The Philadelphia Stars (4-4) visited Protective Stadium on Saturday afternoon against the Birmingham Stallions (6-2) in a rematch of the 2022 USFL Championship game.
Coming into this game, the Stars were on a three-game winning streak, while Birmingham won their last two games. The Stars had a chance to inch closer to winning the North Divisional title with a win and some help. However, it was not meant to be.
In the first quarter, both teams scored on their first possession. The Stars got the ball first as Terry Wright returned the kickoff for 23 yards to the Stars’ 38-yard line. Quarterback Case Cookus then threw a couple of short passes and the running game, led by Dexter Williams got them to the Stallions’ one-yard line.
Then, Cookus threw a touchdown pass to Ryan Izzo as the Stars took a 7-0 lead with 10:14 left. During this drive, running back Mall Colburn II left the game with a knee injury. While he tried his best to get back into the game, he did not return.
On the Stallions’ first possession of the game, quarterback Alex McGough kept the Stars’ defense on their toes with several short passes and using his legs to gain yardage. The Stars’ defense did not get pressure on McGough and it cost them. McGough threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Davion Davis, tying the game 7-7 with 4:05 left. The Stars had the ball to begin the second quarter tied 7-7.
For the second quarter, it was the defense that kept the game tied. Philadelphia’s defense took advantage of a miscue by Alex McGough when he fumbled the ball trying to make a fake handoff and it was recovered by Adam Rodriguez at the Stallions’ 46-yard line. Philadelphia capitalized when Case Cookus threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Corey Coleman for a 14-7 lead with 47 seconds left. The Stars led 14-7 at halftime.
Philadelphia quarterback Case Cookus completed 11 of 16 passes (68.8%) for 114 yards, two touchdowns, and three carries for ten yards. Running back Dexter Williams had eight carries for 30 yards, and two catches for six yards, and wide receiver Corey Coleman caught three passes for 52 yards, and one touchdown as part of Philadelphia’s 167 yards on offense, averaging six yards per play.
Birmingham received the ball to start the third quarter. Philadelphia gave them an easy field position when kicker Lirim Hajrullahu kicked the ball out of bounds the Stallions started at midfield. The Stallions galloped their way toward Philadelphia’s 12-yard line before kicker Brandon Aubrey made a 30-yard field goal, cutting the Stars’ lead to 14-10 with 10:54 left.
Later when the Stallions got the ball back after Philadelphia’s punt, Cody Brown knocked the ball out of CJ Marable’s arm and it was recovered by Joel Dublanko at the Stars’ four-yard line. However, Philadelphia’s offense could not take advantage of the turnover and punted the ball back to Birmingham.
Philadelphia’s defense had a couple of chances to stop Birmingham on third down but could not stop them. The Stallions had the ball inside the red zone on the Stars’ 10-yard line to begin the fourth quarter as the Stars led 14-10.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Alex McGough threw a ten-yard touchdown pass to Jace Sternberger. The Stars’ secondary left Sternberger wide open which made it an easy touchdown. The Stallions now led 17-14 with 14:55 left.
On the next Stars possession, Case Cookus and Dexter Williams led the offense to the Stallions’ seven-yard line. Case Cookus tried to look for someone open but instead ran with the ball. As it has been this year, the Stars’ wide receivers do not come back for the ball. They stood there waiting for the ball to be thrown to them. Kicker Luis Aguilar tied the game 17-17 with a 25-yard field goal with 7:29 left.
On the kickoff, Birmingham’s CJ Marble returned it for 36 yards. The Stallions made quick work to get to the Stars’ 23-yard line before Brandon Aubrey made a 41-yard field goal for a 20-17 lead with 4:39 left.
Once Philadelphia got the ball back, Case Cookus threw a 29-yard pass to Devin Gray at the Stallions’ 24-yard line, followed by a 17-yard catch by Diondre Overton. Then, Cookus found Dexter Williams for a seven-yard touchdown, putting Philadelphia up 24-20 with 3:05 left.
All Philadelphia’s defense had to do was make a stop. Philadelphia’s secondary could not stop the receivers and not only were they gaining yards but also milking the clock. Birmingham reached the Stars’ seven-yard line before Alex McGough threw a touchdown pass to La’Michael Pettway for a 27-24 lead with 28 seconds left.
Philadelphia had one more chance to win the game. Case Cookus was sacked on second down as the offensive line did not give him time to make a throw. On the final play of the game, Case Cookus tried a hail mary and it was intercepted by Nate Brooks. The Stars’ three-game winning streak came to an end with a 27-24 loss.
This was a game that Philadelphia should’ve won. The secondary could not stop the receivers, the wide receivers were not coming back to the ball when Cookus got into trouble, and Case Cookus lack of awareness. He had several receivers open throughout this game but instead decided to run with the ball and took some nasty hits along the way. Had he made those throws, the Stars might’ve won the game.
Philadelphia quarterback Case Cookus finished the afternoon completing 20 of 32 passes (62.5%) for 265 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and five carries for 19 yards. Running back Dexter Williams led the rushers with 15 carries for 52 yards, four catches for 23 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receivers Corey Coleman and Devin Gray combined with eight catches for 181 yards and one touchdown. Kick Luis Aguilar made one field goal for 25 yards and converted three extra points. Philadelphia’s defense allowed 429 yards, with 60 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, and two forced fumbles.
Birmingham quarterback Alex McGough completed 24 of 35 passes (68.6%) for 333 yards, three touchdowns, and five carries for 19 yards. Running back CJ Marable led the rushers with 11 carries for 56 yards and five catches for 46 yards. Wide receiver Davion Davis led the receivers with four catches for 120 yards and one touchdown.
Kicker Brandon Aubrey made two field goals with a long of 41 yards and made three extra points. Birmingham’s defense allowed 349 yards, with 62 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one interception, and four pass breakups.
Next Sunday, the Birmingham Stallions battle the Houston Gamblers at 2 pm on NBC, followed by the Philadelphia Stars at the New Jersey Generals at 7 pm on FOX. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 USFL Season, and tickets for both games are available today on StubHub and Viagogo.
