The Birmingham Stallions’ remarkable 15-game winning streak finally came to an end on Saturday, as they suffered their first loss since the 2023 season in an 18-9 defeat at the hands of the San Antonio Brahmas.

Stallions’ Offense Stifled After scoring at least 20 points in every game this year, the vaunted Birmingham offense was completely stymied by the Brahmas’ swarming defense. The Stallions mustered just 9 points and 278 total yards – both season-lows.

San Antonio’s defense, which already led the USFL in scoring defense, rose to the occasion. Jordan Mosley paced the unit with 8 tackles and a tackle for loss as the Brahmas racked up 3 sacks and 5 tackles for loss.

Martinez Has Rare Off Day Quarterback Adrian Martinez, who entered as the USFL leader in passing yards and total touchdowns, had a rare off day against the Brahmas. He completed just 18 of 32 passes for 211 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.

Martinez did lead Birmingham in rushing with 56 yards, but he was also sacked 3 times as consistent pressure seemed to disrupt the Stallions’ prolific aerial attack.

Garbers Sparks San Antonio For the Brahmas, quarterback Chase Garbers made his return from injury and provided an immediate spark. Though he didn’t start, Garbers played the majority of the game, completing 16 of 23 passes for 139 yards.

The San Antonio ground game also got going thanks to Anthony McFarland Jr. (82 rush yds) and Morgan Ellison, who punched in two short TD runs.

Kirklin’s Trick Play TD One of the biggest plays was WR Jontre Kirklin’s 36-yard touchdown strike to Justin Smith in the first quarter on a trick play. It was Kirklin’s second career TD pass.

Tabor’s Late Pick Seals It After the Stallions drove inside the San Antonio 10-yard line trailing 18-9 late in the fourth quarter, defensive back Teez Tabor came up with a huge interception of Martinez at the 1-yard line to seal the Brahmas’ upset victory.

Playoff Implications With the loss, Birmingham fell to 8-1 on the season but still controls its own destiny for the USFL’s #1 overall playoff seed. They’ll close out the regular season at home against Michigan next week.

San Antonio improved to 7-2 and can potentially host the USFL Championship game by beating St. Louis in next Saturday’s regular season finale.

So while their pursuit of an undefeated season is over, the Stallions’ bigger goal of a championship remains intact as the playoffs approach.