The Tampa Bay Bandits and Pittsburgh Maulers will open their USFL campaigns against one another on Sunday night from Birmingham. Tampa Bay enters this season as the favorite to win the league title, and are the heaviest favorite in the league’s opening week. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will have an upset on their mind in their first ever game. In our USFL Week 1 picks, we look at Bandits vs Maulers in a neutral site showdown.
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Bandits vs Maulers Betting Pick
This game will be played at Protective Stadium at 8:00 PM ET on Sunday, April 17, 2022.
Why Bet The Bandits:
✅ The Bandits might have the best quarterback in the USFL in Jordan Ta’amu, who was a star in the XFL last year for the St. Louis BattleHawks. Ta’amu has since spent time on NFL practice squads and may be the best quarterback not currently in the NFL. He will pick up where he left off in the XFL and lead the Bandits to a convincing victory.
✅ On the Maulers side, quarterback Kyle Lauletta has not shown that he can handle professional football. He spent time on the Giants roster, but his action was limited to the preseason, where he was not notable. He will continue to struggle at the professional level here, in what should be the last quarterbacking job of his career.
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✅ Tampa Bay is loaded with Power 5 talent at the skill positions, which will help them in this game. BJ Emmons has experience at Alabama, while their receiving corps has experience at schools like LSU and UCLA. Natural talent will give them an edge against a Pittsburgh team that does not have the same caliber of athletes at those spots.
Tampa Bay Bandits
The Tampa Bay Bandits are the team to watch in the early portion of the USFL season, as they are favored to win the league championship early on. They are led by Jordan Ta’amu, who has the potential to be the most important player in the league across the board. After turning some heads in the XFL, he has shown that he has the tools to do the same in the USFL, which could help the Bandits get off to a fast start here.
With the offense of the Bandits set to impress this season, the focus of this team shifts to its defense. The big question for Todd Haley’s team is whether or not it can play well enough on defense to allow the offense to shine, while providing Ta’amu some margin for error.
Pittsburgh Maulers
Pittsburgh comes into this season with a first time head coach, as Kirby Wilson leads them after nearly 40 years in assistant roles throughout the game of football. They come into this season hoping Kyle Lauletta can resemble the player the Giants hoped he would turn out to be when they drafted him out of Richmond. But the key to this game will be whether or not they can slow down Jordan Ta’amu and the Bandits offense.
The small rosters in the USFL took a toll on the defenses in the league’s inaugural game between the Generals and Stallions, as the majority of points were scored in the second half. That makes coming out strong in the first half important for a Maulers team that could be especially porous down the stretch against what should be a potent offensive opponent.