XFL Vegas Vipers

Vegas Vipers Game Notes for Week 10 vs. Seattle Sea Dragons

Published on April 20, 2023 under XFL (XFL)
Vegas Vipers News Release


Series Notes:

- This is the second meeting between Vegas and Seattle in XFL this season. Seattle won a very close contest, 30-26, on March 4 during Week 3 of this season.

- The teams share a hotel at the XFL hub in Arlington, Texas.

- This will also be the second meeting between Rod Woodson and Jim Haslett as Head Coaches, but the pair did sit on opposite sidelines for numerous NFL games as assistant coaches from 2010-17

- While never facing a Vegas team as a Head Coach in the NFL, Seattle's Jim Haslett's lone loss as the Head Coach of the UFL's Florida Tuskers came at the hands of the Las Vegas Locomotives in the United Football League Championship game in 2009

- The Vipers have one player who hails from The Evergreen State (Brian Burt - East Wenatchee, WA) and one who played at college in the state (Destiny Vaeao - Washington State)

LEAGUE OF OPPORTUNITY AND EXCITING GAMES

So far this season, the XFL has produced some very competitive football, as 26 of 36 XFL games through nine weeks have been one-possession games (decided by 9 points or less). The league saw not only its first overtime game in league history on April 8, where St. Louis defeated Vegas 21-17, but also its second overtime game, which saw Houston defeat San Antonio 17-16. Vegas has had four, one-possession losses and one, one-possession victory, falling at the Arlington Renegades (22-20) in Week 1, against the Seattle Sea Dragons (30-26) in Week 3, against the St. Louis Battlehawks in Week 8 (21-17, OT) and against the Houston Roughnecks in Week 9 (28-21). In Week 5, Vegas defeated Orlando (35-32).

DISSECTING THE LINES

So far this year, the Vegas Vipers are 3-5-1 against the spread. As a favorite, Vegas is 1-2 as they were 3.5 favorites over DC in Week 2, but lost 18-6 in the game and were also 7.0 favorites against Orlando and won 35-32 but didn't cover the spread. The Vipers lone win as a favorite came against San Antonio in Week 7, when they were favored by 2.5 points and won 26-12. As a league, favorites are 17-17-2 this season. There have been 10 outright upsets against the betting line this season: SEA @ DC in Week 1 (+100 moneyline), STL @ SEA in Week 2 (+135 moneyline), DC @ VGS in Week 2 (+145 moneyline), HOU @ SEA in Week 5 (+130 moneyline), ARL @ SA in Week 5 (+105 moneyline), SA @ ARL (+130 moneyline) in Week 6, DC @ ORL in Week 7 (+360 moneyline), which was the largest upset in the XFL this season, STL @ HOU in Week 7 (+126 moneyline), DC @ SEA (+100 moneyline) in Week 8 and SEA @ STL in Week 9 (+100 moneyline). In the nine games Vegas has played this season, the over has hit six times. The three games in which the under was the winner: Week 2 against DC, where weather played a factor in the game during the second half, Week 7 against San Antonio where only seven total points were scored in the second half and Week 8 at St. Louis, which was the first XFL game to go to overtime. In 32 games this season, the over is 18-17-1. This week at Seattle, Vegas is a 8.0 point underdog and the over/under line is set at 47.5 (lines according to Caesar's Sportsbook on Monday, April 17).

STARTING THE RIGHT WAY

The Vegas Vipers have scored on their first or second offensive possession in seven of their nine games this season. The only games where they didn't score on their either their first or second possession was against DC in Week 4 and against St. Louis in Week 6. Orlando has also scored on it's opening possession seven times this season. Houston was the only team this season to score on each of it's first possessions through Week 4, but failed to do so against Seattle in Week 5, against St. Louis in Week 7 and against Vegas in Week 9, giving the Roughnecks six opening possession scores this year. Arlington has scored on its opening possession five times. San Antonio and DC have each scored on their opening possessions four times. Seattle has scored on their opening possession three times, while St. Louis has done so twice.

WEATHER OR NOT AT CASHMAN FIELD!

In the first two games at Cashman Field in Las Vegas this season, the Vegas Vipers have had multiple opponents to face during each game, their opponent on the field and Mother Nature. In the home opener against the D.C. Defenders, rain played a factor in the second half as the skies opened up while each team went into their respective locker rooms at halftime. The rain assisted the Defender defense as the Vipers were shut out in the second half. During Vegas' second home game against Seattle, wind played a factor as gusts reached 50 miles per hour in the Las Vegas Valley.

SCORING SPREE

After scoring 26 total points in the first two games to open the season, the Vegas Vipers matched that total in a 30-26 loss against the Seattle Sea Dragons. The 56 combined points put up between the Vipers and Sea Dragons was the first game this season to break the 50-point mark. Later in Week 3, the St. Louis-DC game surpassed that total, when they scored a combined 62 points. In Week 5, Vegas scored 35 points against Orlando. It is the fourth most points scored by one team to date this season, only behind Houston's 44 points scored in Week 4, Orlando's 37 points in Week 7 and DC's 36 points in Week 7, which are the most points by a team in a loss this season as they fell to Orlando in Week 7.

