The 2023 USFL Championship Game was an

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 ...

game that was played on July 1, 2023, at

Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, formerly Fawcett Stadium, is a football stadium and entertainment complex in Canton, Ohio. It is a major component of ''Hall of Fame Village'', located adjacent to the grounds of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The ...

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

. The contest determined the champion of the

2023 USFL season The 2023 USFL season was the second season of the United States Football League. The regular season started on April 15 and ended on June 18. The postseason began on June 24 and ended with the 2023 USFL Championship Game on July 1. The league expa ...

and was played between 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 ...

and the

Birmingham Stallions The Birmingham Stallions were a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second professional league of American football in the United States in competition with the National Football League. They played their h ...

, eventually crowning Birmingham the champion of the league for the second year in a row. The game featured the number one defense in the league in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

facing off against the number one offense in the league in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. After going up 3–0, the Maulers would fall after

Alex McGough Alex McGough ( ; born November 19, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at FIU, and was selected by Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round ...

threw touchdown passes to

Davion Davis Davion Davis (born October 23, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Sam Houston State. He has also been a member of the Minnesota Vikings, ...

and

Deon Cain Deon Cain (born August 9, 1996) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Clemson. Early years Cain attended Tampa Bay Technical High School in Tampa, Florida. He played quarterback for the high ...

, the eventual MVP, and would never lead again. The Maulers would add additional field goals to go 12–28, though their continued lack of success on the offensive side of the ball would ultimately be the reason they lost the game.

Background

USFL Playoffs

The two lowest-finishing teams from each division were excluded from participation in the playoffs. From the North Division, the

New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...

were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention on June 17, and the Philadelphia Stars were eliminated from postseason contention on June 18. In the South Division, the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...

were the first team ruled out of the postseason, on June 17, while the

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 ...

were eliminated from postseason contention on June 18. The first semifinal game was held between the North Division first and second place teams, the

and the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

. The Maulers win in overtime 31–27 and clinch a berth in the championship game. The second semifinal game followed, which was contested by the

and the New Orleans Breakers. The Stallions clinched their championship game spot with a 47–22 win. With their playoff semifinal victories, the Stallions entered the USFL Championship Game 8–2, while the Maulers entered the USFL Championship Game 4–6.

Bracket

Teams

Birmingham Stallions

Birmingham Stallions finished their second overall season under head coach

Skip Holtz Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz Jr. (born March 12, 1964) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League (USFL). Previously, he was the head coach for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (201 ...

, going 8–2 and advancing to their first playoff berth to the division title game against New Orleans Breakers.

Pittsburgh Maulers

Pittsburgh Maulers finished their second overall season, and first under head coach

Ray Horton Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

, going 4–6 and advancing to their first playoff berth to the division title game against

Game summary

Scoring summary

Statistics

Aftermath

Stallions wide receiver Deon Cain, previously named to the all-USFL team, was named the game's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. After the game,

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

has officially announced that the league would return in April 2024, featuring the same eight teams that competed during the 2023 season.

Broadcasting

United States

The game was televised by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

and

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

International

The USFL employed the help of

DAZN DAZN ( "da zone") is a global sports entertainment platform. Different to traditional linear and satellite broadcasting, DAZN is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service meaning that it is delivered directly to viewers via the internet. The ...

for international streaming. *In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the game was televised through

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

. *In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, the game was televised through

Fox Sports Australia Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited (formerly Premier Media Group Pty Limited) is the division of Foxtel that owns and operates the Fox Sports television networks and digital properties in Australia. The group operates nine Fox Sports Channels as w ...

. *In

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, the game was televised through Network4. *In

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

, the game was televised through

Viaplay Viaplay is a streaming service owned by Viaplay Group which is based in Stockholm. History Originally owned by Modern Times Group, it was launched in May 2007 as Viasat On Demand. It was rebranded as Viaplay in 2011. Viaplay released its first ...

References

{{2023 USFL season 2023 USFL season American football games American football in Ohio Sports competitions in Ohio Sports in Canton, Ohio

USFL Championship Game The USFL Championship Game is the annual championship game for the United States Football League at the end of its season in order to determine its league winner for that season. It began in 2022 and has continued ever since, usually taking place ...