Las Vegas, the UFL's defending champions, lost their season opener to Florida, 27-20, but pulled off a 5-game winning streak after a Week 2 bye, securing a berth in the title game after Week 7. Before earning that spot, however, starting quarterback Tim Rattay went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon, and was placed on the injured reserve list. With Rattay out for the rest of the season, the Locos relied on backup quarterbacks Drew Willy and Chase Clement for the team's final 3 regular season games, the last 2 of which resulted in losses, giving the Locos a 5-3 record going into the title game.