2025 UFL Championship Game Takeaways
Let’s face it: there’s not a lot going on in the NFL right now. We’re currently in the slow period of free agency, and training camps don’t open for a few more weeks. Only one thing can fix this problem: more football of course! College football isn’t around either, but we have the UFL, which just awarded its second championship. This isn’t a league I cover often, but why not for this week? Unlike last year, this game was filled with offense, and the DC Defenders soon ran away from the Michigan Panthers with a 58-34 thrashing. To see what else we can learn, here are my 2025 UFL championship game takeaways!
League Awards Present Across These Teams
We learned this week that Michigan QB Bryce Perkins somehow won the MVP award despite missing 3 games. He played great when available, but that absence was 30% of a 10-game season. Nevertheless, Perkins looked like the deserving winner early in this contest with 3 straight completions to WR Malik Turner (10/160/3), who played at a superstar level. A big run by RB Nate McCrary (6/62/1) gave the Panthers the early lead, and even when DC responded, Michigan scored again. Perkins (21/35, 338 yards, 4 TDs INT, 8 rushing yards) didn’t run a lot on his injured ankle, but he and the offense weren’t responsible for this loss.
On the DC side, two of their coaches took home hardware. Most notably, interim HC Shannon Harris, who got the tag just before the start of the season when Reggie Barlow took the Tennessee State job, won Coach of the Year. People thought DC was in shambles when Barlow left and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams went with him, but Harris really righted the ship. One reason why was OC Fred Kaiss, who won Assistant Coach of the Year. Those two combined to prepare the Defenders really well each week through both teaching and game planning. They deserved these awards, and this championship proves it.
MVP Snub Fuels DC in Offensive Masterpiece
It was an award someone didn’t win that had the biggest impact on this game. Defenders QB Jordan Ta’amu led the league in both passing yards and passing TDs, and he led a potent offense. Most people (aside from the voters apparently) thought he should’ve won the MVP award. Ta’amu didn’t even claim Offensive Player of the Year (that also went to Perkins), and his team took it personally. How they channeled their outrage would be key, and the poor Panthers learned exactly what the result would be. Trailing 13-9 in the 2nd quarter, DC started taking shots, and practically all of them were hits.
Ta’amu (21/28, 390 yards, 4 TDs; 8/28/1 rushing) was a machine, firing deep throws to everyone from Jayden Mickens (6/132/1) and Ty Scott (1/73/1) to Seth Williams (1/46) and Braylon Sanders (3/41). Michigan helped give DC momentum by fumbling a kick return after one Panther stripped another, but credit the Defenders for opening up their attack. We even saw a Philly Special that Ta’amu caught for a 2-point conversion. Scott’s deep TD right before the half specifically demoralized Michigan, as they had just gotten back into the game. With DC up 37-19, the over hit by halftime and gave us our highest-scoring half in UFL history.
Third Quarter Features More Unraveling from Michigan
DC’s barrage continued after the half until they let up a bit in the final frame. Michigan helped a bit though. The third quarter got off to an inauspicious start when K BT Potter booted the ball short of the landing zone. Following a Defenders FG, Perkins made his lone big mistake by throwing a desperate-looking INT. DC quickly followed with a TD. Down 46-19, Michigan oddly chose to punt on their next drive. That call felt very conservative to me for a team facing 4th and 4 at their own 44 while in comeback mode. The Defenders ate all 6 minutes remaining in the 3rd frame and scored another TD to start the 4th.
By that point, the game was over except for the final score. DC finished with 58 points, which set the record for the most points ever scored by 1 team in UFL history. Ta’amu also set the record for most passing yards in a UFL game with 380. In a small bit of revenge, the DC quarterback finally won an MVP award, albeit the MVP of the championship game. This wasn’t a one-dimensional attack either; both RBs Abram Smith (10/63) and Deon Jackson (11/46/2) churned out yards on the ground to provide balance. While Michigan came into this game as the favorite, DC made clear that they were the better team.
Onside Conversions Make 4th Quarter Interesting, but Blowout Holds
One really neat aspect of the UFL is its version of the onside kick. In lieu of that low-percentage play, teams who are trailing in the 4th quarter can opt to attempt a 4th-and-12 play from their own 28. Through a “make it, take it” doctrine, a team that converts the 4th-down attempt keeps the ball and continues their possession (with the clock running unless the converting player steps out of bounds with under 2 minutes remaining). Several teams have made excellent use of this tool over the past two years, and Michigan tried their best to do the same. They actually converted TWO of those plays, leading to a touchdown and a field goal.
To be sure, this ended up being pure garbage time. With 5:47 to go, however, Michigan was down just 18 points. Due to the availability of 3-point tries after TDs, that was a 2-possession game by UFL standards. Perkins threw an incomplete pass on the Panthers’ third 4th-and-12 try though, ending any hope of a miraculous comeback. Alternatives to onside kicks, including a 4th-and-15 play, have been proposed in the NFL to no avail. Especially with the new kickoff rules, onside kicks have become nearly impossible to recover. I love the UFL’s variant, and hopefully the NFL will like it more now that they’ve seen it in action.
Poor Attendance in UFL’s Best Market is Concerning
Not everything about this championship game can be viewed through rose-colored glasses. Something I’ve noticed this year as a whole is that ticket sales are way down. Some teams didn’t have great in-person viewership last year either, but there were three exceptions: St. Louis, San Antonio, and DC. The Battlehawks still draw crowds, but I saw plenty of empty seats this year at Brahmas and Defenders games. Presumably because St. Louis lost last week, their fans did not show up for the championship game. This came in spite of the fact that their city was the host. Ironically, that honor was a reward for their strong attendance.
One good thing is that this league is not dependent on ticket sales like some others. TV rights, sponsorships, and betting are their main revenue sources, and low player salaries lead to less total overhead. The biggest issue with a lack of attendance is the optics. Large patches of empty seats do not reflect well on the league and its teams. The UFL wants to expand to additional markets, but is that feasible if they can’t fill the stadiums they already have? I personally want to see more teams; more pro football is always good in my opinion. We’ll just have to see if fan support prevents that sort of growth from occurring.