Announcers: Curt Menefee (Play-by-Play), Joel Klatt (Analyst), and Jake Butt (Reporter)
Injury Report/Depth Chart
Overview
The D.C. Defenders face the San Antonio Brahmas in their week six contest. The last time these two teams saw each other in week one, the Brahmas came out victorious, winning 27-12
Things are at stake for both teams in this one, but arguably more so for the Defenders. A loss for the Defenders would drop them to 2-4 on the season and impede their playoff chances. Meanwhile, a loss for the Brahmas would put them essentially two games behind the Battlehawks for the first seed in the XFL Conference.
San Antonio Brahmas
Other than a close loss to the Battlehawks a few weeks ago, the Brahmas have been rolling this season with a 4-1 record at the midway point. Even a change at starting quarterback in week four due to injury was seamless.
The Brahmas are 2-0 with Quinten Dormady as their starter, with wins over the Panthers and Renegades. Dormady is currently 42-for-67 passing with 433 yards and two touchdowns.
Last season, Dormady, who was with the Orlando Guardians, torched Gregg Williams’ defense, totaling 350 yards and six touchdowns as his team picked up its first and only win of the 2023 XFL season against the Defenders.
All-XFL tight end Cody Latimer, another former member of the Guardians, also had quite a game against the Defenders last year with seven receptions for 93 yards and one touchdown. While Latimer hasn’t been as prominent in the Brahmas’ offense this season, perhaps we will see Dormady and Latimer’s connection re-spark against a defense it dominated last year. This is easier said than done, as Gregg Williams has ideally prepped to prevent this.
Jontre Kirklin, who leads San Antonio in receiving with 34 receptions for 314 yards and two touchdowns, and Marquez Stevenson are two more key figures in the Brahmas’ offense that will need to be accounted for by Williams.
Defensively, the Brahmas have held their last two opponents to an average of 300.5 yards – a bit on the higher side. However, these opposing teams are a collective zero-for-five in the red zone and have combined for just 24 points.
While the Brahmas are missing key defensive pieces like linebacker Tim Ward and cornerback Darius Phillips, they still have a chance to capitalize against a Defenders’ offense that has been inconsistent and looks nothing like itself from last season.
Defenders
The Defenders are coming off their most embarrassing loss of their existence, falling to the Battlehawks 45-12 at home in a game that I honestly expected to be one for the ages. Today will be all about how Reggie Barlow’s squad bounces back.
Jordan Ta’amu has already thrown more interceptions through five games (five) than he did all last XFL season (three). He just hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm with the almost entirely new group of pass-catchers around him from last year.
The rushing attack also hasn’t been at the same level as last season without Abram Smith, and that just makes things worse because it can’t take pressure off Ta’amu. Cam’Ron Harris has shown flashes but just hasn’t been consistent. The Defenders have tried to alleviate this by bringing in Zaquandre White a few weeks ago to complement Harris, but last week, the duo combined for just 58 yards on 26 carries.
Perhaps a glimmer of hope comes from the fact that the last time San Antonio and D.C. squared off, the Defenders committed eight offensive penalties—two of which were touchdown-costing. Jean Delance, who committed five of the penalties that week, has since been released.
Since week one, the Defenders have been more disciplined in terms of penalties. Who knows how the result would have differed had D.C. been more disciplined against the Brahmas in week one. Ideally, we will get to see that today.
The Defenders’ defensive unit had one of the worst second-half breakdowns I have seen in spring football. Entering the third quarter with D.C. trailing 17-12, the Battlehawks scored 28 unanswered points en route to a 45-12 victory.
Gregg Williams will need an answer against Quinten Dormady and the Brahmas’ offense, which I believe is capable of replicating what the Battlehawks did against the Defenders last week. Do I think that will happen, though? Probably not.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned, it will be all about how the Defenders bounce back after last week’s blowout loss. Penalties and unforced errors also cost D.C. the previous time these two teams met, so keeping those to a minimum will be critical. But even by doing that, the Brahmas will be tough to handle.
