Week 2 is in the rearview mirror along with 20 percent of the XFL season. We saw around a 30 percent drop in viewers, but that was expected after a strong opening weekend. The Saturday games for Week 2 were truly bad, which doesn’t help, but things did turn around on Sunday, as both matchups were higher-scoring and more competitive.
I expect the top teams and the not-so-top teams will start to see a bigger split in ratings as the season goes on, but where and when the overall ratings level out is a question we will need to wait on. The main trouble for good football is the lack of quality quarterbacks. Cardale Jones and P.J. Walker have shown us once again that quarterback is the most important aspect of creating interesting football while Matt McGloin and Brandon Silvers reinforce that by dragging their offenses down with them.
Houston Roughnecks at Tampa Bay Vipers
Game time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Live Stream: (ESPN Sports App)
Date: Saturday, February 22nd
Announcers: Steve Levy, Greg McElroy, Tom Luginbill, Dianna Russini
Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Odds: Roughnecks -6.5
This game pits a Top-2 team with the worst team in the league so far. The Vipers haven’t scored an offensive touchdown in two games while the Roughnecks’ P.J. Walker has thrown seven touchdowns and James Butler has ran in two more for nine total in two games.
The Vipers will be without their starting quarterback Aaron Murray again and this week they’ll miss tight end Nick Truesdell as well. The team also has internal trouble, as players are questioning Marc Trestman’s game plan. If Tampa Bay can make this a game, it will be a win for them.
Dallas Renegades at Seattle Dragons
Game time: 5:00 p.m. ET
Channel: FOX
Live Stream: (Fox Sports App )
Date: Saturday, February 22nd
Announcers: Curt Menefee, Joel Klatt
Location: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA
Odds: Renegades -4.5
The Dragons managed their first win last week, but it was against the lowly Vipers, while their quarterback, Brandon Silvers, threw another pick-six, his second in as many games. The Dragons intercepted the Vipers quarterbacks three times and returned one for a touchdown, but that was more on the awful quarterback play than great defense.
Dallas also got their first win, but they played a bad Wildcats team. The good news for Dallas is they got their starting quarterback Landry Jones back. He wasn’t sharp, but he was better than Phillip Nelson who started Week 1, and I expect he needed to shake off plenty of rust. If he does step up this week, Dallas should have Seattle on the ropes quickly, but we still need to see that improvement from Jones.
New York Guardians at St. Louis BattleHawks
Game time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: (ESPN Sports App)
Date: Sunday, February 23rd
Announcers: Tom Hart, Joey Galloway, Pat McAfee
Location: The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, MO
Odds: BattleHawks -10
The BattleHawks have been the most pleasant surprise so far in the XFL and that has a lot to do with quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, who trails only Roughnecks’ quarterback P.J. Walker in DraftKings points. Ta’amu almost led a comeback over the Roughnecks in Houston last week and has played well in both games.
The Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Vipers in Week 1, but we now see that beating the Vipers isn’t the best resume builder. In Week 2 they were shut out by the DC Defenders and quarterback Matt McGloin was benched after playing horribly. There is some talent in New York, but without a competent quarterback, it will be tough for them to go into St. Louis’s sold out home opener and come out with a victory.
DC Defenders at LA Wildcats
Game time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Channel: FS1
Live Stream: (Fox Sports App)
Date: Sunday, February 23rd
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen
Location: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA
Odds: Defenders -8.5
The Defenders have looked like the best all-around team in the XFL so far. Cardale Jones has distributed the ball well to his best receiving group in the league and the defense has given up the fewest points in the league. All signs point to them continuing to play well, but they also haven’t had a big challenge yet.
The Wildcats might not be a strong challenger this week after losing both of their games and giving up a league-high 62 points in the process. Getting Josh Johnson back at quarterback last week gave them a slight boost, but their offense still sputtered. Johnson wasn’t practicing for months and likely needs more time on the field to get fully back, so we could have a better offensive unit going in Week 3. Beating the Defenders will be tough, but making it a game would prove that they can play with the best in the league.