Opening week in the USFL. The usual mix of bad weather, surprising results, and lots of enthusiasm from bundled up fans. Football is back as the USFL returns to a 16-week schedule after last year’s shortened season. Only 12 teams will make the postseason this year, so a good start, and a steady hand for all 16 weeks are needed. The season opened with several teams debuting a new starting QB, and results were mixed. We open with Boston and veteran backup Adrian McPherson taking the mantle of the Summer Bowl champion Cannons. And while neither of the superstar rookie QB’s drafted this year, Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford, got into the games this week, their teams still came away with road wins, so the excitement in Jacksonville and New Jersey will just continue to grow. Good showings from Orlando and New Orleans, and a Seattle squad that definitely will not start the year 0-4 highlight a full week of action and an exciting start to a new USFL season.
TAMPA BAY BANDITS 20 NEW JERSEY GENERALS 26 OVERTIME
Nothing like an overtime game to start the year. The 41,030 who showed up at the Meadowlands on a cold, windy day did not get to see star rookie QB Sam Bradford, but they did watch as Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 274, a late game equalizer to send the game to overtime and then the winning TD to new acquisition Michael Crabtree. Tampa Bay trailed most of the game but scored twice in the 4th to take the lead before New Jersey rallied to send the game to overtime.
The game started slowly, with both teams struggling with conditions, but a TD late in the 2nd quarter, Fitzpatrick to Crabtree, put New Jersey up by 7 at the half. The two teams exchanged field goals in the 3rd and both heated up in the 4th. Tampa Bay, trailing by 7, 13-6, got the equalizer when Daunte Culpeper hit Jared Cook with a 5-yard scoring strike, the final play in a 12-play drive. After a New Jersey punt, they got the ball back again, and again it was the TE position that provided points as Culpepper hit Jeremy Shockey with the go ahead score with 1:24 left in the game.
Up 7, with under 2-minutes to go, Tampa Bay felt confident that they had broken the Generals, but that was not the case. Coach Edwards rallied the troops and Fitzpatrick (who the NY Post referred to as Fitz-Magic after the game) moved the Generals right down the field with a flawless hurry-up offense, connecting on 4 consecutive passes before finding T. J. Houshmandzadeh for the equalizer with 37 seconds left on the clock.
In overtime Tampa Bay got the first try to end the game, but a dropped pass on 3rd and 11 forced the Bandits to punt. Fitz-Magic and the Generals took over on their own 32 and moved down the field once again. On a 2nd and goal, and needing only a field goal, Fitzpatrick was forced to scramble, but saw an open Crabtree and flipped him the ball underhand, almost a lateral, but into the endzone. Crabtree rolled to the ground and then got up to dance, realizing he had scored the winning TD for the Generals.
New Jersey opens the year with a win, something few had predicted, while Tampa Bay let one slip away, a stinging way to start the year. The Bandits will try their luck again in their home opener, a huge matchup against Orlando, while New Jersey will head onto the road to face Denver at Invesco Field with a win already in hand.
BALTIMORE 21 BOSTON 19
Cannon fans braved a cold, wet, and windy Friday night to celebrate their USFL Champions, but while the night was one of celebration, Baltimore (and the weather) decided to rain on Boston’s parade. Two Roethlisberger TD passes and a late Ron Dayne TD gave Boston a 21-13 lead. Boston got a 4th quarter TD from Rashard Mendenhall but new Cannon QB Adrian McPherson could not find a receiver on the 2-point play. Baltimore escaped with the 2-point win.
ORLANDO 23 BIRMINGHAM 7
The Renegade D looked like it had found mid-season form already, holding Birmingham to only 240 total yards. The ‘Gades offense struggled at first, but scored 17 points in the final quarter to take the win. Both Michael Jenkins and Greg Olsen went over 100 yards on the day, as Drew Brees had a strong second half to finish with 386 pasisng yards. Calais Campbell got his first sack of the year, but only one as Birmingham spent the whole day chipping the league record holder.
PITTSBURGH 16 ATLANTA 10
The Pittsburgh defense helped the Maulers start the year off right, sacking Kyle Orton 5 times and returning a pick for a score in the season opener. Rookie WR Victor Cruz made an impression, catching his first career TD, and Cody Pickett completed 15 of 19 passing for the Maulers. Atlanta struggled on offense, as Darren McFadden averaged only 2.6 yards per carry in the opener.
