Season two of the USFL goes on as the Pittsburgh Maulers go to Detroit, Michigan to take on the Philadelphia Stars on Sunday.

The Maulers have not had the 2023 fans hoped they would. Coming out of the gates, the team has played largely similar to last season in the USFL’s first season back. Bad offense holding them down, penalties and turnovers shooting themselves in the foot. It’s been frustrating for the Steel City faithful so far this year. Coming into week three 0-2 with two ugly losses.

This week they head north to take on the Philadelphia Stars at Ford Field. The Stars are 1-1 on the year. Picking up a win in week one against the Memphis Showboats on the road, and then dropping last week’s game against the Michigan Panthers in Canton, Ohio. This will be their first game at their host stadium and will have a ton to show in front of the home crowd. The Maulers will have their hands full as they attempt to right the ship in 2023.

Game Preview

Line: Generals -6.5, O/U 42.5

Date/Location: Sunday, April 30th, 2023 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan

Kickoff Time: 1:00 PM EST

Weather Forecast: N/A, Indoor Stadium

TV/Streaming: NBC/Peacock

Key Storylines for Maulers

It’s getting old writing this story about the Maulers, but their offense is absolutely abysmal. The defense plays their heart out. Guys like Reuben Foster, Kyahva Tezino, Mark Gilbert, and Olive Sagapolu all make plays consistently and do more than enough to get this team a win, and the offense fails on them. Both signal callers James Morgan and Troy Williams have failed to take command, and their rushing attack has been nonexistent. With less than 100 rushing yards in the two games played so far. Until the Maulers figure out how to put points on the board, it’s going to be hard for Pittsburgh to put up wins.

Stars-Maulers Preview

I’ve picked the Maulers two weeks in a row, and they’ve burnt me. Against a solid team like the Philadelphia Stars, and how inept the offense has looked. I don’t know how they’re going to keep up. Even when the Maulers only let up 20 points, the offense can only muster 10. Sure, the Stars only put up 10 last week, but before that, the number was 27. It should be a competitive matchup as we don’t really know what the Stars are capable of against great teams. Their lone win came against a Showboats team that got rocked 42-2 last week. But the Maulers could very well be on the same trajectory as Memphis at the bottom of the league.

I’m forced to take the stars here, but I don’t think Pittsburgh will go down without a fight. Give me another defensive chess match with plenty of quality stops and defenses gifting their offense chances. But I can’t in good conscience pick this team to do something I’m not sure they’re capable of.

Final Score: 17-9, Stars win (Maulers drop to 0-3)