XFL WEEK 9 PREVIEW & PICKS

BY ADAM GREENE

A week before the USFL kicks off, the XFL might have produced its best week of football in its history. We saw every game coming down to the wire, end within a single score and watched two of them go into overtime.

We have two XFL teams already in the postseason and two weeks to go. Thankfully, we have the odds, lines and totals to do something with it.

XFL POWER RANKINGS

1. WASHINGTON DC DEFENDERS (7-1)

No one criticized Washington DC Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu more than me in the first half of the season as the team seemed to win in spite of him. Now, Ta’amu has flipped the script and is playing the best football in the league. He has the Defenders locked into a postseason spot already and led them to the best record in the XFL. And now they’re atop the Power Rankings again. Last week: No. 3

2. ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (5-2)

The Battlehawks were without XFL star quarterback AJ McCarron last Saturday, facing a suddenly hot Las Vegas Vipers team and still managed to win their third game in a row in overtime. Last week: No. 2

3. SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS (5-3)

Seattle might still be the XFL’s second best team after losing to the Washington DC Defenders by a single point, but they fall to third in the Power Rankings. Last week: No. 1

4. HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS (5-3)

In spite of their quarterback’s turnover problems, Houston got a stellar day from its defense to stop a three-game losing streak and capture an XFL South playoff spot. Last week: No. 4

5. ARLINGTON RENEGADES (4-4)

A voluntary quarterback change might have altered the Renegades’ fortunes. Arlington picked up former Las Vegas Vipers signal caller Luis Perez and found paydirt immediately, moving their record to .500 with two games to go thanks to a win over the Orlando Guardians. Last week: No. 8

6. LAS VEGAS VIPERS (2-6)

Quarterback changes might have made the offense moving better, but it couldn’t change Las Vegas’ problems in the win column. The Vipers secured a guaranteed losing season in their inaugural XFL 3.0 campaign with an overtime loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks. Last week: No. 5

7. SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS (2-6)

When the story of the 2023 XFL 3.0 season is written, the author will need to continually be reminded that the San Antonio Brahmas exist, because they have done absolutely nothing on the field to show proof of life to anyone this season. Last week: No. 7

8. ORLANDO GUARDIANS (1-7)

With a week out of the basement, the Guardians made sure to land right back at the bottom. Last week, Orlando had the biggest win of the XFL season and followed it with an epic faceplant against one of the league’s middling squads, the Arlington Renegades. Last week: No. 6

SATURDAY

LAS VEGAS VIPERS AT HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS (-6, O/U: 44)

In spite of pushing the game into overtime and setting the tone for the entire XFL weekend, the Last Vegas Vipers fell 21-17 to the St. Louis Battlehawks. The Vipers have completely overhauled their quarterback position, starting Jalan McClendon in this game. He finished 13 of 23 for 159 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He led the team with 13 rushes for 62 yards, was sacked twice and lost a fumble. Brian Burt had nine carries for 57 yards and caught two balls for 18 yards. Rod Smith rushed 13 times for 51 yards and added three catches for 20 yards. and John Lovett got three carries for 30 yards and scored a TD. Geronimo Allison caught two passes for 44 yards and a score. Martavis Bryant caught one pass for 39 yards. CJ Avery led the team with seven tackles. Keylon Kennedy and Cavon Walker both ended with five tackles and one tackle for a loss apiece. Walker added a sack. Maurice Smith recorded four tackles, half a sack and an interception. Marwin Evans had two tackles and an interception.

Ending a shocking three game skid that knocked them from the top of the XFL rankings, the Houston Roughnecks needed overtime to knock off the San Antonio Brahmas, 17-15, last Sunday. Brandon Silvers did his best to keep the win from happening, tossing two picks to go with his 17 of 26 for 146 yards and two touchdowns day. He was sacked twice. Brycen Alleyne had four carries (according to the stats) for 12 whopping yards, but you can be forgiven for remembering none of it. Max Borghi caught three passes for 49 yards. Tavante Beckett finished with 14 tackles and one tackle for a loss. Caliph Brice had 10 tackles with two for a loss. Jack Heflin ended his day with eight tackles, one for a loss and one sack. Ajene Harris had seven tackles.

The Roughnecks have made quite the nosedive since the first two months of the season and all the offensive roster flaws that appeared on paper in the preseason are now manifesting in the regular season at the worst possible time. Houston hasn’t hit 20 points in three of its last four games. Vegas has to win one of these at some point. Vipers 21, Roughnecks 17

ORLANDO GUARDIANS AT SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS (-1.5, O/U: 39)

A week after picking up their first victory, over the XFL’s best team no less, the Orlando Guardians decided to get all Guardian-y again, losing 18-16 to the Arlington Renegades last Saturday. The QB change to Quinten Dormady has made the Guardians a more formidable offense, but, apparently, that monkey’s paw wish didn’t come with stacking up victories. Dormady finished 28 of 43 for 303 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He led the team rushing with five carries for 17 yards and a touchdown, was sacked four times and, thanks to that monkey’s paw, fumbled away the ball three times. Yes. Thrice. Eli Rogers caught 10 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown. Cody Latimer hauled in seven catches for 79 yards. Najeem Hosein finished with seven tackles and a forced fumble. Terrannce Plummer had six tackles.

