San Antonio Snap Count: "Benched QBs, Thrilling Turnarounds and Historic Moments: Week 5 of the 2025 UFL Season"
- SABrahmabullpen
- May 2
- 3 min read
Week 5 of the 2025 United Football League (UFL) season was filled with excitement and surprises. We had three highly competitive games, one unexpected blowout, and a player slapping a fan. I won't spend much time on the fan slap incident, but if you care to hear my full thoughts on the matter, I discussed this topic and more on this week's Episode of the Brahma Bullpen.
Now let's get into the article, Memphis, St. Louis, DC, and Houston Roughnecks all lost in week 4 but turned things around and took home wins in Week 5. The big storyline of the week was the Memphis Showboats' first win of the season in a dramatic fashion, beating defending champion Birmingham Stallions in the first overtime game in UFL history. The overtime rules took center stage as it was the first live game where fans had the opportunity to see them in action, but the play of the game, in my opinion, was Isiah Hennie’s touchdown return of Harrison Mevis' missed field goal.
And if that wasn’t enough of an “Are you not entertained?” moment, the St. Louis Battlehawks saw the return of reigning UFL Offensive Player of the Year Hakeem Butler, who caught two go-ahead touchdowns in their win over the Michigan Panthers. The DC Defenders' quarterback Jordan Ta’amu showed out with four touchdowns in a fantastic comeback win over the Arlington Renegades. Week 5 was full of thrilling games and unexpected outcomes, making the “it’s minor league football” or “I only watch NFL” football crowd reconsider their UFL fandom.
Then there was the final game of the week. The Houston Roughnecks' defense dominated the San Antonio Brahmas, holding them to just 118 total yards and forcing head coach Payton Pardee into a situation where he felt the offense was performing so poorly that he had to bench hometown QB Kellen Mond. I am sure he didn’t take this decision lightly, since it was reported just a few games ago that wanting to swap quarterbacks is one reason former offensive coordinator AJ Smith left the team. Even with an uncompetitive game, the storylines are never-ending, and I still ask, “Are you not entertained?”
Head coach Payton Pardee has adapted to the role well and even has his coach speak perfected. When asked about the issues on offense and benching Kellen Mond, he said: "It wasn’t all on our quarterback; I believe in all three quarterbacks on our team. The Birmingham starter will be decided in practice this week.” (San Antonio Sports Star, n.d.) A statement that seems to contradict itself somewhat by not blaming Mond while stating his starting position is up for grabs. Sources close to the team are suggesting Kellen Mond will be the Starter this Sunday when the Brahmas take the field against Birmingham, but if the team doesn’t get off to a hot start, Pardee is open to a quick quarterback swap and is approaching the game with a must-win mindset.
The Brahmas will face an uphill battle regardless of which quarterback lines up under center. Their offensive line will have its hands full dealing with the Stallions ' pass rush, which ranks first in the league with a PFF rating of 74.3 and has 45 quarterback hurries, 25 hits on quarterbacks, and 7 sacks through the season's first five games. (PFF Football News & Analysis, 2025)
I want to congratulate the football fans here in San Antonio to close out our article on the San Antonio Snap count. Despite the worst start in San Antonio Brahmas history, the fans showed up for the first home game of the season with a reported attendance of 14,427. The fans were treated to a fireworks display, fiesta-style entertainment, horseback riders, and a new team mascot named Bravo! And don’t forget, Brahmas fans, we are only 1 game out of first place in our conference, so keep the faith and our Horns Forward!
References
PFF Football News & Analysis. (2025). Premium Stats. Retrieved from PFF: https://www.pff.com/
San Antonio Sports Star. (n.d.). The Blitz With Jason & Joe. Retrieved from 94.1 San Antonio's Sports Star: https://www.sasportsstar.com/
rahma Bullpen
Since posting this article, the team has posted the starting line for WK6, and Kevin Hogan will be getting the start.