PHILADELPHIA 16 DENVER 6
With hints of snow still on the field, and a cold wind in Denver, the Stars and Gold both came out cold. But, by game’s end, Kurt Warner had connected twice with Reche Caldwell to build up a 16-0 lead. Denver got a late TD from Leinart to Colbert, but missed on the 2-pointer, keeping them 10 points down with only minutes left. Neither team looked good on third down, a combined 5 for 25, as the wind and cold made offensive fireworks hard to produce.
LOS ANGELES 21 PORTLAND 24
A really entertaining opening game for the Stags, who pull it out with 27 seconds to play on a toss from Feeley to Jonathan Stewart, erasing a 21-17 deficit and giving the home fans something to cheer about. Stewart was the star of the day, accounting for all three Portland TDs, while Randy Moss debuted with 108 yards and a TD for the Express.
OHIO 3 MICHIGAN 13
No weather to deal with in Ford Field, but both teams played like they were slogging through mud. Neither offense looked ready for the new season, with Chris Redman’s Glory going 0-for-10 on third down and Michigan struggling to build a run game with Mike Hart and Leon Washington. The lone TD of the day was an early score from Griese to TE Marcellus Rivers, a score that held through all 60 minutes as both defenses dominated.
NEW ORLEANS 17 MEMPHIS 12
Another low-scoring affair as New Orleans upended Memphis on Jake Delhomme’s debut with the club. Memphis could muster only 4 field goals on the day, which looked like enough as the Showboats took a 12-3 lead into the final period, but the Breakers eventually broke through, with Eli Manning finding rookie Brandon LaFell for one score and then connecting with another new arrival, WR Santana Moss, for the game winner with 1:12 left on the clock.
NASHVILLE 23 CHARLOTTE 13
Chris Weinke went down to an injury before the half as Charlotte’s season debut went south. Seneca Wallace finished the game 10 of 24 but could not get in the endzone. Jay Cutler had a strong game, throwing for 3 scores, all 3 to #1 wideout Robert Meachem. Charlotte would get good news that Weinke should return in Week 2, but that did not help them on this day.
JACKSONVILLE 26 CHICAGO 16
A surprising result as Jacksonville knocked off the Machine in Chicago. An injury to Brady Quinn (who could miss 2+ weeks) meant that Chicago was hobbled for most of the game. Jacksonville got a TD from Josh McCown and a pick-six as rookie Mike Kafka threw an ill-advised ball into coverage. No Tebow sighting for the Bulls and C. J. Spiller only rushed for 25 yards in his debut, but the Bulls will certainly take the win even if Tebow-mania has to wait a week.
LAS VEGAS 10 ARIZONA 13
The Thunder and Wranglers also struggled to put drives together in a first week dominated by the defenses. Las Vegas had the lead at 10-7 late in the 4th, but David Carr found rookie TE Rob Gronkowski on a 31 yard TD pass right at the 2-minute warning to snatch the win away from Coach June Jones and the Thunder. LaDainian Tomlinson had a good first game in the league, rushing 18 times for 79 yards to lead all rushers, while Marshawn Lynch was held to 41 yards rushing by the Arizona D.
ST.LOUIS 13 TEXAS 21
The Skyhawks looked good early with Josh Freeman hitting Taylor Jacobs on an 83-yard TD in the first quarter, but Texas proved the more consistent team, getting two TDs from Joe Flacco and 5 sacks from their front 7 to frustrate Freeman and the Skyhawks. T. J. Duckett got the season’s first 100-yard game, rushing for 104 on 22 carries to help Texas start the year with a win.
WASHINGTON 21 HOUSTON 27
David Garrard struggled at first as Houston built up a 24-0 lead by the half on two Hasselbeck TD throws and an Alexander run, but the new Federals QB led a comeback in the second half, including a scramble that turned into a TD for Garrard. But, in the end it was not enough as Houston held on to win by 6.
OAKLAND 18 SEATTLE 23
The week’s finale was a good one as the Dragons shook off the fears of another weak start with a solid win against the favored Oakland Invaders. The run game was non-existent for Seattle (33 total yards) but Byron Leftwich threw for 224 and a TD, brushing off 3 picks at the hands of the Invaders, to get the win. Joey Harrington threw 2 picks of his own as both defenses frustrated the offensive nights. Oakland struggled on third down, converting only 1 of 11 attempts and failed twice on late 4th down plays, killing drives needed to come back.