ALL GAMES NATIONALLY TELEVISED

On May 17, 2022, the XFL announced a multi-year broadcast agreement with The Walt Disney Company and ESPN. This season, all 43 games (40 regular season games, two playoffs, one championship) will be featured on a combination of ABC, ESPN networks, and FX. All XFL games will be streamed on ESPN+ and simulcasted in 142 countries around the world. This week's Vegas game will air on ABC with the announcing team of John Schriffen (play-by-play), Tom Luginbill (analyst), Harry Douglas (sideline analyst) and Stormy Buonantony (sideline reporter). The entire Week 10 schedule is listed below (betting lines as of Monday, April 17 via Caesar's Sportsbook):

Saturday, April 22 - Orlando Guardians @ St. Louis Battlehawks at 9 a.m. PT on ESPN

Line: STL -8.5 | O/U: 47.0

Saturday, April 22 - DC Defenders @ San Antonio Brahmas at 12 p.m. PT on ABC

Line: DC -3.0 | O/U: 41.5

Sunday, April 23 - Houston Roughnecks @ Arlington Renegades at 12 p.m. PT on ESPN

Line: ARL -1.0 | O/U: 42.5

Sunday, April 23 - Vegas Vipers @ Seattle Sea Dragons at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN2

Line: SEA -8.0 | O/U: 47.5

YOU BADET'CHA

Vegas Vipers wide receiver Jeff Badet has been one of the most reliable receivers, even with missing Week 8 at St. Louis due to injury, this season. He leads the team in three categories: 34 receptions, 449 yards and five touchdowns. His touchdowns are tied for the second most in the XFL this season, while his yardage ranks fifth in the league and receptions rank eighth. The former Oklahoma and Kentucky standout's 13.2 yards per reception also rank tied for second in the league amongst receivers who have caught at least 30 passes. In Week 1 against Arlington, Badet caught two touchdowns, which were his first two touchdowns as a professional football player. Against Seattle in Week 3, he had a 56-yard reception in the third quarter, which at the time was the longest reception in the XFL, but was later surpassed in the game when Josh Gordon caught a 65-yard touchdown reception and then the next day when DC's Chris Blair had a 58-yard reception. Against Orlando in Week 5, the Florida native caught five passes for 80 yards including two touchdowns. Against San Antonio in Week7, Badet caught two passes for 30 yards, but left the game early due to injury.

VIPERS WITH NFL, XFL EXPERIENCE

The Vegas Vipers have a combined 428 games of NFL experience on their roster. 17 of the Vipers' 51 players (33.3 percent) have played in at least one NFL game. Leading the charge for the Vipers is Vic Beasley, who has appeared in 88 NFL games (78 for the Atlanta Falcons, five for the Tennessee Titans and five for the Las Vegas Raiders) and in 2016 led the league with 15.5 sacks. He also has appeared in five playoff games. Nine Vipers have also seen action in XFL play in 2020, with a combined 40 games of XFL experience. Three Vegas players (Jeff Badet, Kahlil McKenzie and Isaiah Williams) have experience in both the NFL and the 2020 version of the XFL.

Vegas Vipers with NFL Experience

No. Name ..............................Games.....Notes

44 Vic Beasley...................... 88.............78 games with Falcons, 5 games with Titans, 5 games with Raiders; 5 playoff games

15 Rod Smith 55 48 games with Cowboys, 3 games with Raiders, 3 games with Titans, 1 game with Seahawks; 2 playoff games

19 Geronimo Allison ............. 49.............46 games with Packers, 3 games with Lions; 5 playoff games

4 Martavis Bryant ............... 44.............36 games with Steelers, 8 games with Raiders; 4 playoff games

45 Martrell Spaight 37 30 games with Washington, 4 games with Miami, 3 games with Jacksonville

99 Destiny Vaeao ................. 33.............33 games with Philadelphia; 1 playoff game

25 Marwin Evans.................. 32.............32 games with Green Bay; 3 playoff games

3 Brett Hundley .................. 18.............15 games with Green Bay, 3 games with Arizona

11 P.J. Dawson..................... 16.............13 games with Cincinnati, 3 games with Seattle; 1 playoff game

26 Maurice Smith ................. 15.............13 games with Miami, 2 games with Washington

69 Kahlil McKenzie............... 12.............7 games with Cincinnati, 5 games with Baltimore

0 Pita Taumoepenu ............ 9...............6 games with San Francisco, 4 games with Denver, 1 game with Atlanta

65 Jamil Demby.................... 6...............6 games with Los Angeles Rams

86 Brandon Dillon................. 5...............5 games with Minnesota

71 Isaiah Williams ................ 4...............4 games with New York Jets

13 Jeff Badet ........................ 3...............3 games with Washington

88 Robert Windsor ............... 2...............2 games with Indianapolis

Vegas Vipers with 2020 XFL Experience

No. Name .....................................Games (Team)

13 Jeff Badet ............................... 5 (Dallas Renegades)

77 Quinterrius Eatmon ................ 5 (Seattle Dragons)

20 Jawaun Johnson .................... 5 (New York Guardians)

2 Jalan McClendon ................... 5 (Los Angeles Wildcats)

64 Michael Miller ......................... 5 (St. Louis Battlehawks)

12 Luis Perez .............................. 5 (New York Guardians)

71 Isaiah Williams ....................... 4 (Tampa Bay Vipers)

80 Sean Price.............................. 4 (Dallas Renegades)

69 Kahlil McKenzie...................... 2 (Los Angeles Wildcats)

TALE OF TWO HALVES

Beyond scoring on either the first or second possession this season, Vegas had outscored its opposition 94-82 in the first half and didn't allow a first half touchdown until Week 3 against Seattle. The 94 first half points rank as the fourth most opening half points in the XFL this season. In the second half, it's been a different story for Vegas, as the Vipers have been outscored 138-81 in nine second halves this season. The 138 points allowed in the second stanzas are the most points allowed by any XFL team in the later half this season. Against San Antonio in Week 7, the Vegas defense stood tall, as the Vipers shut out the Brahmas, marking the first time this season in which they did not allow any second half points.

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