Defenders' upset of Stallions headlines biggest storylines from UFL Week 1

After dominating last season on their way to a third straight pro spring football championship title, it only took one week for the Birmingham Stallions to stub their toe.

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Led by interim head coach Shannon Harris, the DC Defenders sacked Birmingham quarterback Alex McGough for a 2-yard loss on third-and-21 from the Defenders’ 30-yard-line to seal an 18-11 victory at home. Harris, who took over after Reggie Barlow left to take over the helm at Tennessee State, earned his first victory as a head coach.

Stunned by the Defenders, the Stallions are under .500 for the first time since the return of the franchise three years ago and now have as many losses this season as they suffered during all of last year's UFL championship title run.

The Defenders' defense dominated one of the best offenses in the league. Led by longtime NFL defensive guru Gregg Williams’ aggressive blitzing scheme, the Defenders sacked McGough eight times, forced two turnovers and held the Stallions to just 138 total yards of offense.

McGough ran for 84 yards in his return to spring football but completed just 43.5% of his passes and posted a woeful 50.8 passer rating. The Defenders also kept the Stallions off the scoreboard for the entire second half. Linebacker Anthony Hines III led the way with six combined tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery. 

"Our defense was outstanding," Harris said after the game. "Any time you can contain these guys the way we did today — you’re talking about the three-time champs. We have a lot of respect for these guys.

"Coach (Skip) Holtz has done a good job with that organization. Hats off to those guys, but our guys wanted it