The Houston Gamblers (4-6) concluded the 2026 UFL regular season on Saturday afternoon against the Birmingham Stallions (4-6) from Protective Stadium. The Stallions needed to win this game to stay alive in the playoff race. However, a dominant first-half performance by Houston ended all that.
In the first quarter, Houston moved the ball to the 38-yard line before John Rhym Plumlee tossed the ball to Jontre Kirklin, who had his pass intercepted by Tre Norwood to the nine-yard line. Birmingham moved the ball to the 23-yard line before stalling.
Houston had the ball on the 40-yard line. They moved the ball to the 15-yard line, where kicker John Hoyland made a 33-yard field goal to give the Gamblers a 3-0 lead. The drive went 10 plays for 45 yards.
After Birmingham went three-and-out, Houston had the ball for the rest of the first quarter. On the final play, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee scrambled for 20 yards to the 30-yard line. The Gamblers headed into the second quarter with a 3-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Houston moved the ball to the one-yard line, where running back Marcus Major scored the touchdown. The Gambled led 10-0 to conclude an eight-play drive for 45 yards. John Hoyland’s kickoff went out of bounds, drawing a penalty, and Birmingham had the ball on the 40-yard line. They moved the ball to the 35-yard line before kicker Anders Carlson missed a 53-yard field goal.
Houston running back Kirk Merritt sprinted up the middle for a gain of 43 yards to the 14-yard line, and gained an additional three yards to the 11-yard line. On the next play, quarterback John Rhym Plumlee scrambled for an 11-yard touchdown for a 17-0 lead. Birmingham’s offense did not have any answers in the first half. The Gamblers led 17-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Houston moved the ball to the 32-yard line. On the next play, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee had his pass intercepted by Alex Cook for a pick-six 62-yard touchdown. The Stallions trailed the Gamblers 17-7.
Houston came right back. They had the ball on the 26-yard line when running back Marcus Major rushed to his right side before scoring a 72-yard touchdown. The extra point was no good, and the Gamblers led the Stallions 23-7.
Both offenses would go three-and-out for the rest of the third quarter. On the final play, Houston quarterback John Rhys Plumlee threw a short pass to Kai Lockley for eight yards to the 14-yard line. The Gamblers led the Stallions 23-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Birmingham quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw a 17-yard pass to Kyric McGowan to the 26-yard line. Four plays later, Thompson-Robinson threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Kyric McGowan. They attempted a two-point conversion, but did not get it. The Stallions trailed the Gamblers 23-13 to conclude a seven-play drive for 48 yards.
Late in the game, Houston put the game away when kicker John Hoyland made a 46-yard field goal. The Gamblers defeated the Stallions by the final score of 26-13. The loss officially eliminated the Birmingham Stallions from playoff contention and for the first time finished with an under .500 record.
Houston’s offense had 390 yards (119 passing yards, 277 rushing yards), 19 first downs, 2 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized eight times. Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee completed 11 of 23 passes (47.8%) for 119 yards, one interception, 10 carries for 77 yards, and one rushing touchdown. Running back Marcus Major had eight carries for 80 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Wide receiver Lawrence Keys III made two catches for 52 yards, while JaVonta Payton made one catch for 13 yards. The defense made 37 tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, and four pass breakups.
Birmingham’s offense had 131 yards (112 passing yards, 45 rushing yards), 1 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized eight times. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 13 of 27 passes (48.1%) for 112 yards, one touchdown, and four carries for three yards. Snoop Connor had seven carries for 25 yards.
Wide receiver Jaydon Mickens made three catches for 42 yards, while Kyric McGowan made two catches for 23 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 62 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, and five pass breakups.