Stewart Shines for Stags
Week one is a time to reset expectations, to make a first impression, and get the fans excited about the year to come. Portland Stag halfback Jonathan Stewart certainly did that in front of an eager home crowd this week, scoring three times and accounting for over 155 yards of total offense. In Portland’s 24-21 comeback win over the LA Express, Stewart rushed for 75 yards on 22 carries, a modest 3.4 yards per carry, but a reliable element of the Stag offense. But, what made his day was that he caught all 7 ball targeted to him in the passing game, including a 47-yard TD catch in the final moments of the game that turned a 21-17 defeat into a 24-21 Portland opening week victory.
Stewart, in his 3rd year out of Oregon, is already no stranger to fans in Portland. After an outstanding college career as an Oregon Duck, Stewart signed on with Portland’s brand new expansion club in 2008, gaining 1,105 yards with the first year club as he won the team’s MVP for the year. In his sophomore season he had 40 fewer carries, maintained the same 3.2 YPC average, and gained 981 yards. His self-appointed goal for this year is not only to expand his role in the offense, something this week’s receiving yards seem to highlight, but to reach 1,200 yards as a rusher, a lofty goal indeed. Stewart is off to a great start, with 155 yards of total offense in his first game. It is a long season ahed, but he certainly is off to a good start.
New QB’s struggle to 1-4 Record in Week 1
Five teams started new quarterbacks this week and, well, the results were not ideal. Only one of the five came away with a win, Jacksonville’s Josh McCown. The others, Chris Redman (Ohio), Adrian McPherson (BOS), David Garrard (WSH), and Jake Delhomme (MEM) all struggled to put points on the board and came out of the weekend 0-1. Now, this is not entirely unexpected, and we certainly cannot judge the value of the move to these players after one week of play, after all, just learning a new system, new nomenclature, and the capabilities of new teammates can take quite a bit of time. But, for fans hoping a change at the most important position on the team would lead to immediate benefits, the weekend proved that patience is required in football as in all things.
Despite the rough week, there were some highlights. David Garrard scrambled for a long TD run, a very reminiscent play to what fans in D.C. were accustomed to with Kordell Stewart at the helm. He actually finished the game only 7 yards behind Deuce McCallister in rushing. He also completed 20 of 31 passing the ball, but was knocked out of the game late. Joe Webb, the rookie out of Eastern Carolina may get the start in Week 2.
For veteran Jake Delhomme, after nearly a decade at the helm of the Bulls, his first start as a Memphis Showboat was challenging. Delhomme threw the ball 40 times, completing 25 of those tosses for 227 yards, but he could not get Memphis into the endzone, with four Jeff Hall kicks the only points for the Showboats. Delhomme seemed comfortable in the pocket, hit 9 different receviers on the day, and does seem to be building a rapport with Robert Ferguson, the Showboat’s top receiver, so there is a lot to grow on after one week.
Adrian McPherson showed what he can do back in 2008, when he started seven games for an injured Drewe Bledsoe and threw 13 TDs to only 3 picks. Fans had, perhaps naively, hoped he could step in this Fall and simply carry on with Boston’s success, but the first week loss to Baltimore showed that it will not be that easy. McPherson’s outing was not a bad one, completing 23 of 43 passing for 251 yards, a TD and a pick. He had Boston within a 2-point conversion of sending their game to overtime, but simply could not make that one needed play to make it happen. Coach Fox seems quite confident in McPherson moving forward, dismissing any talk of seeking another option.
For Chris Redman, this week’s game was a chance to step out of the very big shadow of one of the game’s greats, 3-time USFL MVP Kerry Collins. After more than a decade backing up Collins, Redman was entrusted with the Al Luginbill offense. In his debut as the undisputed starter, Redman looked a bit nervous, missing on his first 3 throws and finishing the game 13 of 28 for 172 yards. Of course, playing the two time defending division champion also did not make things any easier. It never is when you have Odell Thurman and DeMarcus Ware blitzing you regularly. With Randy Moss now in LA, the Glory are hoping to rely more on Eddie George and are looking at rookie Aurelious Benn as a potential target for Redman. The two did combine for 4 catches on 9 targets in the game, but those numbers will need to improve if Redman hopes to win over a skeptical Glory fanbase.
