuing drive, as Perkins, who finished the day with a 119.7 passer rating while completing 80.0% of his passes and rushing for 34 yards and one score, orchestrated a nine-play touchdown drive that ended with Taua rushing for his third touchdown. The Panthers then intercepted Corral and got a field goal off the turnover, with a Michigan fumble recovery later helping them run out the clock and get the win. DC Defenders 36, St. Louis Battlehawks 18
DC was in command from start to finish in this one.
After both teams punted on their first possessions of the game, the Defenders broke the ice when Jordan Ta'amu connected with wide receiver Seth Williams for a 42-yard touchdown. Eleven plays after forcing another St. Louis punt, Deon Jackson rushed for a 2-yard touchdown, giving DC a 14-0 lead. Late in the first half, though, Ta'amu was intercepted by cornerback Myles Jones. A pair of DC penalties put the ball on the 2-yard line for St. Louis and Jacob Saylors got them on the board with a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 3:10 remaining in the second quarter. That said, the Defenders got a pair of field goals to end the first half, one of them coming directly after a Battlehawks fumble, and they led 20-6 at halftime.
St. Louis turned the ball over on downs to start the second half, and DC made them pay. Seven plays after the Battlehawks couldn't move the chains, Abram Smith rushed for a 2-yard touchdown. St. Louis scored six plays later on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Silvers to wide receiver Hakeem Butler. However, DC kept the pedal to the metal with an eight-play touchdown drive that ended with a 5-yard scoring run from Jackson, his second rushing score of the game.
The Defenders added a field goal on their next possession, which the Battlehawks followed with a 10-play scoring drive that ended with Max Duggan rushing for a 2-yard touchdown. But it was too little, too late, as that touchdown would be the final score of the game.
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