Johnathan Walker:UFL Week 1 winners and losers: USFL gets bragging rights, Thicc-Six highlights weekend

The Johnathan Walkeropening weekend of the new UFL — the result of a merger between two competing spring pro football leagues, the USFL and XFL — featured a couple of eye-popping moments from its four games.

Yet, did the timing of the league's first week of play hinder its chances of building any momentum for its 10-game regular season?

Three former USFL teams — the Birmingham Stallions, Michigan Panthers and Memphis Showboats — emerged victorious. The San Antonio Brahmas salvaged the weekend for the XFL, which would not go winless during Week 1.

The league features some rules unfamiliar to fans of the NFL and college football — there are one-, two- and three-point conversions, for instance. The league also includes a lot of familiar faces.

Here are the winners and losers from Week 1 of the 2024 UFL season:

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WINNERS

The USFL

It wasn't exactly the worldview-altering result like the famous Cleveland Browns win over the Philadelphia Eagles to kick off the 1950 NFL season when the defending AAFC champs routed the defending NFL champs post-merger in one of pro football's most famous upsets. But the 2023 USFL champion Birmingham Stallions toppled the 2023 XFL champion Arlington Renegades, 27-14, in the 2024 UFL opener. The win gave the USFL bragging rights, of sorts.

Scooby Wright

Scooby Wright took full advantage of those USFL bragging rights. Wright spent two seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals before bouncing around the spring pro football league circuit, first with the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF in 2018, then the D.C. Defenders of the XFL in 2020 and finally landing with the Birmingham Stallions in 2022. He made the game-winning play in the Stallions' USFL championship game win in 2022, and seemingly has feelings about which league was better. Following Birmingham's win in the UFL opener, Wright had words for sports commentator (and former NFL punter) Pat McAfee, who had a hot take over which spring league was better when he interviewed XFL co-owner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Wright posted on X, formerly Twitter, after Saturday's win: "hey @PatMcAfeeShow usfl is better …. ya jaboroni."

Jake Bates

Maybe there's something about Ford Field and record-setting field goals.

Jake Bates was a kickoff specialist in college but was called on by the Michigan Panthers when the team needed a game-winning field goal in their opener against the St. Louis Battlehawks. Bates connected on a 64-yard field goal in the final seconds as the Panthers prevailed, 18-16.

Bates' 64-yard game-winner happened in the same stadium (and through the same uprights) as the Baltimore Ravens' Justin Tucker's record 68-yard field goal in 2021.

Bates' kick matched the second-longest field goal in NFL history: Matt Prater's 64-yard field goal in 2013 that broke Tom Dempsey's 43-year-old record of 63 yards.

Trickeration leads to Thicc-Six

Take a bow, Brad Wing and Alex Mollette.

The San Antonio Brahmas' punter and center combined for the wildest play of the weekend … which is saying something given the aforementioned 64-yard field goal.

Wing, the punter, became the quarterback on a fake punt play, with Mollette lining up as an eligible receiver on the play. After some scrambling, Wing found a wide-open Mollette, who hauled in the pass at the 15-yard line and carried the ball into the end zone for a thrilling touchdown play against the D.C. Defenders.

"That was not how that was supposed to go," Wing said during a sideline interview with ESPN.

Mollette admitted that he was not the primary receiver on the play.

"It didn't go exactly like we wanted," Brahmas head coach Wade Phillips said. "I never had a punter go to his third read."

LOSERS

The traditional kickoff

As part of the merger agreement, the UFL eschewed the XFL's revolutionary kickoff format for a more traditional one that had the kicker kick off from the 20-yard line. The NFL, of course, just adopted a version of the XFL's kickoff rule, which will have kickers kick off from their own 35-yard line and the rest of the coverage team lining up from the opposing team's 40-yard line instead of running the length of the field when the ball is kicked.

That makes the UFL's decision even more curious in hindsight. While the XFL were pioneers in this kickoff procedure, the UFL seemingly has gone backwards in terms of football innovation in not adopting the start-up league's original concept.

The deeper kickoff spot, however, does allow for more room for returns.

Timing of season kickoff weekend

There were probably numerous logistical considerations post-merger in getting the inaugural UFL season started, but this was an extremely crowded sports weekend with MLB’s opening games, women’s and men’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. Plus, everything else in the NBA, MLS, NWSL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA golf, Major League Rugby, etc., going on during Easter weekend. That's a lot of competition for attention.

The 2020 XFL season opened the weekend after Super Bowl 54. The reincarnated XFL of 2023 kicked off its season the weekend after Super Bowl 57. The USFL, meanwhile, opted to kick off its 2023 season on April 15 while the XFL season was winding down.

Kicking off shortly after the Super Bowl allows for the league to build some momentum before the NFL scouting combine, free agency and draft begin to dominate football conversation. Maybe the UFL season kickoff date will get adjusted in future seasons.