On Saturday and Sunday of last weekend (2/8/2020 – 2/9/2020) the new XFL debuted as all of the eight teams played their first games of the 2020 season. The old XFL that took place back in 2001 failed miserably, but this new version seems to be a much better product than the previous version almost twenty years ago. The games are fast, exciting, and it seems like professional football just not at the highest level like in the National Football League.
The viewership was extremely high which leads me to believe that a lot of sports fans were interested in the XFL. Hopefully that continues as it is nice to have football on even after the NCAA National Championship game and the Super Bowl have come and gone. The XFL has also embraced the notion of fans gambling on these games. This is also important to the health and success of this new league.
Week 1 XFL Scores and Analysis:
Seattle Dragons 19 – Washington DC 31 (Final Score):
The first score of the game occurred around half way through the first quarter when T. Rausa of the DC Defenders nailed a 34 yard field goal. The Seattle Dragons answered by B. Silvers connected with A. Proehl on a 14 yard touchdown pass. The score was 6 to 3 in favor of the Seattle Dragons at the end of the first quarter.
The DC Defenders scored their first touchdown on special teams when E. Campbell blocked a punt and J. Celestin recovered it for a touchdown. Seattle stayed in the game by B. Silvers throwing another touchdown pass this time to T. Williams for a 13 yard score as well as 1 point conversion. In the last few seconds of the first half T. Rausa kicked a long 54 yard field goal. The halftime score was 13 to 12 in favor of the Dragons.
The second half commenced, and C. Jones of the Defenders wasted no time by throwing a nice deep 39 yard touchdown pass to K. Lee, and they converted on the 1 point attempt as well. B. Silvers keeps the Dragons on pace by connecting with A. Proehl again this time on a 57 yard touchdown. The third quarter ended but not before C. Jones throws another touchdown pass to R. Ross. The score heading into the fourth quarter was Defenders 25 and Dragons 19.
The fourth quarter of the first new XFL game was dominated by the defense of the DC Defenders. The only score during the last 15 minutes of play came on an interception that was returned for a 69 yard touchdown by B. Sylve. The DC Defenders won this match up last Saturday with a final score of 31 to 19 against the Seattle Dragons.
Los Angeles Wildcats 17 – Houston Roughnecks 37 (Final Score):
The Houston Roughnecks got the board first in this football?game when P. Walker hit C. Phillips on a deep 50 yard touchdown pass. The Los Angeles Wildcats returned the favor when C. Kanoff scrambled 5 yards into the end zone. LA converted on a two points conversion as well. The First quarter ended with the Wildcats up 8 to 6.
- Kanoff tossed a smooth ball to J. Smallwood for an 11 yard touchdown reception. The Roughnecks answered when P. Walker found J. Butler for another touchdown. Former NFL kicker N. Novak drilled a 35 yard field goal. The last score of the first half occurred when S. Mobley caught a 39 yard touchdown pass from P. Walker. The score was 18 to 17 in favor of Houston at half time.
There was only one scoring play in the third quarter of this match up. The Roughnecks P. Walker struck again by finding K. Lewis on a short touchdown, and Walker rushed in the two point conversion as well. Walker now had 4 touchdowns on the afternoon, and he looked like one of the best players over the course of the first weekend of XFL games. Houston was now winning 26 to 17 after three quarters of play.
Houston’s S. Castillo split the uprights with a 44 yard field goal kick. Finally, J. Butler rushed off the right tackle for a 4 yard touchdown run followed up with a successful 2 point conversion. The Houston Roughnecks dominated the second half, and they won this game 37 to 17. Houston looked like one of the best teams in the league after watching all of the contests in week 1.
Tampa Bay Vipers 3 – New York Guardians 23 (Final Score):
The New York Guardians took control of this football game early on. Quarterback M. McGloin started the party by running in a one yard touchdown rush, and they converted a 1 point conversion making the score Guardians – 7 and Vipers – 0 after one quarter of play.
- McGloin connected with his wide receiver C. Pearson for a nice little 12 yard touchdown completion. New York followed up by converting on the yard conversion as well. At the very end of the first half M. McCrane drained a 49 yard field goal kick which put the New York Guardians up 17 to 0 over the Tampa Bay Vipers by half time.
