Wade Phillips, head coach of the Houston Roughnecks celebrates a win.
Hello everyone! Welcome back to the XFL! Before we begin, let’s take a stroll down memory lane shall we. The year is 2020. The Houston Roughnecks, led by MVP frontrunner P.J. Walker are 5-0 and just dominating the league. Cam Phillips cant be contained. The defense won’t give in. The fan base is energized. And above all else, the Roughnecks were becoming a highlight reel for the league. Everything was great. Then, that thing called COVID happened. The world shut down and the XFL shut down with it. Gone. Vanished. Never to be heard from again.
Not knowing if the XFL would ever return, people all around the world were just left without football after the Super Bowl. That is until news came out, that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Danny Garcia, along with Gerry Cardinale would buy the XFL and bring it back in the year 2023.
So fast forward to now and many things have changed. The XFL is headed up by “The Rock” and Danny Garcia, not Vince McMahon. Commissioner Oliver Luck is no longer around. The Houston Roughnecks are now coached by Wade Phillips, not June Jones. The starting quarterback is Brandon Silvers, not P.J. Walker. 3 have passed, but one thing remains the same. Your Houston Roughnecks are STILL UNDEFEATED! That’s right! The Roughnecks pick up where they left off, as they defeat the Orlando Guardians 33-12 in their first game of the season in front of their home fans.
But there a lot of differences between this Roughnecks team and that 2020 team. For starters, this offense seems more structured than the “freestyle” offense that P.J. Walker led in 2020. Brandon Silvers is more your prototypical “pocket” quarterback. And that was on full display during this game. Silvers hit some nice throws going 26/42 for 272 yds and 2 TDs. But his interceptions were pretty bad. He had 2 INTs, and they were throws that reminded you why he was benched as the Seattle starter the last time around. Brandon Silvers did a good job as the starter here in week 1, but i’m still not sold on Silvers as the long term answer. He could prove me wrong as the season continues, and he hope that he does. But if I had to sum up his performance in week 1, I would say it was a mixed bag.
But luckily for Silvers, he does some pretty damn good receivers to throw to out there. Let’s start with Deontay Burnett, who was excellent Saturday night. He had 8 receptions for 90 yds, including a beautiful 46 yd catch, as well as a TD. He had a total of 12 targets, so it seems like he will be a favorite of Silvers going forward. Jontre Kirklin also balled out Saturday night. Kirklin recorded 5 receptions for 71 yds, as well as a TD. Travell Harris also chipped in with 5 receptions of his own for 48 yds. Overall this receiving core seems solid for Houston, and they will only get better as their connection with Silvers continues to grow over the season.
But where the Roughnecks are definitely different from their 2020 counterpart, is the fact that they have a much more balanced offense this time around. And that all starts with running back Max Borghi, who was really good Saturday night. He had 8 carries for 42 yds and a TD, as well as 4 receptions for 32 yds. If Borghi can continue to be this productive, it will help Silvers and the passing game tremendously.
The defense was terrific Saturday night. They had a total of 4 takeaways, 3 of them being interceptions by Tavante Beckett, Sean Davis, and Ajene Harris. Alexander Myres also had a fumble recovery. They pressured Orlando’s quarterbacks all night long, especially Trent Harris, who had 4 sacks for the game. Tim Ward had 2 sacks himself, and Alexander Myres pitched in with a sack of his own. The defense played extremely well, and if they can keep up this level of play, it bodes well for the Roughnecks this season.
All in all, the Houston Roughnecks were the clear cut best team in 2020, and it least through week 1 of the 2023 season, they look like the best team again. But it’s just week 1, and there is a lot of football to go. But at least for right now, the Houston Roughnecks look to carry over that dominance from 2020 to this season.
Next week the Roughnecks will take on the Arlington Renegades in Houston in a Texas showdown. Both teams come into this game 1-0, but obviously, someone will have to lose. We shall see who that will be.
