Week 6 of the USFL’s season is upon us; the Pittsburgh Maulers (1-4) will face the New Orleans Breakers (3-2) on Sunday, May 22nd at 12:00 PM ET/11:00 AM CT/ 10:00 AM MT/ 9:00 AM PT on Fox Sports 1.
Coming off Kirby Wilson’s first win as a head coach, they will look to continue this transformation their team had last weekend as they won with a walk-off touchdown with their new Quarterback Vad Lee; they will be up against a New Orleans Breakers who is coming into this contest with a Quarterback Kyle Sloter whom has shown a lot of bright spots as a passer but threw 6 Interceptions over the past two games and has struggled with some injuries over the past four weeks. The Maulers will need this win to get try to get a playoff spot with only five games remaining.
If they can capture this final drive and work it into the overall game plan they won’t have any issues.
Weather
Sunday’s forecast in Birmingham, Alabama, at Protective Stadium, is another day of thunderstorms with a 67% chance of precipitation at the start of the game, with that percentage climbing throughout the game. This could cause some potential weather delays for this game. High of 82 with winds up to 5 MPH.
Pittsburgh Maulers (1-4) at New Orleans Breakers (3-2)
Kickoff: Sunday, May 22nd at 12:00 PM ET/11:00 AM CT/ 10:00 AM MT/ 9:00 AM PT
Where: Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama
Television: Fox Sport 1
Betting Odds Per FoxBet
Spread:
Pittsburgh Maulers: +7.5
New Orleans Breakers: -7.5
To Win/Money Line:
Pittsburgh Maulers: +280
New Orleans Breakers: -400
Total
Pittsburgh Maulers: Over 35.5 New Orleans Breakers: Under 35.5
Players to Watch
I cannot wait to see what Vad Lee has up his sleeve this weekend if last weekend’s emotional win for him shows how he will perform on the field going forward and his dedication to the Pittsburgh Maulers. Tre Walker is another name to keep an eye on this game because just within the four games he has played, he is currently leading the league as the top receiver with 27 receptions for 287 yards. In contrast, he may not have any points in the book.
Look for him this week to put some points on the board and another stand-out wide receiver Bailey Gaither who is third in the league in receiving with currently 18 receptions, 267 yards, and three touchdowns in the book. Just alone, these three players could make the difference against the Breakers.
With New Orleans, everyone will be looking toward Kyle Sloter to come back and have a better game than last week when the Breakers failed shortly against the red-hot Generals. Kyle Sloter will need to control the turnover rate with interceptions and lean heavily on his receiving core with Jonathan Adams. They will give Tre Walker and Bailey Gaither a run for their money to take over that top spot in the league as a receiver. On the defense, keep an eye on David Bellamy, who has 11 tackles and 4.5 sacks on the year; he will look to crash Vad Lee’s and the Pittsburgh Mauler’s party.
Injury Report / Roster Updates
With the roster updates by the USFL starting in week 6, the Maulers ended up signing four new Free Agents; WR Isiah Hennie from Sacramento State, CB Prince Charles Iworah, Western Kentucky University, LB Blaze Alldredge, Missouri / Rice, and OT Jerrod Brooks, The University of Texas at El Paso. They also released WR Brandon Mack.
The Breakers added to their roster OT Treyvion Shannon from UTSA, DE TJ Johnson, Marshall, WR Marquis McClain, Southern, and RB Ezra Gray, Alabama State. They also released OG Jalen Allen.
Pittsburgh Maulers Vs. New Orleans Breakers Prediction
While we saw a complete opposite week 5 for both teams, with the Maulers winning and the Breakers taking the loss, I fully expect this game to be competitive and will come down the how Vad Lee and Kyle Sloter do for their respected teams. Will Kyle Sloter continue to have issues with ongoing injuries? Will the momentum of last week’s win carry the Maulers to another victory? I think the Maulers will come storming in vigorously to take down the Breakers and put themselves in a position to start making headway towards a playoff spot. This game, I think, again goes down to the last minute of the match with Maulers taking the W.
Maulers: 35 – Breakers: 28
