4 Takeaways from Week 4 of the 2026 UFL Season

The Orlando Storm — the only undefeated team after Week 4 — shut out the Birmingham Stallions by double digits this weekend, 16-0. It was a historic feat, marking the first time a team has been held scoreless in the regular season. Orlando’s defense, led by associate head coach and defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham, has been the key to the team’s success through the first part of the season. Specifically, Orlando has been effectively stopping the run, holding opponents to a league-low 61.3 rushing yards a contest and a league-best 13 points per game. Defensive end Keyshawn Banks leads Orlando with 4.0 sacks, while safety Josh Minkins tops the team with 21 tackles and two pass breakups. “We spend a lot of time talking about everybody else’s defense, and Donnie [has] stood the test of time,” Orlando head coach Anthony Becht said. “Donnie [has] got four years of film on the defensive scheme and what we’re doing.” Elsewhere in Week 4, two teams got their first victories of the season. The Louisville Kings (1-3) played their second consecutive overtime game, this time earning a narrow 24-22 victory over the Houston Gamblers (1-3). Head coach Ted Ginn Jr. returned to the sideline for the Columbus Aviators (1-3), providing a spark for his team, which handed the Dallas Renegades (3-1) their first defeat of the season, 28-14. It was the Renegades’ third game played in 11 days. Finally, the defending champion DC Defenders (3-1) kept rolling, earning their third victory in a row by avenging an opening-season loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks (2-2) with a 28-22 win. However, the big news over the weekend was two monster trades for quarterbacks. The Stallions moved on from struggling starter Matt Corral, trading the Ole Miss product and defensive end Amani Bledsoe to Orlando for backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson. In a separate transaction, the Defenders acquired Jason Bean from the Kings in exchange for Mike DiLiello. Here are my takeaways from Week 4 of the UFL: 1. Down and out in Birmingham, AJ McCarron makes a huge move In the team’s home opener this season, the Stallions suffered an embarrassing, humbling defeat to the visiting Storm — in front of 18,000 fans, nonetheless. Becht got the best of his former player, McCarron, in the first matchup between the two now-head coaches. The lone bright spots for Birmingham were a sideline appearance by former three-time spring football champion head coach Skip Holtz, who stepped away from the Stallions this offseason, and a halftime performance by Gucci Mane. The Stallions wore stickers on the back of their helmets honoring Holtz’s father, legendary Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, who died at the age of 89 earlier this year. McCarron replaced an ineffective Corral in favor of backup and hometown product Michael Hiers. However, he didn’t fare much better, completing just 46.7% of his passes for 60 yards, with no touchdown passes or interceptions. Prior to this season, the Stallions had lost just four regular-season games in two years. However, Birmingham has lost three already in a disappointing 1-3 start. “Everything’s on the table,” McCarron said. “Trades to [quarterbacks] change — everything’s on the table.” McCarron stayed true to his word, making a move for Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2023 NFL Draft who also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles. A dual-threat quarterback, the UCLA product finished his college career as the school’s all-time leader in total offense (12,536), completions (860), total touchdowns (116), touchdown passes (88) and passing yards (10,710). Still, Jack Plummer won the starting job over Thompson-Robinson in a close competition in Orlando ahead of the season. It’s a formula Birmingham has used with great success. J’Mar Smith, Alex McGough and Adrian Martinez were all athletic quarterbacks who led the Stallions to championships. We’ll see if DTR can turn Birmingham’s offense around. Giddy up! 2. Louisville goes with Chandler Rogers as starting QB The Kings moving Bean to DC allows Louisville head coach Chris Redman to elevate backup quarterback Rogers as the team’s starter. Bean has the third-most passing yards in the UFL through four games (819) but has only completed 47% of his passes. Rogers, a 6-foot, 200-pound product out of Cal, is a dual-threat quarterback who has thrown for 160 passing yards in three games this season. The Kings also get a competent backup in DiLiello, who threw for 359 yards and two touchdowns in 2025. 3. Battlehawks WR Hakeem Butler can still make big plays One thing that has not changed in St. Louis is Butler continuing to create jaw-dropping plays when it matters most. Despite the Battlehawks’ tough road loss to the Defenders this week, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Butler put on a show, finishing with two catches for 109 yards on three targets. Those numbers included a 75-yard catch-and-run for a score on a screen pass, along with out-jumping three defenders on a Hail Mary throw at the end of the half. For the season, the former UFL Offensive Player of the Year has 10 receptions for 311 receiving yards and two touchdowns. 4. Houston’s Marcus Yarns becomes first 100-yard rusher this season Despite a tough, late-game loss that dropped the Gamblers to 1-3 on the year, Houston head coach Kevin Sumlin found a blueprint for moving the football on offense: running the football. The leader for that effort last week was Yarns, who finished with eight carries for 111 rushing yards, including a 68-yard run for a score. The Gamblers totaled a season-high 206 yards on the ground, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Expect to see more of Yarns toting the rock for the Gamblers. 4 ½: What’s Next In Week 5, things are set to kick off on Friday evening with the Defenders facing the Stallions. There’s one game on Saturday night, with the Battlehawks facing the Storm. Things come to a close with a doubleheader on Sunday, with the Aviators taking on the Gamblers in the afternoon, followed by the Renegades hosting the Kings later on. [UFL 2026: Full Regular-Season Schedules, Results for All 8 Teams]