Panthers Hit Mother Lode and Slide Into Playoffs

The Michigan Panthers punched their ticket to the playoffs on Sunday, defeating the D.C. Defenders 22-9. 12,222 fans entered Audi Field on Mother’s day hoping to see their Defenders pick up a crucial victory against a beat up Michigan Panthers team, and stay in the thick of a competitive XFL division. 

 

For the Panthers, it was a pretty low pressure situation. Michigan had a 3.5 game lead over Memphis, and a 3 game lead over Houston. A Panthers win, coupled with a Houston loss, would lock up a playoff berth for the Panthers. However, even if they fell short this week, they would still have 3 games to pick up a single victory and make the postseason.

 

With their top two quarterbacks injured, as well as defensive leader Frank Ginda on IR, nobody would blame the Panthers if they were already focusing on getting healthy for next week, but that’s not what Michigan does. This team came in knowing their identity, leaned on it, and came away with a dominating victory against a team desperate for a win. 

 

With EJ Perry on IR, and Danny Etling moved down to 3rd string emergency quarterback due to a non-throwing hand injury, Michigan decided to go with a two quarterback system, similar to what the Birmingham Stallions did in their week 2 victory over the Panthers. QB Brian Lewerke got the official start, but he substituted in and out all game with recently signed QB Bryce Perkins. 

 

It is important to note that the Defenders play on the only natural grass field in the league, and with rain coming down until shortly before kickoff, the field was slippery. This seemed like it was going to affect Michigan more than D.C., as the Panthers’ game plan clearly had to be to run the ball and rely on RB’s Wes Hills and Matthew Colburn to take pressure off of their inexperienced quarterbacks. 

 

The first drive of the game was a perfect summation of the 60 minutes that followed. D.C. kicked off and Panthers returner Gavin Holmes slipped on the wet field, having to go back into the end zone to recover the ball, and barely making it out to the six yard line before he was abruptly tackled. It seemed like this was going to be a long afternoon for Michigan, but apparently nobody told Mike Nolan’s squad, and they came out like a house on fire. 

 

Matthew Colburn did his mama proud and exploded with rushes of 6, 23, and 57 yards right out of the gate. Down to their opponents’ 7 yard line in very short time, Brian Lewerke finished off the drive by running the ball in himself, and after the one point conversion, Michigan found themselves up 7-0 less than 3 minutes into the game. 

 

It would be impossible to overstate just how impressive Colburn was on this drive. Taking the pressure off of the defense was exactly the start that the Panthers needed, and the defense responded in kind. D.C. was able to move the ball past midfield and started to sniff the red zone, but the “bend, don’t break” mentality that the Panthers defense has relied on all year came through, and Michigan forced the Defenders to settle for a field goal opportunity. Those wet conditions came into play again, and K Matt McCrane missed his 42 yard field goal attempt. 

 

For the second drive, the Panthers went with Bryce Perkins. Perkins had signed with the team less than two weeks prior, but wasted no time proving that he’s a capable quarterback, with quick, accurate passes to WR Marcus Simms and Samson Nacua. 

 

A pass intended for WR Siaosi Mariner was incomplete, however a helmet-to-helmet penalty gave the Panthers some free yards. Mariner left the game shortly after that and went into concussion protocol. He did not return for the rest of the game, and as of this article’s publication, there is no answer as to when, or if, he will return to the Panthers this season. Mariner found himself in larger and larger roles within the passing game as the year went on, and if he’s out for the rest of the year, that would be a huge blow to the Panthers moving forward. 

 

More big time runs by Colburn got the Panthers near the goal line, and when you’re inside the 5 yard line, there’s exactly one option: give the ball to Wes Hills. Hills pounded the ball into the end zone for his 5th touchdown in 3 games. An unsuccessful one point conversion left the game at 13-0 Michigan.

 

Not wanting the game to get away from them, D.C. responded with a beautiful read by QB Jordan Ta’amu, as he connected with Ty Scott on a slant pass. Scott was able to slip past CB Keith Gibson and take the ball 70 yards to the house. A 2 point conversion failed, but D.C. was back in the game 13-6. 

 

The Defenders kept the momentum going by forcing Michigan into a 3-and-out, but the slippery conditions came into play again when Chris Rowland muffed the punt and the Panthers got the ball right back. Michigan ended up going backwards on the drive, but when you have Jake Bates on your team, that doesn’t really matter. Bates connected on a 51 yard field goal. The Panthers went up 16-6 and hopefully shut up the last of the people still trying to claim McCrane is the best kicker in the league. Sorry buddy, but Bates is the king of that mountain. 

 

After stopping D.C., the Panthers got the ball back and drove down the field, making their way into the red zone thanks to four straight completions by Bryce Perkins. Facing a 4th-and-1 from the Defenders’ 15 yard line, Michigan chose to go for it instead of taking the chip shot field goal. Wes Hills slipped on the handoff and the Panthers turned the ball over on downs. The “analytics” say to go for it in that situation, but I’m of the old school belief that in the first half, you always put the points on the board. 

 

Fortunately, Michigan was able to learn from their mistake when they got the ball back shortly before halftime. Facing a fourth down and goal from the 3 yard line, the Panthers wisely put the points on the board and they entered the half with a 19-6 lead. 

 

At the half, Michigan was executing their game plan to a T. They were winning the turnover battle, rushing the ball effectively, and dominating the time of possession. They held the ball for 22:05 of the first 30:00 of the game. 

 

The Panthers came out of the half and continued to play their style of football. D.C. got the ball and worked their way just past mid-field, but the defense came up huge on yet another 4th down, shutting down the running back and getting the ball back for their offense. The Panthers were able to get another field goal on the board and were leading midway through the third quarter 22-6. The two teams traded a few unsuccessful drives, and the third quarter came to an end.

 

There are three areas in which Michigan has proven to be the best team in the league: Field goals, dominating the third quarter, and making fourth down run stops. These are not “flashy” statistics, but Michigan is not a “flashy” state, and the Panthers are not a “flashy” team. We know who we are, we play to our strengths, and we never get intimidated by what other teams do.

 

The fourth quarter started with DC in desperation mode, and the Panthers defense will absolutely shut you down when you become a one-dimensional passing team. Michigan was content to play safe, clock-killing football, outside of a beautiful deep throw-and-catch from Bryce Perkins to Marcus Simms that was called back for offensive pass interference. 

 

While the Panthers did give up a field goal to make the score 22-9, they finished with bone-crunching defense, knocking both Jordan Ta’Amu and Deondre Francois out of the game, and forcing emergency backup QB Jalan McClendon to try to win the game. While McClendon played very well, he, too, felt the wrath of this defense, and the Panthers went on to give their moms the best Mother’s Day present one could ask for, a victory!

 

The Panthers ended the game with 204 rushing yards, winning the time of possession battle by nearly ten minutes, and not turning the ball over once. Despite the great performance, there were a few small concerns. For the second week in a row, their opponent was able to take an end around run for a huge gain. If they don’t prove they can stop that play, expect more teams to run it against them in the future. Also, the Panthers gave up another quick touchdown strike, which goes against their “bend, don’t break” attitude. Finally, the Siaosi Mariner injury will need to be closely monitored, as he is a critical part of this offense.

 

Next week, the Michigan Panthers (5-2) return to Ford Field for their final home game of the year against the Memphis Showboats (1-6). That game will air on Sat. May 18 at 4:00 PM EST on FOX. 

 

The D.C. Defenders (3-4) travel to St. Louis to take on the Battlehawks (5-2) in a must win game. That game will air on Sun. May 19 at 12:00 PM EST on ABC.