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XFL Vegas Vipers

Defenders, Weather Wear down Vipers in Las Vegas' Home Opener

by David Dean
February 26, 2023 - XFL (XFL)
Vegas Vipers


Las Vegas - On a cold, windy evening in the desert, pregame sprinkles before the Vegas Vipers XFL home opener with the visiting DC Defenders turned into a downpour just before the half. After a sloppy and largely uneventful first half, DC created their own deluge of a sort, dominating the second half with an impressive run game and spoiling the Vipers' first game at Cashman Field, 18-6, in front of an announced crowd of 6,023.

As the sun poked through a mostly overcast sky, the Defenders kicked off to the Vipers under the XFL's unique kickoff rules. Three unsuccessful Luis Perez pass attempts that included a hurry and a widely off-target pass on third down later, Vegas was forced to punt.

While the Vegas home crowd was disappointed in the three and out, the Defenders' initial drive ended in catastrophe. After a two-yard run and incomplete pass, Vegas stripped DC starting quarterback Jordan Ta'amu just outside the endzone on DC's third offensive play, with the Vipers recovering on the Defenders' two-yard line. Just one play later, Vipers' running back DeAndre Torry opened the scoring and gave the home crowd an early reason to cheer. Selecting to go for two points from their own five-yard line under the XFL's three-tiered conversion rules, Defenders starting quarterback Perez was sacked hard, and the Vipers settled for a 6-0 lead.

DC's offense found a bit of traction in the next drive, moving the ball for two first downs, but stalled following three consecutive incomplete passes.

After a punt into a strong headwind, the Vipers began their next drive at their own 18. With Perez injured following the sack on the DC extra point attempt, Brett Hundley took over as quarterback. But a different quarterback led to the same result as Hundley failed to move the offense forward. Two Rod Smith carries and an incomplete pass later, Vegas punted for a three and out.

The Vipers held DC to no gain on a third and 1 from the Viper 31, and a holding penalty on the ensuing 4th down run forced DC to punt.

Both offenses looked to be well behind their defenses, with extremely windy conditions adding to both offenses' woes. Combined, the teams managed a meager total of 86 total net yards in the first quarter as they battled the elements.

The second quarter began with a series of quick punts, with Perez returning to helm the Vipers offense with as little success as before his injury.

DC finally picked up the initial first down of the quarter on an eight-yard pass from Ta'amu to Josh Hammond. DC's progress downfield was aided by a personal foul after Ta'amu was hit out of bounds after a third down run, tacking 15 yards onto the play and moving the ball to the Vegas 30. Three plays later, Ta'amu hit Lucky Jackson for nine yards and a first down on the edge of the red zone. Just as the Defenders looked likely to knot the game as they advanced to the two, an errant handoff on second down led to a fumble that Vegas recovered just forward of their own goal line.

A nice 25-yard run by the Vipers' Rod Smith moved the ball out of the shadow of the goal posts as the rain began in earnest just before the two-minute warning for the half. True to their early season form, the Vipers' drive bogged down with just under a minute remaining in the half, leading to yet another punt.

DC's offense started to find a rhythm and moved to midfield, but as Ta'amu tried to work magic before the clock ran out on the first half, he fumbled while scrambling, with Vegas recovering and getting the ball out of bounds at the DC 21 yard line with one second remaining on the clock. However, in the face of a driving wind and pouring rain, Vegas kicker Bailey Griffen's attempt missed wide, ending a sloppy half of play and weather with the Vipers clinging to a 6-0 advantage.

As the unrelenting downpour in the desert continued, DC kicked off to begin the second half, with Vegas fielding the ball on a hop and returning it to their 29-yard line. Two plays later, confusion reigned as the as Defender wide receiver Lucky Jackson went to ground with a catch and appeared to get up and run for a touchdown without being touched. However, the officials ruled he had been touched at the Vegas 46.

A nifty quarterback designed run by Ta'amu moved D.C. to the Vegas 29. Wide receiver Chris Blair nearly hauled in a touchdown at the pilon, but couldn't quite hold on for the score. Ta'amu got the Defenders' offence moving downfield, but a dropped ball on the sideline stalled the drive. DC then caught its first big break of the game. After an apparent field goal miss by Defenders' kicker Matt McCrane was wiped out by a prescient Defender timeout, his second attempt split the uprights and brought D.C. to within three at 6-3 with 9:41 remaining in the third.

Following the DC field goal, Vegas' quarterback roulette wheel landed back on Hundley. With Viper lead running back Rod Smith on the sideline with a hip flexor injury, Hundley made the most of his opportunity, hitting wide receiver John Lovett at the 20 and getting the Vipers their second look at the red zone. Following an errant throw from Hundley to the back of the endzone, a delay of game penalty them back to the 12-yard line. Hundley ran for four, but the Vipers missed an opportunity to extend their lead, as kicker Griffen lost his footing on the soaked turf and ended up on his backside, missing the field goal attempt badly.

That miss was just the beginning of Vegas' misery. Starting from their own 20, DC also switched up their signal caller with D'Eriq King entering the game. He kicked off the drive with a bruising five-yard quarterback keeper that set the tone for the remainder of the game. After an incomplete pass aimed at Blair, King showed his athleticism, avoiding an intense pass rush on the ensuing third down, hitting Hammond for a first down.

At that point, DC's offensive line took control of the drive and the game, opening holes for a series of runs by King and running back Ryquell Armstead that culminated with a 12-yard touchdown run by surging quarterback. King also converted the 1-point attempt, running untouched up the middle, giving DC a 10-6 lead after the first play of the final quarter.

Vegas didn't roll over, yet, as Hundley picked up a first down with a nice throw to Sexton on third and five, giving the Vipers a first down at the 44, and stoking the hometown crowd's hope for a comeback. Those hopes were dashed two plays later after DC knocked the ball free as Hundley scrambled for his life, with the Defenders' Jamal Brooks recovering on the Vegas 44-yard line.

The Defenders o-line picked up right where they left off on the previous drive. In a run-dominated drive, Abram Smith broke a Vegas arm tackle and raced for 26 yards, giving DC first and goal from the nine. Smith pushed the ball into the endzone on the very next play with a run to the left pilon. Tight end Wolf hung on through a viscous hit to convert the two-point attempt and push the score to 18-6 with 8:36 left in the fourth, and giving the Defenders a two-score lead.

The Vipers attempted to get back into the game on Hundley's arm, but DC's defensive line took over their side of the game, dominating the trenches and harassing Hundley throughout the drive.

Following another punt, DC continued its run-focused attack from their 28, looking to burn just over four minutes of game clock. A crucial third-and-three conversion all but sealed the game with 3 minutes today. The XFL's comeback-friendly rules never came into play as Smith and Armstead ground out another first down, the Vipers expended their remaining timeouts, and DC came out of the two-minute warning with a first down at the Vegas 46-yard line.

Three runs later and the Vipers' home opener was officially spoiled, as the Defenders kept their perfect record intact, and Vegas fell to 0-2 on the season.

In the post-game press conference, Viper's head coach Rod Woodson was visibly frustrated with his team's inability to move the ball and a poor second half performance for the second game in a row. "It's not real complicated...you work together collectively or you lose."

Vegas will get another chance at the team's first home win as they face the Seattle Sea Dragons (0-2) at home next Saturday. DC returns home to Audi Field in a battle of unbeatens, facing the 2-0 St. Louis Battlehawks.

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