ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 19: St. Louis Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht holds the official 2024 XFL Conference Championship berth after defeating the the DC Defenders 26-21 at The Dome at America’s Center on May 19, 2024 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Rovak/UFL/Getty Images)
Wade Phillips leads Brahmas to UFL title game, with a win over the Battlehawks in St. Louis
76-year-old Wade Phillips is getting it done in the UFL.
Phillips, who coached the Bills, Broncos, and Cowboys in the NFL, has taken the San Antonio Brahmas to the UFL Championship game.
The Brahmas upended the St. Louis Battlehawks, 25-15, before more than 30,000 in St. Louis for the XFL Conference title.
It wasn’t as close as the score would suggest. The Brahams outgained the Battlehawks, 410 yards to 239. San Antonio churned up 213 on the ground, led by running back Anthony McFarland Jr., who 11 carries for 115 yards, and a 69-yard touchdown. John Lovett added 83 yards on 18 carries.
Down 10 but with the fourth-and-12 onside kick alternative available, the Battlehawks had a chance to force overtime or win it late. They ran out of time to score a touchdown, opting not to try for a field goal before attempting the fourth-and-12 play en route to a potential game-winning touchdown.
After the clock struck zero, Brahmas players dumped a bucket of Gatorade on Wade. A hot mic caught his reaction: “Oh, shit!”
Phillips coached the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2023. After the league merged with the USFL, Phillips replaced Hines Ward as coach of the Brahmas. (CJ Johnson, who had coached the Houston Gamblers of the USFL, took over the Roughnecks.)
Next Sunday, the Brahmas, who lost to the Battlehawks in St. Louis last weekend to cap the regular season, will return to St. Louis for a championship showdown against the Birmingham Stallions.
The Stallions have lost only one game in the past two seasons. That loss came against the Brahmas on May 25.