It is only the first week, no time to panic. Fans and pundits alike need to see how these offenses, and their new signal callers, grow to understand each other and maximize their potential. For now, we wait and see. But, with a bumper crop of high achieving QB’s expected in the 2011 draft, there is pressure for these new starters, as well as several veteran starters, to show that they are the answer for their clubs at the most important position on the field.
Rookies Watching & Learning
While some veterans got their shot to start this week, the two newest “blue chip” rookie QBs did not. Both Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow were suited up, but wearing baseball caps and clipboards this weekend. We expected this, to a degree, though we have to confess that at least in Tebow’s case we thought their might be a chance that he saw the field with a small package of plays, but Leslie Frazier opted to stick with Josh McCown this week, and after a road win in Chicagp, that plan is unlikely to change in Week 2.
A similar situation is in place for Sam Bradford with the Generals. Whle there are certainly plenty of fans who want to see the Oklahoma product on the field, if Ryan Fitzpatrick can continue to produce exciting plays and wins, the pressure to put Bradford into the game will be minimal. If Jacksonville and New Jersey can string together some wins, their veteran QB’s could well keep both big names quarterbacks waiting.
Among non-quarterbacks, we did see several rookies debut. In Seattle it was an underwhelming day for HB Jahvid Best, who only played 14 snaps, rushed the ball once and caught one pass. It appears Best has had some difficulty picking up the complex blocking schemes of the Dragons, so his time on the field is limited. Another back expected to get a lot of action this week, Birmingham’s Ben Tate, did see more of the field, getting in for 22 plays, carrying the ball 5 times fo r33 yards, and was targeted once in the passing game. His 6.6 yards per carry could mean we see more of him in weeks to come. Jacksonville’s C. J. Spiller was given the biggest role of the three rookie backs, carrying the ball 11 times and targeted twice in the passing game. Spiller struggled with the speed of the game, gaining only 32 yards with his 12 touches, but we expect his numbers, and his chances to make plays, will only increase from here out.
Among receivers, we saw several start and several contribute this week. Aurelious Benn caught 4 balls for 57 yards for Ohio, leading the pack. Brandon LaFell had 3 for 42 and his first pro touchdown, helping New Orleans to a Week 1 victory, and unheralded Carlton Mitchell also caught three balls, including a touchdown in his pro debut for Jacksonville. Tight End Rob Gronkowski produced the game winning score for Arizona in his debut, and Jimmy Graham got his first catch as a Mauler.
We will look into the early success of the rookie class of 2010 around Week 4 or 5, once they have had more of a chance to adjust to the pro game and find their places in each roster.
Oakland-Seattle Marks First EFN Broadcast
ESPN, and its subsidiary network the ESPN Football Network initiated their new dual-broadcast feature this Sunday with the Oakland and Seattle game broadcast on both networks simultaneously. This is the first time that a USFL game has been broadcast on two distinct networks, though both owned by the same parent company. This season all Sunday Night games will be dual simulcast in what is believed to be an extended market test for EFN as a potential broadcast partner outside of the ESPN contract. The goal, of course, is for EFN to gain in viewership and market viability by eventually having games exclusively contracted, something the current agreements between the USFL and its various broadcast partners will not allow. ESPN could, of course, opt to provide EFN with its own broadcast by “assigning” one of its two weekly games to the secondary network, but at present EFN does not have broad enough coverage to benefit ESPN in doing so.
EFN does cover some live football, particularly college games in the fall through arrangements with Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference, and a deal is in the works with the SEC to potentially cover 1-2 games per week, but the network, which aims to parallel the growth of the NFL Network, has yet to cover any live USFL games. That all changed with Sunday’s broadcast. For fans wondering why they should switch over to the EFN broadcast rather than the ESPN version, it really came down to on-air personalities and extra features. The ESPN broadcast had the usual team of Mike Patrick and former Federals HB Craig James. EFN uses a 3-announcer team featuring two former USFL players, former Express QB Steve Young, former Philadelphia WR Cris Carter, and play-by-play announcer and host Mike Tirico. The choice to use two separate broadcast teams, along with enhanced fantasy and real-time stats on the EFN broadcast was made as a way to boost the EFN broadcast and provide an alternative, rather than simply providing 2 networks with identical products. It is too early to have accurate ratings numbers on the two different broadcasts, though initial numbers seem to indicate a 2:1 split in favor of the traditional ESPN broadcast, which is not surprising at all considering the wider distribution of the 24-hour sports network compared to the USFL and College Football network.
