WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2025) – The D.C. Defenders held off the Memphis Showboats 17-12 Saturday night at Audi Field.
DC (2-0) led 9-6 heading into the fourth quarter. But Showboats quarterback EJ Perry’s sixteen-yard run was the game’s first touchdown and also gave Memphis (0-2) a 12-9 lead with 11:47 remaining in the contest. A 45-yard completion from Jordan Ta’amu to Chris Rowland just five players after the Perry score put the Defenders in the red zone at the Memphis 12-yard line. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-goal, Ta’amu tossed a pop pass over the middle to Ben Bresnahan to put D.C. on top 15-12. A Rowland reverse pass on the 2-point conversion gave the Defenders a five-point edge.
The Showboats clawed their way down the field, driving to the D.C. 25-yard line. When the drive stalled, Memphis elected to kick a field goal and attempt to retain possession with a 4th-and-12 (the UFL’s alternate rule to an onside kick). But Memphis never got to that 4th-and-12 attempt, as Matt Coghlin’s 43-yard field goal attempt was blocked by the Defenders’ Devonnsha Maxwell.
DC worked enough clock to leave just one second before giving the ball back to the Showboats. A last-ditch attempt to keep the ball alive with laterals was quickly snuffed out, giving D.C. the five-point win.
Perry finished the game 18-of-28 for 205 yards with 1 interception. He also ran the ball 4 times for 26 yards and a TD. Jonathan Adams had another big day for the Showboats, becoming the first wide receiver in the UFL this season to eclipse the 100-yard mark. He tallied 9 catches for 128 yards. Memphis out-gained D.C. 308-257 for the contest.
Linebacker Steele Chambers logged another 10 total tackles, making this his second game in a row with double-digit tackles. Former DC Defender, now Memphis Showboat Boogie Roberts made the game’s only sack and one of the Showboats’ three TFLs.
Memphis led 3-0 after the first quarter on a 22-yard Coghlin field goal. D.C.’s Matt McCrane put two field goals on the board in the second quarter to give the Defenders a 6-3 lead. McCrane’s third field goal early in the third quarter made it 9-3. Coghlin pulled the Showboats within three, 9-6, with a 33-yarder with 6:43 left in the third.
The Showboats are back in Memphis next Saturday (April 12), hosting Houston Roughnecks at 1:30 pm CT.