XFL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW & PICKS

BY ADAM GREENE

After a pretty entertaining debut for XFL 3.0 football, the league finale is upon us as the Arlington Renegades (5-6) take on the Washington DC Defenders (10-1) in the XFL Championship Saturday.

As always, we have the odds, lines and totals with which to make watching this game even more entertaining.  

SATURDAY

ARLINGTON RENEGADES AT WASHINGTON DC DEFENDERS (-6.5, O/U: 46.5)

Date: Saturday, May 13

Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

Kickoff: 8 p.m. EST

Those of us that kicked rocks to see the Arlington Renegades make the XFL playoffs over the St. Louis Battlehawks were proven very wrong last week. The Renegades controlled the action the whole way in the South Divisional Round, knocking off the favored Houston Roughnecks 26-11. Houston, who opened the XFL season as arguably the league’s best team, was never really in this one at all. Luis Perez continued to show his value as a late season free agent addition, going 19 of 27 for 289 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He added two scrambles for 13 yards and was sacked once. De’Veon Smith rushed 24 times for 94 yards. JaVonta Payton hauled in five passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Caleb Vander Esch caught five balls for 60 yards. LuJuan Winningham had two grabs for 49 yards. On defense, Donald Payne finished with 10 tackles. Bruce Hector had seven tackles and a half a sack. Will Hill and Joe Powell each posted five tackles, with Hill adding one for a loss. De Vante Bausby had one tackle, one tackle for a loss and a pick.

The Sea Dragons were, without question, the second best team in the XFL and the Washington DC Defenders knocked them off by double digits last Sunday, winning 37-21 in the XFL North Divisional Round. With the game tied 9-9 at halftime, the Defenders took over completely in the second half, scoring 21 unanswered points to all but put the game away. Jordan Ta’amu seems to be reverting to his early season form at the worst time when it comes to turnovers, but he did enough. He finished 19 of 31 for 258 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He added a couple of carries for nine yards. Abram Smith had a down day for him, russhing 23 times for 48 yards and a touchdown. Cam’Ron Harris had five carries for 25 yards and two scores. Briley Moore-McKinney caught four passes for 80 yards. Lucky Jackson had two receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown. Josh Hammond had six grabs for 55 yards. Chris Blair had five hauls for 51. Ethan Wolf caught just one pass, but it was for a 26-yard touchdown. Santos Ramirez and DJ Swearinger each finished with seven tackles apiece. Dejuan Neal, KJ Sails and Francis Bernard each recorded four tackles. Joseph Wallace had two tackles, one sack and two for a loss. Andre Mintze had a tackle, a sack and tackle for a loss.

There’s no question that Arlington has been one of the hottest teams in the league for weeks since adding Perez at quarterback, but DC has been a monster from the start. Even when Ta’amu doesn’t play his best, his running game, especially Abram Smith, usually picks up the slack and the defense can make plays when it counts. I like the line, but it should still be a fun one. Defenders 27, Renegades 20

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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