XFL Tampa Bay Vipers

Motivated Defenders No Match for Vipers

March 1, 2020 - XFL (XFL)
Tampa Bay Vipers News Release


TAMPA, Fla. - Sunday night marked the second straight week that the DC Defenders fell to a winless team.

This time, the beneficiary was the Tampa Bay Vipers (1-3), who controlled the pace with a suffocating rushing attack during a 25-0 home win at Raymond James Stadium.

De'Von Smith notched the first 100-yard rushing game in XFL history with his 103-yard performance on 21 carries (4.9 average). Jacques Patrick had 94 yards, playing with a heavy heart after the recent passing of his father.

Quarterback Taylor Cornelius rarely missed a bit, going 24-for-31 for 211 yards and a touchdown, adding a rushing score. He's found a groove with offensive coordinator and play-caller Jaime Elizondo the past two weeks.

On DC's side in that same window, Cardale Jones has averaged 87.5 passing yards and struggled to a 0:5 TD:INT.

VIPERS COMMENT ON WIN

"I'm just happy for our players and our coaches. They are resilient bunch. Our players have a sense of how good we can be. We said it all along, there's a sign of a good team in there. We are going to enjoy the win, but there's a lot of different ways we can get better. We know that."

Vipers head coach Marc Trestman

"Glad to get the first win. We put a lot of work in. It's finally good to see the results show on the scoreboard."

Vipers RB Jacques Patrick

PEAK PERFORMANCES

DEFENDERS

Safety Rahim Moore registered his second interception of the season, in one of the rare bright spots of the night for the visitors.

Fellow safety Matt Elam and linebacker Jonathan Celestin gathered 12 combined tackles (nine solo for Elam, seven for Celestin).

VIPERS

Smith, Patrick and Cornelius churned out the win, but wideout Dan Williams also bullied DC's secondary with a seven-catch, 72-yard day on 11 targets, including a 38-yard play.

Defenders discuss defeat

"We have to tackle and we have to stop the run. They did a really good job of running the football, and they did it well all game."

Defenders head coach Pep Hamilton

"They played their game. We missed on opportunities that we wanted to exploit. We just missed it. They played a great game overall, but not anything we weren't ready for."

Defenders QB Cardale Jones




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