Orlando tops Houston 24-23; Storm in 3-way tie for 1st in UFL standings

The Orlando Storm, thanks to a missed 63-yard field goal with 35 seconds left Sunday night, snapped a two-game losing streak, escaping Houston with a 24-23 victory.

The win puts the Storm at 5-2 and in a three-way tie with the DC Defenders and the St. Louis Battlehawks atop the UFL standings with three games left in the regular season. Houston fell to 2-5.

“They gutted it out today. We made one more play than they did,” Orlando coach Anthony Becht said. “I’m proud of my guys for fighting. We gotta clean up a lot of stuff. We’re just shooting ourselves in the foot. It’s been tough to watch sometimes.

“I haven’t seen our best offensive performance yet. I just expect better; have higher expectations. … We have to reorganize. We have to take a hard look at what we’re doing and what’s gonna work best. … We gotta clean things up in like three or four days.”

Becht was referencing the Storm’s next game, which is on the road Friday night at Fort Hood, Texas, against the Dallas Renegades (3-4).

In the box score, Sunday’s game was all Houston, but the Storm did enough when it counted to get the victory. Houston out-gained Orlando 415 yards to 185. Houston had 22 first downs and Orlando just 11. Houston ran 70 plays, Orlando just 46. Houston had three quarterback sacks, Orlando none.

Orlando, however, made the plays when it needed.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game came early. Orlando had taken its first lead in three weeks on a Jack Plummer to Elijhah Badger 35-yard touchdown pass just nine minutes into the game.

Then, after a Houston field goal, Storm cornerback DJ James, who signed with the team Thursday, jumped a pass route, picked off a Hunter Dekkers pass and returned it 18 yards for a pick-6 touchdown to put Orlando up 14-3 at the start of the second quarter.

“It feels amazing. I was just waiting for the opportunity to suit up and showcase my talent,” said James, who played college football at Oregon and Auburn. A sixth-round NFL draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2024, James played one game last season with the New England Patriots.

“I was just coming back from rookie minicamp (with the Titans) in Nashville, Tennessee, and I was in Dallas where I’ve been working out,” James said. “My agent called me and said, ‘Hey, they need some guys here,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I love to play football, especially at cornerback, so let’s do it.’ ”