The Tampa Bay Vipers who struggled especially offensively all day were able to score on a 23 yard field goal by A. Franks. That was the only scoring play of the third quarter, and New York was winning 17 to 3 at this point in the match up.
In the fourth quarter the Viper’s A. Murray completed a pass to N. Truesdell who managed to fumble the ball after the catch. The Guardian’s J. Summers recovered the ball and scored on a 13 yard touchdown return. The New York Guardians looked great in their first XFL home game as they defeated the Tampa Bay Vipers 23 to 3 last Sunday afternoon.
Saint Louis Battlehawks 15 – Dallas Renegades 9 (Final Score):
This was a close and exciting game throughout. Neither team managed to score at all in the first quarter of this contest. The Dallas Renegades enjoyed the first score of the game on a 32 yard field goal kick from A. MacGinnis. The St. Louis Battlehawks found the end zone first on a 16 yard rushing touchdown by K. Ford. The score was tied at 6 as these squads hit the locker room for half time.
The only score of the third quarter was a successful field goal by the Dallas Renegades place kicker, A. MacGinnis. The Battlehawks capped off a solid drive with a 9 yard touchdown pass from J. Ta’amu to A. Russell. St. Louis was winning 12 to 9 making for an exciting finish to this game.
With around five minutes remaining T. Russolino smashed a 48 yard field goal. The Renegades were shut out during the rest of the game as the Saint Louis Battlehawks beat the Dallas Renegades with a final score of 15 to 9. This win for the Battlehawks was an upset, and I look forward to seeing how St. Louis plays this upcoming weekend of XFL football.
XFL Stat Leaders after Week 1:
Passing leaders
NAME | POSITION | TEAM | CMP/ATT | YARDS | TD | INT | RATING |
P.J. Walker | QB | HOU | 23/39 (59%) | 272 | 4 | 1 | 103.8 |
Cardale Jones | QB | DC | 16/26 (62%) | 235 | 2 | 0 | 116.7 |
Aaron Murray | QB | TB | 16/34 (47%) | 231 | 0 | 2 | 45.1 |
Brandon Silvers | QB | SEA | 21/40 (53%) | 217 | 3 | 2 | 72.6 |
Chad Kanoff | QB | LA | 21/40 (53%) | 214 | 1 | 1 | 66.0 |
Jordan Ta’amu | QB | STL | 20/27 (74%) | 209 | 1 | 0 | 108.4 |
Philip Nelson | QB | DAL | 33/42 (79%) | 209 | 0 | 1 | 77.5 |
Matt McGloin | QB | NY | 15/29 (52%) | 182 | 1 | 0 | 82.8 |
Rushing leaders:
PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM | ATT | YARDS | AVG | TD |
Matt Jones | RB | STL | 21 | 85 | 4.0 | 0 |
De’Veon Smith | RB | TB | 16 | 79 | 4.9 | 0 |
Jordan Ta’amu | QB | STL | 9 | 77 | 8.6 | 0 |
Elijah Hood | RB | LA | 12 | 43 | 3.6 | 0 |
Kenneth Farrow | RB | SEA | 7 | 41 | 5.9 | 0 |
Ja’Quan Gardner | RB | SEA | 9 | 36 | 4.0 | 0 |
Quinton Flowers | QB/RB | TB | 5 | 34 | 6.8 | 0 |
Jacques Patrick | RB | TB | 8 | 32 | 4.0 | 0 |
Darius Victor | RB | NY | 9 | 32 | 3.6 | 0 |
Jhurrell Pressley | RB | DC | 12 | 31 | 2.6 | 0 |
James Butler | RB | HOU | 9 | 30 | 3.3 | 1 |
Cardale Jones | QB | DC | 9 | 28 | 3.1 | 0 |
Lance Dunbar | RB | DAL | 5 | 27 | 5.4 | 0 |
Keith Ford | RB | STL | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 1 |
