The Houston Roughnecks soundly defeated their playoff opponent, Arlington Renegades, this weekend with a 25-9 beat down in Arlington. This Saturday, at 6pm CT, in Houston, in front of a rowdy Houston crowd, the Roughnecks will look to repeat that success, as they try to head to the XFL Championship. They were on their way in 2020, before Covid stole it away from them. But this time, the only thing standing in their way is a team that they have already beat twice this season, and both times did it pretty easily. Let’s look at how they did it this game.
Houston trotted out everyone at quarterback this week. With the exception of starter Brandon Silvers, the Roughnecks played every quarterback they had on the roster. Both Cole McDonald and Kaleb Eleby played significant minutes in this game, and both made the most of it. Neither lit the world on fire, but both men played a solid game. Solid enough to win. Neither guy threw for a TD, but they didn’t have to. Jeremy Cox was on a tear, and the Houston Roughnecks built on that success of the running game last week. I said last week, that if they can get their running game going, this offense would start to find its rhythm again. I was right. And this was against the defense that they are going to see in the XFL South Division Championship game next week. With Brandon Silvers under center, hopefully the running game will allow him and his receivers to find some holes and perhaps put Arlington away early.
But the big story these past few weeks has been the defense. In the first 4 weeks of the season, this Houston defense was undoubtedly the best in the league. But during their 3 game losing streak, they looked like anything but. However, in this 3 game winning streak, they have found their form again, and have been relentless. Sacks. Takeaways. Pressure. 3 and outs. They have been doing it all. If this defense can continue the dominance they have been demonstrating, they will be a force to be reckon with. Luis Perez looked uncomfortable all game long, and you best believe, come playoff time, these guys are just going to get after it that much more.
So this Saturday, we will see who will be representing the South in the XFL Championship game:
6pm CT, Saturday April 29, 2023 TDECU Stadium, Houston, TX
