XFL XFL

How the Orlando Guardians Pulled off the Upset of the XFL Season

Published on April 4, 2023 under XFL (XFL) News Release


There was one question on everyone's mind as Orlando Guardians linebacker Terrance Plummer sat down Saturday for his news conference after a seven-tackle performance against the previously undefeated D.C. Defenders.

How did it feel for Orlando to finally win a game?

"I can't cuss," Plummer said to laughs from the media in attendance. "It feels great. It feels absolutely amazing. It's crazy how this XFL worked out. First game, we came out. We showed that we could play a little bit but we took an L and then it proceeded for the next five weeks. But tonight - tonight was our night."

The joy and jubilation for the Guardians, forlorn for six straight weeks to start the season, on "our night" was more than a long time coming.

For one, it came from a game almost nobody outside of their locker room expected them to win. A game in which many probably didn't even expect them to be competitive.

It came from a game where they finally put things together. They didn't have many turnovers. They didn't have many penalties. Quarterback Quinten Dormady produced six touchdowns.

It came from one of the best games of the XFL season as both teams combined for 888 yards and 73 points, the latter marking the most ever in an XFL game.

And it came from a game where the final score will be forever etched in Orlando Guardians lore. Winless and counted out Orlando 37, Undefeated and league-best D.C. 36.

"Finally," Guardians head coach Terrell Buckley said after the win. "This is the feeling that I've been trying to experience for six weeks. And how that locker room is acting right now, that's what you want. That's what it's about."

The 0-6 start for the Guardians featured a mix of blowouts and heartbreaking losses for the team. Sure, there were some forgettable performances, mostly two games against the division-leading Houston Roughnecks, but it wasn't like Orlando was being wrecked like a unwatched bowl of candy on Halloween.

They lost by only one point in Week 3 against the Arlington Renegades. They lost by only three points in Week 5 against the Vegas Vipers, who also entered the game without a win. They lost by only seven points in Week 6 against the Seattle Sea Dragons, arguably the hottest team in the league.

"We've been beating ourselves for like six weeks straight," Plummer said. "As a professional ballclub, you never want to see that."

Their record didn't show it but the team was getting better as the season progressed. Their offense was finding its groove with Dormady under center. The defense, despite some high point totals, was settling down.

"If you go back four weeks ago, we started to really improve," Buckley said. "We're not surprised because we felt like we've improved that much. And a couple of additions that we made last week, they're already paying off."

Buckley was referencing tight end Jordan Thomas, who was released by the St. Louis Battlehawks, and wide receiver K.D. Cannon, who was released by D.C.

Both players were signed five days before last week's game, giving them limited time to get affiliated with the Orlando playbook and style of play. But they made two of the biggest plays of the weekend.

First was Cannon snagging a well-placed ball from Dormady on a go-route in the first quarter for a 41-yard touchdown.

"We drafted him because we thought he was that type of player," D.C. head coach Reggie Barlow said of the former Defenders wide receiver. "He'll have an opportunity to become more involved in their offense. Kudos to them for getting the right guys in here. Kudos to them to getting the ball in the right guy's hands. We knew that he could take the top off and you better be ready when you're lined up against him."

Thomas' highlight-reel catch was even bigger and came at one of the most critical junctures of the game: the "middle eight."

Those are the four minutes at the end of the first half and the first four minutes of the second. It is believed by many - including New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Buckley's old coach - to be one of the most important parts of a football game.

Orlando gave a prime example of why that's the case.

The Defenders were up 22-12 for most of the second quarter before Orlando got the football back with 4:19 left in the first half. The Guardians controlled the ball for the rest of the second quarter with Dormady finding the end zone on a fourth-down sneak as the clock expired.

They got the ball to start the second half and a 46-yard kickoff return by Deddrick Thomas gave them great field position. From there they needed just over five minutes to score again. Thomas capped off the drive - and the middle eight sequence - with a fantastic over-the-defender catch.

For nearly 10 minutes of game time, the Defenders never touched the football and the Guardians turned a 22-12 deficit into a 25-22 lead. It was arguably the biggest difference in the game.

Thomas and Cannon weren't the only midseason acquisitions to make an impact for Orlando in the game. There's been a lot of change-over on the roster from the start of the season.

"For us, some of the guys that obviously we thought was gonna be our better players, it didn't pan out," Buckley said. "We realized that very early and we had to start making moves. I want to say our numbers, I think it's around 26 or 28 new guys from the opening day roster. That takes guts and courage because we do see a future. You give us this roster right now, as we continue to improve, then the beginning of the season would be totally different."

Orlando got production from all three phases of the game.

Dormady finished the game 328 passing yards, 22 rushing yards and six touchdowns - three rushing and three receiving. Star tight end Cody Latimer had seven catches for 93 yards and a score. Matt Elam had eight tackles. Deddrick Thomas finished with 102 yards on three kick returns.

But even with all that production, the game came down to the wire. The celebration didn't start until after D.C.'s 63-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer missed.

"It felt good to finally finish and get that W," Latimer said.

It wouldn't have been surprising to see a team in Orlando's situation fail to show up for a game against the only undefeated team in the league. And it wouldn't have been surprising for a team like the Guardians to fold when the Defenders put the pressure on the team.

But credit the players and the coaching staff for not giving up and continuing to play hard. It would be easy to say the universe rewarded them Saturday with a victory but that's not entirely true. They earned that victory.

"You know our rule. We celebrate for 24 hours. But this being such a historic victory, we extended it another 24 hours," Buckley said Monday. "Now here comes the other thing: We don't want to be a one-hit wonder."

That doesn't mean winning again. It also means making a playoff push.

The Guardians aren't out of it yet, and with three games left there is a chance for them to make the playoffs. They are only two games back of the Arlington Renegades, their opponents this weekend, for second place. A game with the third-place San Antonio Brahmas also remains on their schedule.

"We're coming right back to work," Plummer said. "We still got opportunity to make it to the playoffs. That's how I'm looking at it. We play Arlington and we play San Antonio still and we owe them. We're gonna keep working and keep grinding."

Check out the XFL Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



XFL Stories from April 4, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central