P.J. Walker | QB | HOU | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 0 |
Chad Kanoff | QB | LA | 4 | 21 | 5.3 | 1 |
Receiving leaders:
PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM | REC | YARDS | TD |
Dan Williams | WR | TB | 6 | 123 | 0 |
Nelson Spruce | WR | LA | 11 | 103 | 0 |
Austin Proehl | WR | SEA | 5 | 88 | 2 |
Eli Rogers | WR | DC | 6 | 73 | 0 |
Cam Phillips | WR | HOU | 4 | 67 | 1 |
De’Mornay Pierson-El | WR | STL | 4 | 64 | 0 |
Mekale McKay | WR | NY | 3 | 58 | 0 |
Rashad Ross | WR | DC | 2 | 52 | 1 |
Nick Holley | WR | HOU | 4 | 50 | 0 |
Alonzo Russell | WR | STL | 3 | 49 | 1 |
Nick Truesdell | TE | TB | 3 | 49 | 0 |
Jalen Tolliver | WR | TB | 3 | 47 | 0 |
Kahlil Lewis | WR | HOU | 5 | 45 | 0 |
Colby Pearson | WR | NY | 2 | 44 | 1 |
Flynn Nagel | WR | DAL | 6 | 43 | 0 |
Reece Horn | WR | TB | 3 | 42 | 0 |
Donald Parham Jr. | TE | DAL | 4 | 40 | 0 |
Marcus Lucas | WR | STL | 4 | 40 | 0 |
Khari Lee | TE | DC | 1 | 39 | 1 |
Sam Mobley | WR | HOU | 1 | 39 | 1 |
Dontez Byrd | WR | SEA | 2 | 32 | 0 |
Brandon Barnes | TE | LA | 2 | 31 | 0 |
Sean Price | TE | DAL | 2 | 30 | 0 |
Kermit Whitfield | WR | LA | 3 | 30 | 0 |
Tackle leaders:
PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM | TACKLES |
Darius Hillary | CB | STL | 9 |
Bunmi Rotini | DE | NY | 9 |
Ben Heeney | LB | NY | 9 |
Terence Garvin | LB | STL | 8 |
Dexter McCoil | S | STL | 8 |
Jameer Thurman | LB | DC | 8 |
Steven Johnson | LB | SEA | 8 |
Nick Temple | LB | SEA | 7 |
D’Juan Hines | LB | NY | 7 |
Cody Brown | S | HOU | 6 |
Bryce Jones | CB | NY | 6 |
Sack leaders:
PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM | SACKS |
Wesley Sutton | S | NY | 2.0 |
LaTroy Lewis | LB | HOU | 2.0 |
Jonathan Massaquoi | LB | DC | 1.0 |
Shawn Oakman | DE | LA | 1.0 |
Deatrick Nichols | CB | HOU | 1.0 |
Carl Bradford | LB | HOU | 1.0 |
Joey Mbu | DT | NY | 1.0 |
Cavon Walker | DT | NY | 1.0 |
Bunmi Rotimi Jr. | DE | NY | 1.0 |
Frank Alexander | DE | DAL | 1.0 |
Tegray Scales | LB | DAL | 1.0 |
Terence Garvin | LB | STL | 1.0 |
Dexter McCoil | S | STL | 1.0 |
Jake Payne | DT | STL | 1.0 |
Dewayne Hendrix | DL | STL | 1.0 |
Will Sutton | DT | SEA | 0.5 |
Jacquies Smith | DT | SEA | 0.5 |
Kony Ealy | DE | HOU | 0.5 |
Cory Crawford | DE | HOU | 0.5 |
Interception leaders:
PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM | INT |
Will Hill | S | STL | 1 |
Bryce Jones | CB | NY | 1 |
Andrew Soroh | S | NY | 1 |
LaDarius Wiley | S | LA | 1 |
Deatrick Nichols | CB | HOU | 1 |
Kaelin Burnett | LB | HOU | 1 |
Rahim Moore | S | DC | 1 |
Bradley Sylve | CB | DC | 1 |
Upcoming Schedule for Week 2 of XFL Games:
- Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 1 pm CST
New York Guardians at Washington DC Defenders
- Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 4 pm CST
Tampa Bay Vipers at Seattle Dragons
- Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 2 pm CST
Dallas Renegades at Los Angeles Wildcats
- Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 5 pm CST
Saint Louis Battlehawks at Houston Roughnecks