When the top two league MVP candidates meet, it makes sense for the winner to maneuver into the top spot on this list. But Ben DiNucci did not make that an easy decision thanks to his three turnovers. The fact that Brandon Silvers turned the ball over twice himself made me comfortable swapping them at the top of the chart again. It’s fair to say Seattle may not have defeated the unbeaten Roughnecks without DiNucci; it’s also probably fair to say he’s the reason it was as close as it was. DiNucci still has a leg-up on Silvers in completion percentage and passing yards, plus he led Seattle in rushing against Houston; those numbers can’t be discounted. These two may end up going down to the wire here.
2. QB Brandon Silvers, Roughnecks (last week: #1)
Last week: 25-47, 227 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Season stats: 113-182, 62.1%, 1,189 yards, 11 TD, 4 INT
Seattle kept giving Houston and SIlvers every opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat last Thursday night, but they simply couldn’t take advantage of Seattle’s miscues, which included four turnovers. If Silvers is going to retake the top spot in the coming weeks, he’ll have to do so without Houston’s top weapon at the receiver position, Jontre Kirklin: Kirklin is out for the season after suffering a chest injury against the Sea Dragons. He currently leads the Roughnecks in receiving yards and touchdowns.
When you’re the key cog in the offense of the only undefeated team in the league, that gets a spot in the MVP top five. And Smith loudly announced his presence in the running for this award by setting an XFL single-game rushing record against the St. Louis Battlehawks. Smith is the first running back to appear on this list through five weeks. Last week’s performance vaulted him to the top of the rushing leaderboard in the league, where he sits 177 rushing yards ahead of second place. Smith has to share the running load with Ryquell Armstead and two quarterbacks, but the good news is DC has found its groove as an offense and is humming along as well as any team in the XFL.
McCarron simply won’t see the volume of passes that the quarterbacks above him on the list will get each week – the Battlehawks offense is built differently. McCarron has been steady Eddie, filling the leadership role for St. Louis while also playing at a high level. Against a tough DC defense, McCarron kept St. Louis in the game until the very end. His 11 touchdown passes are tied for the league lead and his completion percentage is second for those with more than 50 pass attempts.
Last week: 5 receptions, 82 yards, 16.4 avg., 33 long
Season stats: 36 receptions, 430 yards, 11.9 avg., 1 TD
Even when Seattle’s offense was locked down against a stout Houston D, Pearson still found ways to get open. He tied for the team lead with eight targets, pacing the team with 82 receiving yards. He leads the XFL in receptions by six (his lead shrinking a bit in that category) and leads in receiving yards by 89. While his numbers are nice, he’s going to need a few strong games (and a few more touchdowns) on the back end of the regular season to stay in the top five.
