The stars use the advantages of gambling fights in late games

By RJ Young
FOX Sports Writer

BIRMINGHAM, ALA - No matter how hard you try, Houston Gamblers I just can’t catch a break.

They did a lot of things right on Sunday against the Philadelphia Stars. They tried a new quarterback. The defense gave them early leadership. They even built a double-digit advantage for themselves by entering the fourth quarter.

Yet, as has often been the case during this inaugural USFL season, the Gamblers gave up the lead late, this time allowing the Stars to achieve a staggering 22-0 advantage in the final quarter on the road to a 35-24 victory.

For the Gamblers (1-6), it was their sixth consecutive defeat, each seemingly more painful than the last. In Week 4, they lost in despair to New Orleans quarterback Kyle Slaughter with 10 seconds to go. In weeks 5 and 6, they lost games as time went on, first to Pittsburgh and then to New Jersey.

On Sunday, they entered the fourth quarter with a lead of 24-13, to end their actions in the last period as follows:

- Missed attempt with 49 yards

- interception

- Fumble

- Security

Meanwhile, the Stars received a 39-yard point from Case Caucasus to Jordan Sewell, a 3-yard point from Darnel Holland and two goals from Luis Aguilar’s game - not to mention that certainty - to turn the big edge of Gambler into a solid game. then on the run from Philadelphia.

Philli brings D

The stars have been solid lately, winning three of the last four games. The only defeat in that part was the defeat from Birmingham in the 5th week with the result 30-17, which is a perfect 7-0. The stars led 17-14 at halftime in that game, but like the rest of the USFL, they failed to stop the stallions in the second half.

Philadelphia’s defense on Sunday was huge against Houston, causing a couple of misunderstandings and benefiting from the sweet interception of cornerback Channing Stribling, who almost pulled a pick-six, only to cancel it with a penalty.

Stribling, a 27-year-old product from Michigan, leads the league with five interceptions even though he has played in only five of his team’s seven games. He has had views from several NFL teams in the past, and was on the Chargers 2018 training team.

Another great defensive game for Houston

Houston entered Week 7 tied with Birmingham for the league’s lead in terms of turnover, with a plus-5. The Gamblers also started the game on Sunday, when linebacker Donald Paine picked up Kukus and returned him 39 yards for a touchdown.

Domenico Davis’ defensive attack punched Kukus in the game, causing the ball to jump into the air and fall into Payne’s hands.

Payne, who entered week 7 leading the USFL in matches, also has two shifts in the season. This was his first interception of the season and gave the Gamblers a 7-0 lead.

Rough introduction

The gamblers gave quarterback Kenji Bahar the first real look at Sunday’s game time, and it was a small fight for the 24-year-old from Monmouth.

On the surface, his numbers look pretty solid - Bahar made 76.9% of his passes (10-for-13) for 101 yards and a touchdown. His feeder rating was a solid 92.1.

But he also gave up two lost balls and both came in in the fourth quarter. His choice against Stribling led Philadelphia to an easy goal from the game and a 30-24 lead. And his tampering came during the first possession game that followed when he was fired by Adam Rodriguez.

Four games later, another goal from the game led to 33-24 and essentially froze the game.

Despite the late fading, it will be interesting to see if Bahar will get another look in Week 8. Thorson entered fifth in the league on Sunday with a pass of 917 yards. But he made only 56.2% of his passes and scored seven.

RJ Young is an American football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and a podcast host. “1st ranked show with RJ Young“Follow him on Twitter at @ RJ_Ioungand subscribe to “RJ Young Show“on YouTube. He’s not on Stepmill.

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