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USFL Week 2 highlights: New Orleans Breakers outlast Houston Gamblers in thriller
Week 2 of the 2023 USFL season is here, and we've got you covered with all the action from Saturday's slate!
Kicking things off in Birmingham, the Houston Gamblers were aiming to secure their first win of the season as they took on the New Orleans Breakers. In an exciting, back-and-forth game, the Breakers held on for a 38-31 victory, as Wes Hills rushed for 110 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries.
Later, the USFL's newest team, the Memphis Showboats, will face the defending champion Birmingham Stallions (7 p.m. ET, FOX and the FOX Sports app). See the full regular-season week-by-week matchups here.
You can also check out FOX Bet's current title odds for all eight teams.
Here are the top plays!
New Orleans Breakers 38, Houston Gamblers 31
Inspirational coach
New Orleans coach John DeFilippo has a rare condition that makes it difficult to walk. In dealing with that, he has made it a goal to jog out of the tunnel before every game. He is 2-for-2 this season in that regard. He spoke about it before Saturday's game.
Defense dominates early
Houston's defense put the Gamblers in good position for their first offensive series. But New Orleans proved equally stingy, as shown by this nice stop by Shaheed Salman. A short while later, the Gamblers doinked a field goal try off the upright, and the game remained scoreless.
Breaking on through
New Orleans struck first on Saturday, putting together a 10-play, 85-yard drive that chewed more than five minutes off the clock. The Breakers took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter when former Detroit Lions running back Wes Hills finished the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run.
Getting their kicks
The teams traded field goals in the second quarter, with the Gamblers' score set up by a beautiful kickoff return by Anthony Ratliff-Williams. That left the Breakers with a 10-3 lead.
Hall-ing it in
The Gamblers tied it up at 10-10 just before the half, when Kenji Bahar found Justin Hall for a pretty 25-yard touchdown pass. Bahar was 3-for-3 on the 59-yard drive that took only 33 seconds to complete.
Catch him if you can
Ratliff-Williams was too elusive for the Breakers on this play, breaking free for a 38-yard scoring catch as Houston pushed into a 17-10 lead early in the second half.
Breaking back
New Orleans marched right back down the field to tie it at 17-17 when McLeod Bethel-Thompson went over the top of the defensive back to Sage Surratt.
Back on top
After Alex Thomas intercepted Bahar, Bethel-Thompson led the Breakers back into the lead when he hit Johnnie Dixon on a 4-yard scoring pass.
Back and forth, we go!
The Gamblers would tie it at 24-24 on a 1-yard plunge by T.J. Pledger. But New Orleans re-took the lead just three minutes later, capping a six-play drive with a 3-yard run by Hills, his second touchdown run of the game.
Breakers come out on top
The Gamblers again tied it at 31-31, but they left too much time on the clock. Bethel-Thompson set up the Breakers with a pretty pass to Lee Morris. The Hills put it in for his third touchdown of the game and New Orleans held on from there.
Pregame scene
Top USFL stories from FOX Sports:
- USFL players explain why they love the league
- Win big prizes every week playing the USFL's Perfect Game Contest
- USFL's best trash talk: Players share their favorites
- Who's No. 1?: USFL power rankings after Week 1
