How The Houston Gamblers Can Overcome Late Season Adversity
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How The Houston Gamblers Can Overcome Late Season Adversity

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With one game left in the USFL season, the Houston Gamblers are staring down elimination right in the face. Despite boasting a 5-4 record, the South Division is so strong that they risk missing the postseason altogether, without picking up a win this upcoming weekend.

Throughout the season, the Houston Gamblers have shown some major improvements compared to a season ago. Offensively, they’ve been much more consistent, and the defense has weathered the storm quite well after a rough start to the year.

However, a brutal loss to the Birmingham Stallions in week nine has set them back from reaching their ultimate goal. Now, it’s an uphill battle the rest of the way.

Let’s take a look at some of the key challenges facing Houston this week, and what the team has to do to make a playoff push.

Kenji Bahar: Smart Football

What version of Kenji Bahar will be present on Sunday? He’s had some outstanding moments this year, showing growth and confidence as a young QB. At the same time, he’s struggled with turnovers. His decision making is inconsistent from week to week, and Bahar hasn’t always done a proper job of protecting the football.

Week nine was an example of exactly that. Down 24-15, in the fourth quarter, Kenji lost his footing and coughed the football up, which resulted in a defensive touchdown for Birmingham. This essentially put the game out of reach, as Houston ran out of gas.

To begin the season, Bahar was turning the ball over often. The Houston Gamblers lost their first two games, with Kenji throwing five interceptions and also losing a fumble. However, over the course of the year, he’s improved in this area. Their winning streak was pivotal, with Kenji showcasing much stronger efficiency.

If the Gamblers have any shot at taking down a hot New Orleans Breakers unit, Kenji Bahar has to play a complete game. There is no room for mistakes this time around.

Feed Mark Thompson

Despite a slower week against Birmingham than usual, Mark Thompson has arguably been the top running back in the USFL this year. He’s got 13 rushing touchdowns in just seven weeks, which is a remarkable feat.

He single handedly kept Houston in the thick of things. Most of his scores have come at opportune times, giving the Gamblers a late lead often.

Last week, the Stallions held him in check, posting only 55 yards and no scores. Mark has to get involved early and often against New Orleans. The Breakers defense has been playing outstanding football as of late, leading the league in points allowed (160).

In addition, their defensive line is outstanding. Two of the five top sack leaders in the USFL are Breakers. Keonte Schad has 6.5 sacks on the season, while Anree Saint-Amour has 5.5 sacks. Thompson will have his work cut out for himself trying to break through this wall.

Head Coach Curtis Johnson tends to save Thompson for late game situations, but he would do himself a favor by giving Thompson the rock early on. If Mark can get into a rhythm, it makes life that much easier on Kenji Bahar. Thompson is the clear powerhouse of their offense – he has to lead the way.

Next Man Up On Defense

The Houston Gamblers have gotten torched by injuries in their secondary. Just a couple weeks ago, Safety Donald Rutledge was placed on IR, which was a major loss.

Andrew Soroh stepped up quite well, playing well over the past two games. Meanwhile, Manny Bunch has been an outstanding safety in 2023, serving as a defensive leader week in and week out. Unfortunately, both have been placed on the injured reserve list ahead of week ten’s matchup.

This is far from ideal for Houston. Over the last 14 days, they’ve lost their top three safeties. Now, the secondary will have to find a way to group against the top passing offense in the USFL. They did just sign Jalen Green out of Mississippi State, who will hopefully provide a bit of assistance on that end, if he can quickly get integrated into the defense.

Jeremiah Johnson will need to have a big game, likely taking on some of the toughest assignments of the day. Johnson has been a pillar for Curtis Johnson this season, alongside Isaiah Chambers, who leads the USFL in tackles for loss.

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It’s going to be quite the challenge for Houston on Sunday. New Orleans has one of the premier offenses in the league. QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson leads the USFL in passing yards, while RB Wes Hills is the USFL’s leader in rushing yards.

When Wes Hills last played against this defense, he got whatever he wanted, rushing for well over 100 yards and three scores. Clearly, this can’t happen again.

