The Houston Roughnecks absolutely dominated the Orlando Guardians Saturday night, with a crushing 44-16 victory. It was all Houston from beginning to end, and while there was a little bit of a sweat there for a second, that evaporated very quickly. Let’s talk about what led to Houston’s dominant showing Saturday night.
We got to start with the offense, who were tremendous Saturday night. Brandon Silvers keeps proving me wrong. I am not afraid to admit when I was wrong and for 4 weeks now, I have been wrong. Silvers has been fantastic this season. It just goes to show you how much good coaching matters, and A.J. Smith, the OC of the Roughnecks, has been a blessing for Silvers. He tossed another 3 TDs, which now puts him as the sole leader for passing TDs in the XFL, he went for another 239 yds, and most importantly, NO INTs. Silvers made some excellent throws in this game, just as he has all season, and he continues to look like the XFL MVP through the first 4 weeks. But Silvers wasn’t the only one tossing touchdowns Saturday night. Jontre Kirklin also tossed a 49 yd bomb to Deontay Burnett, while A.J. Smith and the other coaches went crazy in the booth. Kirklin also caught a TD, which made him the first person to throw for and catch a touchdown in the same game in XFL history. Max Borghi was out this game due to injury, but Dejoun Lee stepped up with 45 yds and 2 TDs, and the running game didn’t miss a beat. Travell Harris was fantastic at receiver, catching 3 balls for 83 yds and 2 TDs. This offense was electric Saturday night, and no team thus far has shown that they can stop them.
The defense was great as usual. They had another 4 sacks, adding to their league leading total, and they were pressuring Paxton Lynch all game long. Emmanuel Ellerbee, Tim Ward, Trent Harris, and Trevon Mason all contributed to the Houston sack machine Saturday night, and the secondary never allowed Orlando to get any big plays off, other than the 81 yd bomb to Rambo, in which the player slipped. This defense is the best defense in the league, and they prove it to you every game.
This game was never about “IF” the Roughnecks were going to win, but more about by “HOW MUCH” were they going to win by. Turns out, it was a lot. The Houston Roughnecks are the best team in the league, and while the North division is going to be a battle, the South consist of the Roughnecks and everyone else. Houston continues to dominate, however, they will face their biggest test of the season Thursday night, as they travel to Seattle to play a red hot Seattle Sea Dragons team. Will Seattle continue their momentum, or will the Roughnecks halt that momentum in its tracks. We will find out Thursday night.
