The 2022 Tampa Bay Bandits season was the first and only season for the

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal o ...

as a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

. They played as charter members of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

, one of eight teams to compete in the league for the 2022 season. The Bandits technically played as a

traveling team Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

(since the entirety of the regular season was played at

Protective Stadium Protective Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium owned and operated by the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Its naming rights are provided by the Protective Life company, which will pay $1 million p ...

and

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

) and were led by head coach

Todd Haley Richard Todd Haley (born February 28, 1967) is an American football coach who is the current head coach and general manager for the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League (USFL). From 1997 to 2006, he had stints as the wide rece ...

Personnel

Final roster

The Bandits, like all other teams, have a 38-man active roster with a 7-man practice squad.

Staff

Schedule

Regular season

The Bandits'

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schedule was announced on March 7. They opened the season against the

Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh Maulers may refer to: * Pittsburgh Maulers (1984), United States Football League team * Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) The Pittsburgh Maulers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Maulers compet ...

. Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. * mean that they host the game, since all eight teams play at the same stadium

Game summaries

Week 1: at Pittsburgh Maulers

The Bandits started their season against the Pittsburgh Maulers. The Bandits dominated the first half, scoring 17 unanswered points with 2 touchdowns and a 23 yard field goal. On the Bandits first drive of the game, they drove downfield 68 yards to score with a

B. J. Emmons B. J. Emmons (born July 3, 1997) is an American professional football running back for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Florida Atlantic, Hutchinson Community College, and Alabama. Emmon ...

3 yard rushing touchdown. The teams would trade punts until what would be the Bandits last drive of the first quarter saw them drive 54 yards down field and kick a 23 yard field goal to put them up 10-0 at the end of the first. The teams traded punts again until near the end of the second quarter when a short punt by the Maulers put them at the Pittsburgh's 38 yard line. The drive ended when

Jordan Ta'amu Jordan Taalolo Ta'amu-Perifanos (born December 10, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the DC Defenders of the XFL. He played college football for Ole Miss. Ta'amu has been a member of several National Football League (NFL) teams and ...

threw a 3 yard touchdown pass to

Jordan Lasley Jordan Lasley (born November 13, 1996) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Early years L ...

to put the Bandits up 17-0 heading into the half, which would be the only points Tampa would score. The second half saw the Maulers drive 46 yards to hit a 28 yard field goal to put the Bandits at 17-3, which would be the final score.

Week 2: vs New Orleans Breakers

The Bandits faced their division rival New Orleans Breakers. The Breakers struck first on a 79 yard touchdown drive, but the extra point was missed, putting the Bandits down at 0-6. After a Bandits punt, the Breakers marched 65 yards downfield to score another touchdown, converting a 2-point conversion to bring the Bandits down 0-14. The Bandits responded in the second quarter with a 69 yard field goal drive capped off by a 21-yard field goal by Tyler Rausa to bring the Bandits to 3-14. The Breakers responded with a 56 yard touchdown drive to put the Bandits down two scores at 3-21. In the second half, the Bandits turned it over on downs while the Breakers were unable to score. In the fourth quarter, the Breakers extended to a 3 score lead after a 22 yard field goal. They triumphed more, scoring a touchdown off a Ta'amu interception, putting them at a commanding 3-31 margin. They then made a 30-yard field goal to put them at 3-34 with a little over a minute, which would be the final score.

Week 3: at Houston Gamblers

The Bandits will play against division rival

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing ...

Standings

Postseason

Bandits did not make it to the playoffs after a lost against the New Orleans Breakers.

References

{{2022 USFL season

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

Tampa Bay Bandits (2022)