McCarron is on top for the first time since week two. He carved up the Vegas secondary, completing nearly 80% of his passes for 8.1 yards per attempt. He has the most touchdown passes in the league – three ahead of second place – and has the highest completion percentage among qualifying quarterbacks. St. Louis isn’t guaranteed to make the playoffs – they likely won’t catch the DC Defenders atop the XFL North and will have to break a tie with the Seattle Sea Dragons to earn a spot. McCarron will be challenged in week seven by what’s been a ferocious Roughnecks pass rush.
XFL DC Defenders running back #4 Abram Smith, March 19, 2023.
Smith couldn’t match his week five output when he set the single-game XFL rushing record, but he was still able to put up over 100 total yards. His first half performance against Houston wasn’t much to write home about. It was in the second half where he did the bulk of his damage, wearing down the Roughnecks defense as the Defenders imposed their will. That’s been the modus operandi of DC so far this season, using Smith at the end of games to bludgeon opponents and control the clock. Incredibly, Smith now has over 200 more rushing yards than the second leading rusher in the league. Week seven brings Orlando’s questionable run defense; it’s a chance for Smith to potentially move up to number one in these MVP rankings.
Seattle barely escaped Orlando with a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. DiNucci threw yet another red zone interception, this time in the end zone just prior to halftime. He did throw two touchdown passes and paced the team in rushing, however. Like Brandon Silvers, who he’s been neck-and-neck with in the race for MVP, DiNucci has faced a slide of late. He gets a difficult Arlington defense on Friday night, another short week for the Sea Dragons. DiNucci has spoken out against the challenging schedule Seattle has faced this season, and that likely hasn’t helped his cause.
Season stats: 123-199, 61.8%, 1,300 yards, 11 TD, 5 INT
Houston has now dropped two in a row after starting 4-0, and Silvers has struggled in both contests. Against DC, he was pulled late in the game in favor of Cole McDonald, who at least showed a spark that Silvers hadn’t for much of the game. Silvers still has a fine stat line and still leads a first-place team, so he’s able to hang out in the top five of the MVP race for another week. The road doesn’t get any easier for Silvers and the Roughnecks though as they face a strong St. Louis squad this weekend.
Last week: 4 receptions, 15 yards, 4.5 avg., 11 long
Season stats: 40 receptions, 448 yards, 11.2 avg., 1 TD
Pearson had his worst game of the season against one of the weakest defenses in the league, the Guardians. Credit Orlando as they were able to successfully neutralize Pearson and Josh Gordon. Head Coach Terrell Buckley said after the game they changed up some looks on the back end to account for Seattle’s dangerous receivers. Pearson did all of his “damage” after halftime; not included in his stat-line is the two-point conversion he caught in the third quarter. Pearson will be confronted with Arlington’s talented and experienced defensive back group in week seven.
