The New Orleans Breakers are making it to the USFL 2023 playoffs after a win in week 10! It’s been a bit of a rocky road this season, but we’re here! On June 25th, the Birmingham Stallions and New Orleans Breakers will show off. New Orleans has both won and lost against Birmingham this season; Sunday’s game is anyone’s guess! For a team that was kissing the bottom of the Southern Division, second place feels pretty darn good!
Week 10: New Orleans Breakers Take The Win
Kudos go to the Houston Gamblers. They put up a good fight and made the Breakers sweat for the 17-10 win. This hasn’t been the case in past weeks (I’m looking at you, week 9 Memphis Showboats), and the close score really upped the ante when New Orleans was vying for the playoffs. Birmingham isn’t going to hand the division win to the Breakers, so a little healthy competition in Week 10 was a benefit for New Orleans. That might be a stretch for what happened on Sunday, but at least the Breakers didn’t blow their opponents out of the water like last week.
New Orleans Breakers Studs
Vontae Diggs, hands down. He made an interception with some fancy footwork and literally brought Gamblers QB Kenji Bahar to his knees with a big ol’ sack. The Houston Gamblers tried each of their quarterbacks for the duration of the game, but no one had anything on Vontae. He was hungry for the sacks and the picks.
Honorable mentions go to McLeod Bethel-Thompson. His performance has been strong, not just in week 10 but for most of the season. His 30-yard throw to Johnnie Dixon for a TD in the second quarter was beautiful.
New Orleans Breakers QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson (1) – Vasha Hunt/USA TODAY Sports
We keep seeing the same names come up in our stud category, and it’s a great thing to see. This is not the first time that Johnnie Dixon has come up in the New Orleans Breakers stud section. Same with Bethel-Thompson. Dee Anderson secured the second TD of the game, and he has also been honored for his talent before. We have some incredibly strong, consistent players on the field. That’s a comforting thought as we head into the playoffs.
New Orleans Breakers Duds
For the second time in two weeks, no player stood out as the biggest dud for the New Orleans Breakers. The Houston Gamblers did make it down the field more than I would have liked, but we had incredible displays of skill from our defense, so that feels like a moot point. We also could have scored more, but Bethel-Thompson did his thing twice, so that feels like splitting hairs.
Our touchdown dances were a bit more of a dud during week 10; we could have really seen some dramatic moves since we were heading to the playoffs, but they were a little lowkey for me. Maybe we should be practicing those a little bit more, Coach DeFilippo.
Houston Gamblers Studs
Quarterback Kenji Bahar put the ball in the red zone for the team’s one touchdown. In week 10, that could just make him a Houston Gambler stud. Mark Thompson made the team’s one TD, and in week 10, that might also make him this week’s stud. Both performances were huge wows, but a TD is a TD. You pick which one is Houston’s underwhelming stud.
Mark Thompson on the gridiron (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images).
Houston Gamblers Duds
Montell Cozart did not have a good week. He lost playing time to the team’s other quarterback, Kenji Bahar, after a big mistake. It looked like the Gamblers were getting somewhere down the field, and then Vontae Diggs stopped the drive with an impressive interception. Cozart “diggs” himself into a hole sometimes, and it was kind of hard to watch.
