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The XFL Week Ahead: Week 9

April 12, 2023 - XFL (XFL) News Release


If you ever go for Lasik surgery, there's a recovery period. Oh, you can see a little right away, but before objects become perfectly in focus there's a little panicky adjustment in play between eyes and brain. So, consider February and March the actual optical surgery in this weird metaphor for the XFL season. You can imagine Weeks 7 and 8 as that fuzzy interlude where you weren't quite sure what was up. Now, as we head to Week 9, the eyes and the brain are getting reacquainted.

NORTH SCENARIOS

DC has clinched a spot in the North Division Championship

DC will serve as host of the North Division Championship game with a win against Arlington (or if St. Louis loses to Seattle.)

St. Louis can clinch a spot in the North Division Championship with a win against Seattle.

SOUTH SCENARIOS

Houston has clinched a spot in the South Division Championship

Houston will serve as host of the South Division Championship game with a win this weekend AND if Arlington loses to D.C.

Arlington will clinch a spot in the South Division Championship with a win against D.C. OR if San Antonio loses at Orlando.

Capiche? Yes, the Brahmas are still hanging in there by the width of a fishing line; a line the rival Renegades can scissor right off with an upset win at Audi Stadium. Meanwhile, the most pivotal game of the week is down at the dome in St. Louis where the Battlehawks' battle cry is for 40,000-plus to jam indoors and shout down Seattle, which is now desperate for a win.

The first meeting between Seattle and St. Louis was a memorable (and now predictable) Battlehawks rally. The Dragons turned it over three times and watched St. Louis walk it off on a last-second Donny Hageman field goal. Reverse the outcome from back in Week 2 and we'd be looking at a Dragons team in control of its destiny, rather than the other way around. Both teams can score (185 points for Seattle this year, 184 for St. Louis). Both teams have NFL-proven quarterbacks and playmakers on special teams. But one team has a veteran head coach (Seattle's Jim Haslett) while the other employs a rookie (St. Louis' Anthony Becht). Then again, with the game in St. Louis, the 'Hawks will enjoy a nice, loud homefield advantage.

Anything goes in that Week 9 finale, but before we get there, there are three other games to be played. Chances are, at least three out of four will go right to the wire - so far this year, 23 of the 32 games have been decided by one possession.

Saturday, April 15: Vegas Vipers at Houston Roughnecks, 12:30 p.m. ET, ABC

The Roughnecks were teetering on the cliffside for a few minutes last weekend. An overtime loss would have been a fourth consecutive defeat and a confidence-sucking plunge into a thorny three-team playoff race. Instead, Deontay Burnett found paydirt with a slant in round three of the overtime shenanigans in San Antonio. With that catch, Houston regained its balance and clinched a spot in the XFL South title game the last week of April.

With postseason play secured, where do the Roughnecks go from here? Well, first stop is back home at TDECU Stadium where Wade Phillips matches up against Rod Woodson - a tremendous defensive coaching mind against a Hall of Fame defensive player.

The Vipers may lead the league on slipping on metaphorical banana peels. Last week's fake field goal debacle is representative of good people and good ideas meeting poor execution and ugly fates. The "little things" haven't been taken care of (going 7-of-15 on field goals certainly springs to mind) and it's cost Woodson's team dearly as it dropped out of playoff contention.

Both teams' quarterbacks had best keep their heads on a swivel - the Vipers' Pita Taumoepenu has 6½ sacks in his last three games while the Roughnecks come at you like a hill of fire ants. Trent Harris leads the league with 8½ sacks. Tim Ward has five in five games and John Daka has added three more. The Roughnecks' total of 29 leads the league, and Houston is tops in interceptions as well with 11 (Ajene Harris has collected five, Sean Davis has added three).

Vegas is still looking for a breakout from NFL veteran Martavis Bryant (felled of late by a sore neck) but quietly, Jeff Badet has been one of the XFL's most reliable receivers. Despite missing last week's game due to injury, he leads the team in three categories: 30 receptions, 406 yards and five touchdowns. The former Oklahoma and Kentucky standout's 13.5 yards per reception also ranks second in the league among receivers who have caught at least 30 passes.

