Panthers cave to Stallions' pressure, fall 20-13

Detroit — In another finish that went to the final possessions, the Michigan Panthers couldn't pull off another comeback, falling 20-13 to the Birmingham Stallions on Sunday afternoon.

Getting the ball back with 2:25 left in the game, the Panthers' final possession included a few sacks, a roughing-the-passer penalty, and a first-down conversion overturned by a review that would show a false start on the Panthers offense. But, it was a fourth-down sack that sealed the defeat for the Panthers, putting them at 1-1 in the early UFL season.

Panthers quarterback E.J. Perry went 20-for-34 for 203 yards, throwing both a touchdown and an interception. But the offensive line struggled to protect Perry, as he was sacked seven times, three of those by former NFL player and Michigan standout Taco Charlton.

The Panthers' run game couldn't get going this week, as the team combined for just 47 yards on 14 total carries following a Week 1 performance of 112 rushing yards.

"(Birmingham) did a very good job... I think in the one-on-ones they won the majority of them at times. They got to our quarterback naturally," Panthers head coach Mike Nolan said.

Jake Bates, who was last week's hero in a last-second victory over the St. Louis Battlehawks in the season opener, got big ovations from the crowd whenever he came out to kick, including a "We Want Jake" chant before hitting a 62-yarder as the final play of the first half. Bates hit both of his field goals of 50-plus yards. Meanwhile, Chris Blewitt went 4-for-4 on his field goals for the Stallions.

The Stallions' QB duo of Adrian Martinez and Matt Corral gave the Panthers defense trouble, doing work in the air and on the ground. Martinez was 8-for-15 for just 88 yards passing, but did most of his work scrambling out of the pocket, as he had 66 yards rushing on the day. Corral was 5-for-12 with 53 passing yards and threw an interception, but added 28 rushing yards.

"There was a couple of runs that (Martinez and Corral) got out of the pocket on and a couple of them were on third down. And that was disappointing because on third down, obviously you get in that situation and you think you're gonna get off (the field)," Nolan said.

Two crucial turnovers happened in the second quarter, first when Perry threw behind Marcus Simms and right to A.J. Thomas for the interception on the first play of the quarter. Then Danny Etling was stripped and fumbled the ball to the Stallions, but Birmingham only got six points from those two takeaways.

There were only two touchdowns scored in this game, one by each team. Perry and Simms connected for a 76-yard touchdown in the second quarter; the Stallions answered back as a roughing-the-passer penalty on defensive lineman Breeland Speaks set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Ricky Person Jr.

The two teams traded field goals in their first possessions of the third quarter, with the Panthers' defense putting on a goal-line stand to force the Stallions to take the three points. Both defenses did well throughout the day, especially on third down where the Stallions went just 2-for-10 while the Panthers converted six of their 15 attempts.

Perry looked uncomfortable as other than the seven sacks he took, he was only able to scramble four times for 25 yards.

"I think it was just a product of how the game way being played," Perry said. "Different games play out differently. They were playing a lot more zone in the first half, then played more man in the second half."

The Stallions, the defending USFL champions, have won their last nine games dating to last year, with the Panthers now losing three straight to the Stallions. The Panthers play the final game of their homestand next Sunday against the Houston Rednecks.

Kameron Goodwill is a freelance writer.