It is always rough to start the year with injuries, but it is a part of the game. Fans in Chicago have to be concerned that their QB, Brady Quinn is out already, but is groin issue is expected to be only a matter of days, not weeks to repair. He is out for Week 2, but could be back the week after. A very similar timeline for Seattle’s Byron Leftwich who had a great game this week but took a late finger to the eye. Seattle will keep him out in Week 2, but he could be back for Week 3. A third QB could be out this week as Washington’s David Garrard is listed as Questionable with a jammed toe. If he cannot go, rookie Joe Webb could take the field for the Feds.
The most serious injury of the week was for new Charlotte CB Asante Samuel, who suffered a broken collarbone and is expected to miss 6 weeks or longer. In Denver, tackle Chris Terry is out 2-4 weeks with a stress fracture in his right foot, while in LA center Ryan Kalil is likely out 2 weeks after straining his hamstring. Others expected to miss at least a week include Houston guard Manuia Saveea, new Breaker HB Michael Robinson, Denver TE Daniel Graham, Atlanta tackle Max Starks, and Birmingham’s rookie back, Ben Tate.
Chris Weinke, who had to leave the game this week, is expected back in Week 2, as are many others who were forced out of games this week but diagnosed with minor concerns, including Daunte Culpepper, Rodger Saffold, DeShaun Foster, Keith Burns, and Peerless Price.
Opening Week A Mixed Bag for Attendance
Since its inception in 1983 the USFL has always had a love-hate relationship with its opening week. On the one hand you have the excitement and anticipation of a return to football, particularly noticeable in non-NFL markets, like Birmingham, Portland, San Antonio or Orlando, which have waited through the long offseason for their pro team to return to action. On the other hand, early season USFL games, much like late season NFL games, tend to be fraught with weather concerns, ranging from cold winds to early spring rainstorms to blizzard-like conditions in some northern cities.
That duality of the spring league’s opening week was on full display this week as cold, rainy and windy weather suppressed numbers at games in Boston, New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, while warmer, more hospitable locations, as well as several domed stadium sites, saw strong numbers. There was an outstanding crowd of over 48,000 in the Alamodome to welcome the Texas Outlaws back from their one year hiatus in Dallas, nearly 45,000 in Atlanta for the Fire’s home opener against St. Louis, and over 51,000 in Birmingham as the Stallions opened their campaign against Charlotte.
Overall, the league average for this season’s first week came in at just under 44,000 per game, a very healthy number for the league, but only 3rd all time. The league has been able to maintain an average attendance over 40,000 for nearly 12 years now, but seems unable to get much higher, despite having several stadiums that do allow for 50,000 or even 60,000 in attendance. While there are occasional spikes up to the mid-50’s, particularly in late season clashes between divisional foes such as Chicago v. Michigan, Philadelphia v. New Jersey, or any of the three Florida teams clashing, the league averages tend to hover in the mid 40’s.
Of course, lower capacity stadia are a portion of this, particularly in places like Las Vegas and Boston where even a mid-40’s attendance requires significant standing-room only sales, and there are some teams which simply chronically underperform, perhaps due to market (Los Angeles comes to mind), stadium issues (Oakland, for example), or poor performance on the field (Arizona and Pittsburgh have struggled with this), but overall the state of USFL attendance is very solid. League officials still set 30,000 per game as the minimum required for teams to obtain a full share of the league’s revenue sharing, and no team has failed to meet that standard in several years, but with league officials hoping to maintain pace financially with the NFL, particularly when it comes to player acquisition, a goal of attendance above 50,000 is still very much something the league would like to push.
USFL Loses Two More to Late NFL Signings
With the NFL-USFL Transfer window set to close in only 10 days, there is still time for some movement among unsigned players, and that is exactly what we saw this week when two unsigned USFL starters made the leap to the fall league. Denver HB Mewelde Moore, unsatisfied with offers coming from the Gold, has signed on with the Minnesota Vikings, inking a 2-year deal this week. Likewise, with a significant rift between the offer made by the St. Louis Skyhawks to remain in the Gateway City and his own counteroffers, offensive tackle Ross Verba has opted to join the Green Bay Packers for the fall 2010 season. In both cases, lukewarm interest from other USFL clubs, and low-end offers from their original clubs left the players feeling underappreciated and under-valued by the USFL, making the transition from the spring to the fall league more appetizing. Of course, the prospect of a long offseason, from August 2009 all the way until August 2010, has its appeal as well.