Curtis Johnson’s Role

Curtis Johnson came into the USFL on a shorter notice than usual, having to take the reins from Kevin Sumlin, who returned to Maryland. Johnson has done an excellent job in his USFL debut as a head coach, as Houston is guaranteed to finish the season with a .500 record or better.

However, the job isn’t finished quite yet. Obviously, the goal is to make the postseason. New Orleans took down Houston in a shootout back in week two, 38-31. Mental mistakes and miscommunications caused the Gamblers to come up short, in what was a back and forth affair.

This week, Johnson must ensure that the team avoids shooting themselves in the foot. Talent wise, they’re up to par with just about anyone in the USFL. Offensively, they feature a ton of playmakers who are all excellent at what they do. As long as they execute consistently, Houston puts themselves in a position to win this game, despite the injuries.

Playoff Position

The Houston Gamblers will need some serious help to make the playoffs. Even with a win, they aren’t guaranteed to make it, due to tiebreakers that make things complicated.

If the Philadelphia Stars beat the Michigan Panthers, that will help Houston out quite a bit. Believe it or not, despite those two teams being in the North Division, Philadelphia holds the key to Houston’s playoff potential.

Hypothetically, if Michigan wins the game, it will give New Orleans the advantage in point differential on the season. However, if Philadelphia pulls it off by a decent margin, the Gamblers could sneak their way into the playoffs based on the aggregate schedule.

Final Thoughts

It will be no easy task for the Houston Gamblers to pull this off. However, they are no stranger to adversity. Throughout the USFL’s season, they’ve overcome plenty of obstacles and challenges.

Now, they will look to top the New Orleans Breakers on Sunday, and hope that the rest pans itself out. The two will face off at 4pm ET on Sunday, on FS1.

What are your thoughts on the Houston Gamblers playoff chances this season? Which USFL players have you been most impressed with from their squad? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!

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James Larsen
Growing up, football was one of the few things that brought me joy. It's always played a major role in my life, and continues to do so. As I've delved into sports journalism, spring football has become my passion. Covering the USFL & XFL is a dream come true, and I look forward to plenty of excellent seasons in the years to come.
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One Comment

  1. Hi James, Very good article. I don’t know if you remember me, but my girlfriend and I met you at Summerstock I. We are both from Staten Island as well though I live in Jersey, these days. What a great job you have done, maybe even becoming the news portion voice of the Newsroom. You sometimes try to punch up an article, but you provide support and some backstory. I also find you hedge your bets to account for all sides of a discussion. I find this very good writing and one day it will all kick in for you and you will be a seasoned journalist, maybe even at a young age as uou are so close. Considering the news sources we have you are one of the best. Right now some words are still uneven with the articles, but your heart allows you to provide the truth and your support helps you get the story and uour opinion across if you have one. As far as the Gamblers go, other “journalists” have hyped them beyond compare after a couple of wins and I don’t mean the ref. He has. but with him he is so loud you take it for fun and he makes it clear any predictions that he has is just his thought and he at no times makes himself look like he has any more knowledge than anyone else. I like his love for the sport and the fact that he really likes and supports all teams, but his favorites are ones he likes more. As far as the Gamblers go, I feel they were never as good as they were hyped, by all the Podcast press that I read. They looked at records and wanted to report something because that is what you do, so a lot of people gave the Gamblers too much hype, just as they have the Maulers. I like the Maulers and they have a very good shot at beating the Generals, but I would not sensationalize them as many “journalists” do. There was a commentary by Steven A. Smith that stated that the ONLY reason the Cowboys did not replace Dak Prescott with Colin Kaepernick was because Texans would not support him. Thank God Michael Irvin was able to remind Steven A. that Colin had not played football for 5 years. Steven A was trying to stir controversy, sensationalized something not true and took for granted that listeners would not know any better. Btw, he has yet to apologize for being who he is. Sometimes there are people that do that in your world. I appreciate that you aspire to a higher calling. Keep writing and keep getting it right.

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