Pittsburgh Maulers vs Philadelphia Stars Prediction, 4/23/2022 USFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Pittsburgh Maulers at Philadelphia Stars

Saturday, April 23, 2022

Protective Stadium in Birmingham, AL

TV: FOX

The Pittsburgh Maulers will be facing the Philadelphia Stars on Saturday at noon. Pittsburgh heads into the matchup after taking a 17-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Bandits. On the other sideline, the Philadelphia Stars are coming off a loss to the New Orleans Breakers by a score of 23-17. Both teams come into this matchup looking to get a notch in the win column. With one week down, these teams don't want to miss an opportunity to get back towards the top of the standings. The loser of this game will be putting themselves in little hole to start of the first season of the USFL.

Pittsburgh Maulers

Unfortunately for the Maulers, the Tampa Bay Bandits started out of the gate hot and never looked back. Jordan Ta'amu was locked in and drove his team down the field on the first possession which ended in a rushing touchdown for BJ Emmons. Ta'amu finished this contest going 20-of-32 against the Maulers with 1 TD and 2 picks. While Ta'amu threw 2 interceptions, they still played well, and the defense played even better.

Pittsburgh was only allowed a field goal all day. Josh Love had a rough day and wasn't able to get the offense organized. Love was sacked 3 times and averaged just 3.3 yards per play. He finished the day with a QBR of 80.5 and went 9-for-16 for 121 yards. Garrett Groshek posted an average of 3.4 yards per rush as the Maulers starting back. Madre London rushed the ball 14 times for just 23 yards. The defense didn't play bad and forced Ta'amu into some bad situations, however, the offense just couldn't get anything going and that led to the first loss of the season for the Pittsburgh Maulers.

The Maulers will have to reevaluate their game plan when they face the Philadelphia Stars this weekend.

Philadelphia Stars

The Philadelphia Stars played a tighter game than the Maulers, but they were still on the receiving end of a loss in their first game. It started with New Orleans getting on the board early with a pick six coming from a Bryan Scott interception which put the at 7-0. A quarter later, the Breakers blocked a punt which resulted in a field goal for New Orleans. Later in the half, Philly started to get their bearings, with Bryan Scott leading an 11-play drive that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown catch by Bug Howard. The Stars then got a field goal which put them up 10-9 before T.J. Logan ran for a 10-yard TD to put New Orleans up 17-10. Darnell Holland broke off a 42-yard touchdown run to tie the game up in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Breakers came right back and scored their own touchdown.

Bryan Scott finished this game going 25-of-36 for 202 yards, with a touchdown and a pick. Chris Rowland was the leading receiver for the Stars, catching seven balls for 74 yards. Darnell Holland finished the game with 52 yards on nine rushing attempts, giving him an average of 5.8 yards per tote. Matt Colburn II also had nine carries for just 14 yards. They will be looking for a bounce back game after coming so close to getting their first win of the season last week.

This is an important game for both teams, as neither one wants to start off 0-2 on the young season. For Pittsburgh, there wasn't a great deal to be excited about as they were thrashed in week one. However, a bright spot for the Maulers was linebacker Kyahva Tezino. He finished the contest with 12 tackles (two for loss), and an interception. He better have another great outing because Bryan Scott was throwing all over the field last game and he'll be looking to do the same this week.

Get all of our USFL Betting Picks

Guy's Pick: Philadelphia Stars

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here