No such appeal for currently unsigned NFL players who might consider a jump to the USFL, as they would join their new teams only 10-12 weeks after their final games with their NFL clubs. We have not seen a lot of late signings by the USFL, but there still remains interest even as the USFL season kicks off. Three players in particular seem to be garnering interest from USFL clubs as the season begins. New York Jets halfback Thomas Jones is said to be in talks with several teams representing both leagues, including both the Michigan Panthers and New Orleans Breakers in the USFL. Likewise, wide receiver Antonio Bryant has been taking calls and meetings with both NFL and USFL clubs, including Arizona and St. Louis. Finally, despite Ross Verba feeling a lack of interest from USFL clubs, the same is not true for NFL OT Tony Pashos, who has been in off-and-on conversations with both the Seattle Dragons and Atlanta Fire this past month. With little over a week left in the transfer window, any deal will have to come soon if USFL squads are to enhance their rosters with any new NFL signees.
Adidas Reveals New Jersey Style, With Branding Built In
Fresh off their new 7-year deal with the USFL, Adidas has revealed a new jersey template to be used by all 28 teams beginning in 2011. The jersey features reinforced stitching on both the shoulders and the side seams, but also features something that past uniform providers have not done, branding built into the uniform itself. Yes, in past years we have seen Nike and Reebok logos added to the chest of the jersey, typically either on the sleeve cuffs, shoulder seams, or the right chest, opposite the league logo. Adidas is doing that as well, with their famous 3-stripe triangular logo appearing on the chest where we have seen Nike and Reebok logos as well, but they are doing more.
All 28 clubs will also feature three short vertical stripes incorporated into both the sleeve cuffs and the rear of the collar on all jerseys. This is, of course, a far cry from the prominent three-stripe pattern we see on soccer jerseys, for example, but is the first time that a jersey producer has incorporated a company-specific design across all teams. The design is not expected to impact the striping or design elements individually created or updated for each team, but does stamp each jersey as an Adidas product, something the manufacturer included in their offer to the USFL, an offer reported to be valued as between $3M-$5M more than the offer to renew provided by Reebok, a key factor in their winning the contract. It would seem that the small striping addition to the uniforms was well worth it for the league to bring in just a bit more revenue from the deal, a deal Adidas hopes will make it a household name in the football market, expanding on their work within college football and professional soccer in the U.S.
Week two kicks off with a big game in the Southeast as Orlando heads to Tampa Bay in a Florida Derby. On Saturday it’s a battle of 1-0 squads as the Gamblers travel to Baltimore. Michigan is in Jacksonville, and a divisional game has Pittsburgh facing off against Chicago. On Saturday night it is another divisional battle as the Stars head down the DC to face the Washington Federals. On Sundaywe have Las Vegas going to Portland in the Pacific and it all wraps up with another ESPN and EFN dual broadcast as we have a possible preview of the Southern Division title fight with Nashville down in the Big Easy to face the New Orleans Breakers.
FRIDAY @ 8pm ET Orlando (1-0) @ Tampa Bay (0-1) NBC
SATURDAY @ 12pm ET Houston (1-0) @ Baltimore (1-0) ABC
SATURDAY @ 12pm ET Michigan (1-0) @ Jacksonville (1-0) ABC
SATURDAY @ 12pm ET Boston (0-1) @ Memphis (0-1) FOX
SATURDAY @ 4pm ET Pittsburgh (1-0) @ Chicago (0-1) ABC
SATURDAY @ 4pm ET New Jersey (1-0) @ Denver (1-0) FOX
SATURDAY @ 8pm ET Philadelphia (1-0) @ Washington (0-1) ESPN
SUNDAY @ 12pm ET Charlotte (0-1) @ Birmingham (0-1) ABC
SUNDAY @ 12pm ET St. Louis (0-1) @ Atlanta (0-1) FOX
SUNDAY @ 12pm ET Arizona (1-0) @ Ohio (0-1) FOX
SUNDAY @ 4pm ET Las Vegas (0-1) @ Portland (1-0) ABC
SUNDAY @ 4pm ET Seattle (1-0) @ Texas (1-0) ABC
SUNDAY @ 4pm ET Oakland (0-1) @ Los Angeles (0-1) FOX
SUNDAY @ 8pm ET Nashville (1-0) @ New Orleans (1-0) ESPN & EFN