On a day where the Houston Roughnecks did next to nothing, the San Antonio Brahmas were even worse, falling 17-15 in overtime in spite of a nine-point fourth quarter comeback to force the game into the extra period. Somehow, Jack Coan was not benched for San Antonio has he finished 23 of 41 for 190 yards, no touchdowns and two picks. He rushed for 14 yards and was sacked a ridiculous six times. Jacques Patrick finished with 16 rushes for 96 yards and a touchdown as the lone bright spot on offense. Former Los Angeles Rams receiver Landon Akers caught five passes for 62 yards. Jordan Williams and Sean Williams each finished with six tackles and one tackle for a loss. Jack Koerner had five tackles and an interception. Kameron Kelly recorded two stops and a pick.

Orlando has been the worst team in the XFL from week one and San Antonio the most boring and forgettable. So, do we go for exciting but bad or boring and bad? I’m feeling the Guardians here. At least they can score points, now. Guardians 24, Brahmas 15

SUNDAY

ARLINGTON RENEGADES AT WASHINGTON DC DEFENDERS (-8.5, O/U: 41.5)

What potentially could have been the worst game of the week turned out pretty good as the Arlington Renegades, behind new starting quarterback Luis Perez (formally of the Las Vegas Vipers), evened up their record with an 18-16 victory over the hapless, in spite of everything they try to do, Orlando Guardians. Perez finished 16 of 25 for 190 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked once. Leddie Brown rushed nine times for 47 yards. De’Veon Smith had 13 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown. LuJuan Winningham caught two passes for 62 yards, Tyler Vaughns hauled in four passes for 52 yards. On defense, Darnell Sankey had eight tackles, half a sack and one tackle for a loss. Shakur Brown and Cre’Von LeBlanc finished with seven tackles apiece LeBlanc added a tackle for a loss. Joe Powel had four tackles, one tackle for a loss and one interception. Willie Taylor ended his night with three tackles, one sack, one tackle for a loss, one interception and a forced fumble.

The Washington Defenders bounced back from their first loss of the season with a shootout victory over the surging Seattle Sea Dragons last Sunday, 34-33. Jordan Ta’amu went from being one of the worst quarterbacks in the league as the season started to maybe the best over the last month. Against the Sea Dragons, Ta’amu was 17 of 26 for 247 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He added eight rushes for 13 yards, was sacked twice and lost a fumble. Abram Smith rushed 17 times for 66 yards and a score. Chris Blair caught five passes for 148 yards and a TD. Alex Ellis caught one 14-yard touchdown pass. Brandon Smith had two grabs for 13 yards and a touchdown. Ryquell Armstead caught an 11-yard touchdown pass. Anthony Hines, Francis Bernard and Michael Joseph all finished with six tackles apiece. Joseph Wallace had three tackles and an interception.

DC is back on top for a reason. Arlington is probably fielding its best team of the season and should still lose, probably handily. I was hard on Ta’amu as the season started, expecting more from a guy with his experience. He has turned it on now and looks as if, to me, he’ll be hoisting the first XFL 3.0 trophy at the end of the season and maybe the MVP. He’s already punched his team’s ticket to the playoffs. Defenders 33, Renegades 23

SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS AT ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (-1, O/U: 46)

With star quarterback AJ McCarron sidelined with a shoulder injury, the St. Louis Battlehawks held off the Las Vegas Vipers 21-17 in overtime to win their third consecutive game. New starting quarterback Nick Tiano was generous with the ball, but made the plays when he had to have them. He finished 19 of 34 for 194 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He led the team on the ground with 51 yards on eight carries and was sacked twice. Brian Hill carried the ball 10 times for 35 yards and lost a fumble. Marcell Ateman caught four passes for 67 yards. Gary Jennings caught a single pass for a 64-yard touchdown. Hakeem Butler hauled in three balls for 36 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Willie Harvey finished with nine tackles and one for a loss. Carson Wells and Travis Feeney had eight tackles apiece, with Wells adding half a sack. Feeney had a sack, two tackles for a loss and one forced fumble.

In a battle of what is probably the XFL’s two best teams, the Seattle Sea Dragons fell just one point short, losing 34-33 to the Washington DC Defenders last Sunday. Ben DiNucci continued to successfully audition for a return to the NFL with a 28 of 42 day for 301 yards, three touchdowns and one interception day. He led the Sea Dragons in rushing with four carries for 23 yards and was not sacked. Phillip Lindsey rushed eight times for 23 yards and a score. Juwan Green caught seven passes for 142 yards and two TDs. Blake Jackson had four grabs for 53 yards. Jahcour Pearson caught five passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. Qeinterrio Cole, a name that’s starting to haunt me as I type it out every week, finished with eight tackles and two for a loss. Tre Walker also had eight tackles. Niko Lalos, Linden Stephens, Bruce Thompson and Tyrell Adams all finished with five tackles. Thompson had half a sack and Adams forced a fumble.

This is, without a doubt, the best match up of the week and the toughest game to pick. The Sea Dragons might be the league’s second best team, but St. Louis is a close third and has the only serious home field advantage. I’m going with the home team here, but it should be a good one. Battlehawks 35, Sea Dragons 33

Last week

Straight up: 2-2

Against the spread: 1-3

Season

Straight up: 17-15

Against the spread: 15-18

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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