Nick Tiano led St. Louis to an overtime victory over Vegas on Saturday after McCarron was unexpectedly made inactive due to a shoulder injury suffered the week prior. Head Coach Anthony Becht said McCarron had been lobbying to play, but Becht wanted McCarron healthy for the final few weeks and potentially the postseason. St. Louis currently sits in a good spot, one game up on Seattle for the second and final playoff berth in the XFL North. The Battlehawks face those same Sea Dragons this coming weekend in a huge game that will no doubt have the Dome at America’s Center rocking. A top-shelf performance by McCarron could cement him as the league’s MVP.
Seattle crowded the line of scrimmage and dared DC to beat them through the air – so they did. Ron Zook’s defense was intent on not allowing Smith to run all over them and for the most part, they succeeded. Smith still managed 66 yards on the ground and had over 80 yards of total offense. Needing 280 rushing yards to crack 1,000 on the year, Smith will face relatively stingy defenses in the final two games of the regular season in Arlington and San Antonio. If DC is able to clinch the division title on Sunday, Head Coach Reggie Barlow may decide to rest Smith and other key starters in the final week.
Jordan Ta’amu XFL Week 8 at Lumen Field, Seattle, Sunday April 9, 2023. (Twitter)
Ta’amu has raced into the MVP conversation with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions over the last two weeks. He threw the ball more than expected against Seattle based on the looks the Sea Dragons were giving on defense, and he was able to take advantage. Ta’amu once again hit WR Chris Blair on a deep ball, and if their connection continues to grow, the rest of the league better look out because that is a formidable combination in the pass game. He wasn’t as effective running the ball against Seattle, but he didn’t need to be. Ta’amu took a few concerning hits on his shoulder last weekend, and like Abram Smith, he could be a “sit” candidate in the final week if DC has no playoff seeding on the line.
A slow start on offense saw Seattle put up just six points at the half against DC; once the game turned into an arm’s race, DiNucci answered the call. However, he was haunted once again by a red zone interception when the team had a 1st-and-10 on the DC 11 yard-line. If Seattle fails to make the playoffs (they’re currently one game behind second-place St. Louis), DiNucci’s turnovers – and more importantly, where on the field they’ve largely taken place – will shoulder a lot of the blame. That being said, DiNucci played well against what has become a powerful Defender defense. Seattle has a make-or-break game against St. Louis in week nine: Win and they’re still alive for a playoff spot; lose, and they’re out.
Season stats: 140-235, 59.6%, 1,446 yards, 13 TD, 7 INT
San Antonio’s defense is good, but the fact that first-place Houston just barely eked out a win over the Brahmas should tell you that the Roughnecks offense has some soul-searching to do. The run-and-shoot under offensive coordinator AJ Smith hasn’t had much run or shoot lately. The absence of key receivers like Jontre Kirklin has been a factor, no doubt. Silvers completed less than 50% of his passes against San Antonio for a meager 4.1 yards per attempt. One of his interceptions was a last-second heave at the end of the first half, so that can be forgiven. Silvers has a chance to climb the MVP ladder this week against a middling Vegas defense.
