New Jersey Generals Tops Philadelphia Stars In Entertaining Week Ten USFL Playoff Preview
NewsScoresUSFL

New Jersey Tops Philadelphia In Entertaining Week Ten Playoff Preview

·

Week ten in the USFL kicked off with the New Jersey Generals taking on the Philadelphia Stars. This game is actually a playoff preview for next week, as both teams will face off next Saturday in Canton.

Heading into today’s matchup, New Jersey was 8-1, while Philadelphia was 6-3. When these two teams played back in week three, the Generals won 24-16. It was a tough game for the Stars, though, as Bryan Scott went down with an injury in the middle of the meeting.

Let’s take a look at what happened in today’s game between these two North Division rivals. No surprise, it was very exciting throughout the entire affair.

First Quarter

New Jersey received the opening kickoff, and got off to a red hot start. After a couple of quick completions, Trey Williams broke loose for a 61 yard score, putting the Generals up 7-0 early.

On their first drive, Philadelphia looked pretty sharp. Case Cookus led the team down the field, putting them in a position to score. A successful field goal attempt from Luis Aguilar made it a 7-3 game.

Once again, the Generals put together a great drive. Luis Perez methodically marched his team down the field, before finding Alonzo Moore in the endzone – who made an incredibly athletic catch to give New Jersey a 14-3 lead.

Philadelphia could not get things going on their next possession, leading to a punt. Heading into the second quarter, New Jersey led 14-3.

Second Quarter

DeAndre Johnson saw the field to start the next period, and made some fantastic throws to put New Jersey in the red zone.

However, Philadelphia’s defense stepped up, generating a stop on 4th and 1, which prevented the Generals from adding to their lead.

The Stars slowly but surely marched down the field, with Cookus eventually finding Bug Howard for a big gain. This set them up inside New Jersey territory, which led to a beautiful touchdown pass from Cookus to Jordan Suell.

Heading into halftime, the New Jersey Generals maintained a 14-10 lead.

Third Quarter

Philadelphia got the football to start the second half, and kept the positive momentum that they had in the first half. Cookus pushed the ball down the field quickly, and eventually found Chris Rowland on a screen pass, who scurried his way into the endzone. Just like that, the Stars took a 17-14 lead.

New Jersey struck back quickly. KaVontae Turpin became the first USFL receiver to eclipse 500 receiving yards, on a ridiculous grab in traffic.

Meanwhile, Trey Williams continued to run the football incredibly well, putting the Generals in a position to score. Luis Perez found Darius Victor coming out of the backfield on a short screen, and he barreled in for the touchdown. After a missed XP, New Jersey led 20-17.

While the Stars got off to a decent start on their ensuing drive, New Jersey’s defense withheld, forcing a punt. With fifteen minutes left to play, the Generals had the football – and a three point lead.

Fourth Quarter

New Jersey took advantage of the punt, despite being backed up inside their own red zone. Johnson got things underway, escaping for a huge gain (and taking a brutal hit while doing so).

Perez then took the helm, and tossed another beautiful touchdown to Alonzo Moore. After a blocked XP, the Generals led 26-17 in the early goings of the fourth.

The Stars’ offensive struggles continued, as New Jersey picked up the intensity on the defensive end. Once again, Philadelphia had to punt away the football.

See also

However, the Stars finally made something happen defensively, forcing the Generals to punt the football right back. With it being a nine point game, Philadelphia was still within one score.

Brock Miller absolutely pummeled the football on the punt, booting it 85 yards, which set up New Jersey’s defense nicely.

Philadelphia did an excellent job of marching down the field, keeping the drive alive with a couple of clutch third down conversions. Matt Colburn found a seam in the defense, galloping into the end zone to make it a three point game.

Despite missing the conversion, Philadelphia still had a chance. A penalty on the 4th and 12 attempt gave the Stars possession – and an opportunity.

This time, New Jersey’s defense made the stop that they needed to. Shalom Luani, who was named to the All-USFL Team Defense this week, picked off Case Cookus – effectively ending the game.

The Generals held on to beat the Stars in week ten, improving to 9-1 with a 26-23 victory.

Final Thoughts

Today’s game was extremely fun to watch from start to finish. Even in a “meaningless” game in week ten, the USFL continues to provide fans with plenty of excitement and high quality content across the board.

Ultimately, it was the New Jersey Generals who found a way to win, fueled by Luis Perez and Trey Williams who made up most of the Generals offense today.

With this win, New Jersey has won their ninth straight, finishing the season at 9-1. Meanwhile, the Stars will place in second in the North Division, with a 6-4 record.

What did you think of New Jersey vs. Philadelphia? Which players do you think performed the best? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!