UFL 2025: Every Touchdown from Defenders-Panthers Championship Game
The 2025 UFL Championship Game had a little bit of everything and a lot of scoring.
In the end, the DC Defenders took down the Michigan Panthers at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis on Saturday in an action-packed game that featured 13 touchdowns and three field goals.
Jordan Ta'amu and the Defenders' offense put on a show, scoring a UFL record 58 points.
Let's take a look at every touchdown scored in Saturday's title game! DC Defenders 58, Michigan Panthers 34
Michigan got on the board first, going 67 yards in six plays on the game's opening drive to kick things off with a bang. Nate McCrary broke through a huge crease, beat his opponents to the sideline and turned on the jets for a 35-yard touchdown in the first few minutes of regulation. Just like that, the Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
The Defenders answered on their first drive of the game, knotting things up at 6-all with a touchdown drive that took twice as long — 12 plays and over six minutes. Facing a third-and-10 from Michigan's 26-yard line, Ta'amu dropped back and found Jayden Mickens wide open on a seam route. Ta'amu lofted a pass into the bread basket, and Mickens corralled it with ease.
The tie was short-lived, however, as Michigan scored again on a creative play-action pass on its second drive of the game just before the end of the first quarter. QB Bryce Perkins baited the Defenders' defense with a fake hand off to RB Toa Taua, which allowed WR Saiosi Mariner to break wide open on the right sideline. Without a defensive back in sight, Perkins lofted a softball to Mariner, who ran it in for an uncontested 8-yard touchdown and a 13-6 lead.
The second quarter was pure fireworks. After the Defenders added a field goal first thing to close the gap slightly, 13-9, the Panthers went three-and-out on the following drive. That swung the momentum toward the Defenders, who went on to score 22 unanswered points and grab a double-digit lead in the process, 31-13.
The first score was on a nice corner route from Cornell Powell. Ta'amu showed off his accuracy, lofting a pass to the spot where Powell would end up, and the receiver ran a perfect route to secure the 27-yard touchdown. A fumble by the Panthers on the ensuing kickoff gave the ball right back to the Defenders deep in the red zone. Ta'amu & Co. only needed four plays and roughly two minutes to hit paydirt, with the quarterback cashing in for the rushing score. Michigan went three-and-out on their next drive, and just like that, the Defenders were back on the field. Ta'amu led his squad downfield, and RB Deon Jackson finished things off with a 5-yard touchdown.
The Panthers scored on the following drive, going 84 yards in just two plays to keep things close, 31-19. The drive was highlighted by Perkins' short pass to WR Malik Turner, who turned it into a dazzling 71-yard touchdown.
What's better than a 71-yard score? A 73-yard score. The Defenders did just that, one-upping the Panthers with a jaw-dropping score of their own on the very next drive, as Ta'amu connected with WR Ty Scott to make it a 37-19 game at halftime.
The Defenders opened the second-half scoring with a field goal to put them ahead by 20-plus points, but after the Panthers coughed the ball up on their first drive of the third quarter, DC was back in the driver's seat. Jackson picked up his second rushing score of the day, this time from 17 yards out, to make it 46-19 midway through the third quarter.
DC opened the fourth quarter with another explosive scoring play. Ta'amu led his team downfield, capping off a lengthy 10-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Briley Moore. With that, the Defenders were leading 52-19.
The Panthers scored back-to-back touchdowns — both coming from the dynamic duo of Perkins and Turner — after opting to go for an alternative kickoff. With those scores and a field goal, they were able to pull within 18 points, 52-34, midway through the fourth quarter.
It was too little too late, however, as the Defenders added one last score for good measure. With 3:40 to play, RB Chris Rowland punched in a 19-yard touchdown to seal the game, 58-34.
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