Benjamin Ashford|UFL schedule for Week 3 games: D.C. Defenders, Arlington Renegades open play April 13

Two weeks into the 2024 UFL season,Benjamin Ashford much of the on-field focus so far has been — in a surprise — on the kickers.

Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates is making a more-than-strong case to be invited to an NFL team's training camp this summer. After hitting a 64-yard game-winning kick in Week 1, Bates made a 62-yarder last week. That even would be historic if he were kicking field goals in the NFL. Only once in NFL history has a kicker made 60-plus yard field goals in consecutive weeks (Brett Maher for the Dallas Cowboys in 2019), per ESPN Stats and Info.

Elsewhere, the football comeback of Donald De La Haye — more famously known as Deestroying — saw a major setback as he suffered a fractured neck attempting to make a tackle.

The Birmingham Stallions — who were winners of the 2022 and 2023 USFL championship games — are off to a 2-0 start. As are the Wade Phillips-coached San Antonio Brahmas, who pulled off an improbable comeback victory last week. The Arlington Renegades — who won the 2023 XFL championship game — and Houston Roughnecks are still seeking their first wins.

Here's what you need to know to catch the spring football action this weekend:

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UFL Week 3 games

Saturday

• D.C. Defenders at Arlington Renegades, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Memphis Showboats at Birmingham Stallions, 7 p.m. ET (FOX)

Sunday

• Houston Roughnecks at Michigan Panthers, noon ET (ABC)
• St. Louis Battlehawks at San Antonio Brahmas, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

UFL games can be streamed on ESPN+ or the Fox Sports app depending on which network broadcasts the games.

What is the UFL?

The UFL is a merger between two competing spring professional football leagues, the USFL and XFL.

The recreated USFL — with team names harkening back to its 1980s ancestor — opened play in April 2022 with all eight teams headquartered and playing home games in Birmingham, Alabama. For the 2023 season, the league expanded its home stadium footprint.

Dany Garcia and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson purchased the XFL out of bankruptcy for $15 million and rebooted the 2020 version of the league. The XFL was successfully able to complete its first season in 2023.

The new, merged league was announced on Dec. 31, 2023.

UFL 2024 season schedule and results

Week 1

Saturday, March 30

• Birmingham Stallions 27, Arlington Renegades 14
• Michigan Panthers 18, St. Louis Battlehawks 16

Sunday, March 31

• San Antonio Brahmas 27, D.C. Defenders 12
• Memphis Showboats 18, Houston Roughnecks 12

Week 2

Saturday, April 6

• San Antonio Brahmas 20, Memphis Showboats 19
• St. Louis Battlehawks 27, Arlington Renegades 24

Sunday, April 7

• Birmingham Stallions 20, Michigan Panthers 13
• D.C. Defenders 23, Houston Roughnecks 13

Week 3

Saturday, April 13

• D.C. Defenders at Arlington Renegades, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Memphis Showboats at Birmingham Stallions, 7 p.m. ET (FOX)

Sunday, April 14

• Houston Roughnecks at Michigan Panthers, noon ET (ABC)
• St. Louis Battlehawks at San Antonio Brahmas, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

Week 4

Saturday, April 20

• Memphis Showboats at St. Louis Battlehawks, 12:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
• D.C. Defenders at Birmingham Stallions, 7 p.m. ET (FOX)
• Michigan Panthers at San Antonio Brahmas, 7 p.m. ET (FOX)

Sunday, April 21

• Arlington Renegades at Houston Roughnecks, 2 p.m. ET (FS1)

Week 5

Saturday, April 27

• San Antonio Brahmas at Arlington Renegades, 7 p.m. ET (FOX)
• Birmingham Stallions at Houston Roughnecks, 7 p.m. ET (FOX)

Sunday, April 28

• St. Louis Battlehawks at D.C. Defenders, noon ET (ESPN)
• Michigan Panthers at Memphis Showboats, 3 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 6

Saturday, May 4

• Birmingham Stallions at Memphis Showboats, noon ET (ABC)
• Houston Roughnecks at St. Louis Battlehawks, 3 p.m. ET (FOX)

Sunday, May 5

• Arlington Renegades at Michigan Panthers, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)
• San Antonio Brahmas at D.C. Defenders, 4 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 7

Saturday, May 11

• Memphis Showboats at Arlington Renegades, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• St. Louis Battlehawks at Birmingham Stallions, 4 p.m. ET (FOX)

Sunday, May 12

• Michigan Panthers at D.C. Defenders, noon ET (ESPN)
• San Antonio Brahmas at Houston Roughnecks, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Week 8

Saturday, May 18

• Memphis Showboats at Michigan Panthers, 4 p.m. ET (FOX)
• Houston Roughnecks at Birmingham Stallions, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Sunday, May 19

• D.C. Defenders at St. Louis Battlehawks, noon ET (ABC)
• Arlington Renegades at San Antonio Brahmas, 4 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 9

Saturday, May 25

• St. Louis Battlehawks at Arlington Renegades, noon ET (ABC)
• Birmingham Stallions at San Antonio Brahmas, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

Sunday, May 26

• D.C. Defenders at Memphis Showboats, 2:30 p.m. ET (FOX)
• Michigan Panthers at Houston Roughnecks, 2:30 p.m. ET (FOX)

Week 10

Saturday, June 1

• Michigan Panthers at Birmingham Stallions, noon ET (ESPN)
• San Antonio Brahmas at St. Louis Battlehawks, 4 p.m. ET (FOX)

Sunday, June 2

• Arlington Renegades at D.C. Defenders, noon ET (ABC)
• Houston Roughnecks at Memphis Showboats, 7 p.m. ET (FOX)

Conference championships

Saturday, June 8

• Teams TBD, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

Sunday, June 9

• Teams and time TBD (FOX)

UFL championship game

Sunday, June 16

• Conference championship winners, 5 p.m. ET (FOX)