Last week, the Vipers had the ball for 35:55 (to the Battlehawks' 24:05) yet still only managed 17 points. The 356 yards of total offense (including a season-best 208 on the ground) really should have led to somewhere in the 20s.

The Vipers have a couple homecomings of note: Defensive back Deontay Anderson played collegiately at the University of Houston and attended suburban Manvel High School. His father, Michael Anderson, played for the original USFL's Houston Gamblers. In addition, defensive back Maurice Smith hails from Sugar Land, Texas, having attended Dulles High School in that Houston suburb.

Houston has found its go-to receiver in the absence of Jontre Kirklin: Burnett has put a 90-yard game and a 122-yard game on his resume and has a touchdown in six of eight games.

Saturday, April 15: Orlando Guardians at San Antonio Brahmas, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

The Bottom Feeder Bowl of the South Division may not have a lot of playoff sizzle (the teams are a combined 3-13), but how can you not love a coaching matchup of Hines Ward vs Terrell Buckley? On the field, this would have been epic back in the day (and indeed they were one-on-one in the AFC Championship game in January 2002, Pittsburgh vs. New England, not to mention Opening Weekend of 2002 to christen brand new Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Buckley had one pick in the first game and two in the second; the latter game also marked Tom Brady's first-ever Week 1 start).

Earlier this year, the two practice field partners had at it in Central Florida with the Brahmas pulling away late to romp, 30-12. It was by far Jack Coan's best game as a pro quarterback as he threw for three touchdowns without a pick. Tight end Alize Mack was the team's leading receiver that day with one of the touchdowns and 48 yards, but those less-than-dazzling stats highlight how ineffective the Brahmas' pass game has been all year. While Coan indeed found the end zone three times in Orlando, the Brahmas' other seven games have seen only four touchdown passes total.

There isn't a single Brahma placed in the Top 25 of receiving yards and incredibly only one player is averaging more than 10 yards per catch. (Travis Toivonen averages 12.7 but he's made only six catches all season. Even the passing-challenged Arlington Renegades have four players averaging more than Toivonen's 12.7. Two other teams have five such players.)

Orlando, meantime, has a collection of downfield threats with WRs Charleston Rambo and Eli Rogers and TE Cody Latimer, who now leads the league in receiving yards with 558 (but is limited currently with a sore knee). Rogers is coming off a stellar 135-yard effort against Arlington, a game that accounted for nearly half his receiving yards for the season.

"Coach Buckley always talks about making the plays when it's your time," he said Tuesday. "I got that chance last week but we didn't actually win. It's disappointing for all of us. I've never had a losing season like this. So many different ways we've come up short. Win against the best team in the league (D.C.) but still come up short. But we still have good vibes, still in good spirits. We want to finish strong."

The former University of Louisville standout will be working once again with Quinten Dormady, who came back to earth with a moist thud last Saturday: One week after leading Orlando to the upset win over D.C. with six combined touchdowns, he instead committed five turnovers in the team's seventh loss of the year.

Dormady was still a backup the first time the Guardians and Brahmas met, back in February. It wasn't exactly a banner day for Orlando in the Week 2 matchup, committing 13 penalties and achieving just 175 yards of total offense. But credit to the Brahmas defense, which has been a cut above all season. Linebacker Jordan Williams leads the league in tackles, an XFL-record 71 of them already with two games still to go.

As the XFL's Peter Warren pointed out last week, https://www.xfl.com/teams/san-antonio/news/san-antonios-jordan-williams-journey-from-second-to-last-pick-to-xfls-leading-tackler Williams was not exactly one of San Antonio's high-profile draft picks - or even a low-profile selection. The 5-foot-11 Baylor product was chosen with the second-to-last pick of the Supplemental Draft in January. That selection came in the 16th round. The Brahmas were the only team even picking at that time. They could have ended the draft a couple minutes earlier by just hitting "end" on the Zoom call and wishing everyone a nice day.

