Michigan Panthers rally late, but can't hold off Tampa Bay Bandits in 27-20 loss

After a loss last week in which the Michigan Panthers struggled with forward passes and field goals, they came back with a vengeance in both. Unfortunately for the Panthers, their defense couldn’t stand up in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s 27-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Bandits in USFL Week 5 action in Birmingham, Alabama.

Former Wolverines quarterback Shea Patterson completed 23 of 37 passes for 306 yards and a touchdown, but he wasn’t the only one chucking the ball around; three other Panthers attempted passes, including wide receiver Joe Walker completing a 30-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ryan O’Malley on a double-pass play (Patterson started the play with a short forward pass behind the line of scrimmage) legal only in the USFL. (La’Michael Pettway also had a pass attempt fall incomplete.) Then, later in the first half, it was kicker/punter Cole Murphy’s turn.

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Facing fourth-and-6 from the Bandits’ 46 early in the second quarter, Murphy found Cameron Scarlett for 9 yards and a first down. The conversion eventually led to a 36-yard field goal by Murphy, who was signed this week after kicker/punter Michael Carrizosa missed a 21-yarder that would have won last week’s game as time expired. Murphy, a Syracuse alumnus added an extra point on the Panthers’ first touchdown, then closed out the first half with a 41-yard field goal as Michigan tied the Bandits at 13-all.

After the two teams traded punts to open the second half, the Bandits, starting at the Panthers’ 43, needed just one play to take the lead, as QB Jordan Ta’amu, a DetLions signee last season, hit John Franklin III in stride with a bomb. Franklin blew by cornerback Joseph Putu with a double move for the score.