If Dorian Thompson-Robinson had started for the Birmingham Stallions since week one, this may have been their first loss of the season. 

It is the halfway point of the season and the Stallions are 1-4 after dropping tonight’s game to the DC Defenders 45-28. While the Stallions made plenty of mistakes, they looked far improved from the team that has been showing up the past few weeks. 

Head Coach AJ McCarron greeted the media with a positive statement about his players, “Super proud. I thought offensively, just competed their butts off.”

The key to this change goes to one man: Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The former Browns starter and Orlando Storm backup QB was traded for former Stallions starter Matt Corral after last week’s loss. He had only a short week to prepare. He put up 313 passing yards, 43 rushing yards, two passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdown, and two interceptions. It’s by far the best performance the Stallions have had at quarterback all season. 

While the final score doesn’t reflect it, the game was decently close in the first half. DC opened the game with a major kick return that would set the tone for their night. They would quickly punch the ball in for a touchdown a few plays later to go up 7-0. 

The Stallions drove down to the red zone but a bobbled pass would get picked off by the Defenders. The defense would be able to get a sack on Ta’amu and force a punt. This would lead to a touchdown drive with DTR connecting with Deon Cain to get points on the board (but the extra point was missed) and make the game 7-6. 

DC would start to pull away with a pair of touchdowns: one from a long drive and one from an interception and one play score right after. However, the Stallions cooked up a quick drive that capped off with a Jordan Thomas touchdown right before the half to keep it close at 21-13. 

Birmingham started the second half off with a massive reception from Daewood Davis and then Snoop Conner rushing in the touchdown to pull close with 21-19. 

At this point, however, the game quickly got out of hand. DC scored on every subsequent drive, racking up touchdowns and field goals to go up 45-19 nearing the end of the fourth quarter. The Stallions lost their momentum they had after that first drive and failed to string together any drives due to penalties, miscommunications, and turnovers. 

Birmingham was able to get points on the board one last time off the legs of DTR, bringing the final score to 45-28 after a successful three point conversion. The Stallions left the field in front of fewer fans than the previous week, but having actually put points on the board this time. 

However, as McCarron put it himself, there was a lot to be proud of. DC is one of the best teams in the league, and for a while the Stallions were holding even with them. Dorian Thompson-Robinson looked absolutely stellar leading the charge, and the few misplays were unlucky or are things that will be able to be fixed up with more reps. 

Had DTR been playing in the previous games for the Stallions, the record and look at the season would likely be very different. The threat of his legs and NFL awareness would have helped close out both games against the Gamblers and Battlehawks. And while the Storm shut out the Stallions last week, the new look offense might have been able to capitalize on the defensive successes. 

But while hypotheticals are fun, they aren’t the truth. The truth is that the Stallions sit at 1-4 on the season and are likely one loss away from playoff elimination. Birmingham travels to Orlando for a rematch against the Storm on Sunday, May 3rd. DTR will lead the revenge tour against his former team and the Stallions search for their second win, and a signature one at that.