Williams is a fascinating story off the field as well - a talented artist who grew up in Paris. Texas, that is. (The talented artist who grew up in Paris, France, was Claude Monet. Who I'm guessing spent little if any time in Williams' remote hometown at the edge of the Piney Woods on the Oklahoma border.)

Williams and the rest of the dominant Brahmas defense have been well-coached all year by Jim Herrmann, Paul Spicer, Corey Chamblin and former NFL standout linebacker Joey Porter. Now it's all about what happens on the other side of the ball to save their season.

Maybe San Antonio's offense will find second gear (if not third) with this game being at home, and against the team it blitzed for four touchdowns in February. Consider this: In the six games since then, the Brahmas have managed only five more offensive TDs. None of Coan's last 99 passes have been for a score. San Antonio is still looking for its first completed pass of more than 30 yards all season.

The good news for Coan and Co. is the Orlando pass rush has been ineffective (a league-low 12 sacks). Maybe this is the week the Brahmas get out of neutral, even with the key injuries to Kalen Ballage and so many others.

There's more potential good news when you consider Orlando has been turnover-prone - the Brahmas, while tackling well, aren't exactly a pack of honey badgers, recovering only one fumble all season (although they did return it for a touchdown). Maybe this is the week they turn a negative turnover ratio into a plus. If they can pull it off and win the game, there is still a path to a playoff game in Houston. It's a narrow, rock-strewn uphill path, but it does indeed exist.

One funky note if this game is close: Neither team has banked a 2- or 3-point conversion all year. Not great, Bob.

Sunday, April 16: Arlington Renegades at D.C. Defenders, noon ET, ESPN

A definite playoff team hosts a likely playoff team, and the big question is - how early is too early on a Sunday to start guzzling beverages, creating empties for the beer snakes?

On the field, the big question is whether Luis Perez can ignite the stagnant Arlington pass game, which has produced four touchdowns versus eight interceptions this year (he passed for 190 yards in his debut last week)? The Renegades, in fact, have mustered a league-low nine offensive touchdowns all season (eight games), precisely one-third of the home team's total.

Both teams have defenses that can shock the world with scores - both teams have three defensive touchdowns, while the six other XFL teams combined can add only three more of their own.

There's a run game battle of Smiths to unfold - Abram (D.C.) leads the league in rushing touchdowns with seven while De'Veon (Arlington) is close behind with five. The Defenders still have that smashmouth run game, averaging a league-best 4.5 yards per carry. They've had 84 more attempts than anyone else, and it's not just Smith as the mailman. Ryquell Armstead has been terrific all year as the change of pace option, and both quarterbacks, Jordan Ta'amu and D'Eriq King, are a threat on draws and RPOs. The offensive line has impressed from Day 1.

"It all comes down to trust and reps," says one of the stars of that group, Liam Ryan. "You have to trust the guys to the right and left of you and we have that trust and camaraderie. We have all kinds of ways we can get the ball downfield and put a dent in the defense. We're unselfish up front. We are a group of one, not five individuals."

While the two quarterbacks that group protects may not air it out as much as the Ben DiNuccis of the world, the Defenders lead the league in bang for their passing buck. Reggie Barlow's team is averaging 12.4 yards per completion, and of late, the guys with 1's on their uniforms have been dazzling. Chris Blair (1) and Lucky Jackson (11) are suddenly two of the top four receivers in the league with 492 and 469 yards, respectively. Blair is the only XFL receiver with as many as four catches of 40-plus.

Arlington will be without Donald Payne not only for this game, but for the rest of the year with an untimely ankle injury - the thought of stopping the powerful D.C. offense without the team's leading tackler is troubling at best. Will Clarke has stepped up of late, and now his playmaking abilities will be even more important going forward. Last week against Orlando, the West Virginia product had two sacks, 3 TFLs, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble (to seal the win).

It's possible Arlington will have clinched a playoff spot before this game begins (if San Antonio loses to Orlando on Saturday), but Coach Bob Stoops says that won't matter.

"That's got nothing to do with how we approach this," Stoops insisted. "Every week matters. That doesn't change no matter the circumstances, believe me. We just take care of us."

