Season two of the USFL goes on as the Pittsburgh Maulers return to Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan to take on the Michigan Panthers on Saturday.

The Maulers’ time of winning was short-lived. Last week at home they dropped a winnable game to the Birmingham Stallions. But dwelling on such an event would be no good, as things move quickly in this 10-week season, and with a matchup against the Panthers to look forward to there’s no room to look back.

The Panthers enter this matchup 2-2, coming off of two straight losses to the Showboats and the Generals. They’re looking to get right just as much as the Maulers are in this game. So somebody in this matchup is getting a much-needed win at the halfway mark of this regular season.

Game Preview:

Line: Panthers -3.5 O/U 42.5

Date/Location: May 13th, 2023, Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Kickoff Time: 12:30 EST

Weather: Indoor Stadium

TV/Streaming: USA

Key Storylines for Maulers

The Maulers’ offense finally found some strides in last week’s matchup. Despite a loss, they got points at the end of most of their drivers and their passing game really found a groove between Troy Williams and Bailey Gaither. I think that this is still an incomplete picture though, as they’ve failed to establish a consistent run game. Any rusher besides Williams himself has been ineffective on the ground. If they want to change that, they’ll need to scheme something to rely upon and avoid becoming one-dimensional early.

Maulers-Panthers Preview

It’s been quite a one-tone story for the Maulers in 2023. The defense keeps them in games, but the offense just can’t do enough to get it done. And if by some miracle they have the lead at the end, it’s blown in one fell swoop by a kick return or a huge play. The Panthers haven’t had the greatest of times lately either. So it’ll be the battle of two teams just desperate to get something going before it’s too late. Believe it or not, I’ll take the Maulers here. I think they’re the scrappier team and they’ll build off of the success they developed in the passing game offensively last week. It won’t be flashy. But it’ll be something to watch moving forward.

Final Score: 27-20, Maulers win (Improve to 2-3)