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St. Louis remains the unquestioned crown jewel of the United Football League, but the Battlehawks must continue cleaning up elements of their performance to prove they’re worthy of a crown.

The Battlehawks hit their first speed bump along the road to a potential UFL championship game appearance when the DC Defenders handed them a 27-15 loss on Sunday afternoon in the Dome at America’s Center. The Defenders, a rival franchise from the former XFL, left the Battlehawks lamenting their own failure to execute.

“How it plays out and how we get there is only dictated on what we do in this moment, and we let one go today,â€� Battlehawks ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Anthony Becht said in the aftermath of the loss and the halftime announcement that St. Louis again will host the league championship game. “Great news. I think St. Louis should be where the championship (is held). These fans are great.

“Of course there’s a benefit for this league and everybody if we can get there, but ultimately, we’re not quite at that point yet. So I’m excited about it, thrilled. Our goal is to get there. But we’ve got to get better after what the performance was today. And we will.�

co-owner Dany Garcia and UFL President and CEO Russ Brandon visited the Dome to make the official announcement, granting St. Louis a second consecutive year as the host of the league’s championship game.

Last season, the Battlehawks bowed out of the playoffs one game shy of a championship game appearance on their home turf, but the city still impressed officials with its support of the event.

“The passion, commitment and support in St. Louis has been incredible; it truly has set the standard for the UFL,� Brandon said.

St. Louis entered the weekend with the eight highest single-game announced attendance figures in modern professional spring football, including this season’s home opener that drew 32,115 (seventh-highest). Last season, the Battlehawks registered a league-best average attendance of 34,365.

Brandon pointed to the fact that the Battlehawks went head to head against a Cardinals game, as well as having an MLS game played downtown on Sunday — City SC’s contest began shortly after the football game ended — as evidence of the support.

The Battlehawks (2-1) announced an attendance figure of 30,014 on Sunday. The Cardinals announced an attendance of 32,509 at Busch Stadium. City SC played in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,423 at Energizer Park.

Brandon praised the Battlehawks and city officials for their willingness to improve the Dome as well as working with the league on scheduling. He lauded the “activation� of corporate partners and sponsors in St. Louis, and he cited the atmosphere surrounding last year’s championship game as a factor in fantasy sports gaming platform Underdog serving as the presenting sponsor of the UFL championship game this season.

“They set a bar that we look to have our other franchises meet,� Garcia said of the Battlehawks. “Every franchise has its own sort of ecosystem, its own pluses and minuses, but football in St. Louis is magical.�

Sunday against the Defenders, the Battlehawks looked more like a cursed team than one bolstered by mysticism.

Their offense, playing without wide receiver and last year’s UFL offensive player of the year Hakeem Butler (hamstring) as well as starting right guard Abdul Beecham (hand), sputtered badly against an aggressive Defenders team that brought pressure from multiple directions throughout the game.

The Battlehawks had four plays of no gain or negative yardage as well as two turnovers in the first quarter. For the game, they gained just 173 yards of total offense, or exactly half of the Defenders’ total (346).

The running attack drove their offense the first two weeks. Sunday, it rushed for 45 yard and 39 yards coming from quarterback Manny Wilkins scrambling, including 27 yards on one play.

Initially, that Wilkins run had been ruled a 58-yard touchdown run. Replay review ruled he’d stepped out of bounds. That possession ended with a punt instead of points.

The Battlehawks created several big plays including Wilkins’ run, a a 35-yard touchdown pass to Frank Darby in the second quarter and a 34-yard pass to Jacob Saylors in the fourth quarter. However, only the Darby play led to points for the Battlehawks.

Meanwhile, the team’s defense stood tall just to limit the Defenders to 15 points off four Battlehawks turnovers, including three that gave the Defenders possession in Battlehawks territory (one in the red zone).

“I’m really proud of the defense,� Battlehawks edge rusher Travis Feeney said. “I think at the end of the day, we kept fighting. We kept getting them back. A lot of guys, a lot of teams in those situations, they just give in and it’s touchdown after touchdown after touchdown.

“We just kept fighting and kept fighting. Making plays. Turnovers. Third down stops. But sometimes, we had them third and long and let them make a play. Those are the things that we’ve got to look back and fix.�

The fact that the margin remained just three points, 18-15, with more than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter stood as a testament to the defense. The Battlehawks still had chances to steal a win late.

However, Wilkins threw two fourth-quarter interceptions on a day on which he committed four turnovers (one fumble, three interceptions).

“Honestly, we had, really, a lot of chances with everything that was going on,� Wilkins said. “And I’ve just, in those moments, got to put us in better position to be successful.�

How the offense responds to getting punched in the mouth will determine if the Battlehawks are a real contender for the UFL championship.

Opponents certainly will go to school on what the Defenders did to stifle them, and the Battlehawks can count on facing similar approaches in coming weeks.