The Renegades have yet to play a game in which they failed to force a turnover. In Week 1, they engineered a comeback win over Vegas with a pair of second-half defensive scores. That kind of larceny may be what it takes to strike down the team that's at the top of the XFL mountain Sunday afternoon. One thing's for certain: The Renegades have to find a way to score more than the 13.9 points per game they're averaging to beat a team with Ta'amu, Smith, Blair and Jackson on it.

Sunday, April 16: Seattle Sea Dragons at St. Louis Battlehawks, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN

St. Louis should have A.J. McCarron back in the saddle, he of the league-best 17 TD passes. The 32-year-old with the name recognition and Heisman Trophy candidacy has been playing at an MVP level all year, and St. Louis fans had to be thrilled to find out last week that his backup, Nick Tiano, isn't exactly Spam on a cracker.

As good as the St. Louis running back, Brian Hill has been, the 'Hawks have just three rushing touchdowns all year. In fact, Hill has the same number of fumbles, not a preferred ratio. Seattle's been the team with the bigger fumbling problem, mainly from quarterback Ben DiNucci (a league-high five to go with a league-high 10 interceptions. McCarron, by contrast, has been picked only four times to go with four fumbles).

In this showdown of high octane QBs, DiNucci's ahead of McCarron by several hundred yards, 2,072 to 1,544 (in one more game). The better completion percentage belongs to McCarron (his 68.9 is .0005 behind Orlando's Quinten Dormady). It's a matter of choice, whether you prefer your QB1 to be a scrambling Brett Favre-style gunslinger (DiNucci) or a steady pocket passer (McCarron). Either way, it'll be a fun showdown between the two riflemen on a fast track.

Both teams have had impressive receiving corps this year; St. Louis is led by the 6-foot-6 Hakeem Butler, who's tied for the league lead with six touchdown receptions. Seattle's has been more of a "something from everyone" attack, with Jahcour Pearson and Blake Jackson both in the top four in total receptions.

Juwan Green had a monster night against the Defenders last Sunday and may have his shot to go crazy again against a hobbled St. Louis secondary. Green is one of five Seattle receivers with five or more 20+ yard catches this season - he just had 46- and 56-yarders as part of his breakout 142-yard effort. Of course, the Battlehawks will be wise to remember Josh Gordon's on this team as well. The former Cleveland Browns star has only had one game of more than 74 receiving yards this year - in fact, in his last four games combined he's had a total of a mere 97. On a fast indoor track, Gordon could be a prime candidate to do some damage ... although strangely, in his entire NFL career, he played only three of his 78 games indoors, and caught only 18 of 35 passes sent his way. Josh Gordon - outdoorsman.

St. Louis linebacker Travis Feeney is a former University of Washington standout and missed the first meeting between these teams (a 20-18 St. Louis win) due to injury. "I'm mad I didn't get to go to Seattle," he said Tuesday. "I mean, that's where I played my college ball and I wanted to make a difference in that one in front of friends and family ... but at least this week maybe I can do that kind of thing in St. Louis instead. One thing I know, is we've gotta get on these guys right away, come out fast. This is gonna be a slugfest and we know that."

Last week's slugfest for Seattle was among several of which they've been a part. Trying to come back from a 22-6 deficit, the Dragons got within 34-33 of first place D.C. when Pearson griddied into the end zone in the final minute. Going for the lead and probable win instead of the tie, DiNucci was sacked by an unblocked Santos Ramirez. (Another huge "what if:" Had the tight end Charlie Taumoepeau stayed home to wrestle with Santos, DiNucci likely finds an open receiver and the Dragons likely win to force a three-way tie for first in the North. Alas, the right guard and right tackle slid over for a needless double team, leaving Taumoepeau to block D.J. Swearinger while Santos raced home to ring DiNucci's bell.)

The winner of this one is in great shape to play the Defenders in the North Division championship game. And the Defenders have been not only good; they've been noisy about their success, letting you know how confident they are as soon as you see them walk on the field. They've become what was described on "Succession" by Tom about Greg as "visually aggravating." If the Battlehawks win, they'll be the ones that have the chance to duct tape D.C.'s mouths shut in two weeks.

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