Conceivably, the XFL could’ve entered week ten with all playoff teams and seedings set. But what fun would that be? Instead, the second spot in both divisions will come down to the wire. The St. Louis Battlehawks and Seattle Sea Dragons, both 6-3, will try to take care of business against the bottom-two teams in the XFL’s standings, the Orlando Guardians and Vegas Vipers respectively. Both teams will try to pour on the points in case things reach tiebreakers that take into account total points scored. In the XFL South, the 3-6 San Antonio Brahmas are still chasing the playoffs and can move to tiebreakers if they win and the Arlington Renegades lose. It’s not necessarily the best case scenario for the league which would probably prefer not to go so deep into the tiebreaking weeds, but every game in week ten could have playoff implications.
Down: Spoilers
Only two teams were eliminated from playoff contention heading into week nine – the Orlando Guardians and Vegas Vipers – and both had opportunities to play spoiler against teams looking to either clinch a playoff spot or stay in the hunt. A Vegas win over Houston would’ve kept the Roughnecks in limbo, just one game ahead of Arlington for the division lead as the weekend came to a close. And a Guardians victory over the Brahmas would’ve knocked Hines Ward’s team out of the race. In the end, neither the Vipers nor Guardians were able to pull off the upsets. Houston clinched the XFL South and San Antonio survived another week with playoffs on their mind. Both Orlando and Vegas will get another opportunity in week ten to ruin a team’s postseason plans, as Orlando visits St. Louis to face the Battlehawks and Vegas travels to Seattle for a Sunday night jangle with the Sea Dragons.
Up: Garrett Owens usage
Eyebrows were raised in November when Houston selected TE Garrett Owens out of Duquesne with the first pick in the second round of the Skill Position Phase. First, a tight end? In a run-and-shoot offense? Second, Owens had no NFL experience and wasn’t even invited to tryout at rookie minicamp after he went unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft. Yet, Roughnecks Head Coach Wade Phillips had high praise for Owens, saying “He’s a special player. I haven’t seen a guy like him in a long time.” His calling card being his versatility – Owens can line up at FB, RB, TE and WR – there was a thought that Houston could utilize that to their advantage.
However, the Roughnecks haven’t turned that versatility into an asset. Owens played an average of 13 snaps on offense per game over the first four weeks; just 6.5 in the four games after that. Week nine was his breakout, though, as he played a season-high 37 snaps, catching a team-high four passes. He had just one reception on the season entering the game. It’s late in the year to be developing meaningful weapons, but Houston’s offense needs a jolt as it stares down the barrel of a home game for the South Division Championship, and perhaps Owens can offer just that jolt.
Down: Vegas clock management
Since Jalan McClendon took over as the team’s quarterback, the Vipers have seemed much more competitive. But they’ve also struggled more with clock management. McClendon has been guilty numerous times of failing to get the snap off in time, resulting in delay of game penalties. In the game against Houston this week, Vegas had difficulty navigating the time on their final drive, down by seven with under 2:00 to go. With one timeout and :57 left in the game, Jeff Badet caught a pass for a seven-yard gain; the clock continued to roll. McClendon didn’t get the next snap off until there was :38 left. Badet registered a first down with :30 left, stopping the clock until the ball was set. However, the Vipers tried to switch their formation as time began to count down. Finally, they took a timeout with :18 left.
ESPN’s Greg McElroy called out the Vegas receivers a few times on the broadcast for loafing it and not getting set at the line of scrimmage quickly enough. After all this, the Vipers still had a chance to score on the final play with a pass that went off the fingertips of Matthew Sexton in the end zone. That was a third down play – had they not wasted so much time on that last drive, they may have been able to try another play or two to potentially tie things up or get the victory depending on their point-after decision.
Up: Home fan personalities
After less than two seasons’ worth of home games (fewer than that for some), many fanbases league-wide have already crafted their own individual personalities. St. Louis is known to pack what’s been nicknamed “The Battledome.” These aren’t casual fans: Battlehawks gear is everywhere in the crowd, whether from 2020 or 2023. Houston brings the hard hats to TDECU Stadium in Houston, embracing the Roughnecks moniker. We’ve seen numerous people donning lucha libre masks in San Antonio. Diehards in Seattle have been known to show out in full-body dragon costumes. And DC, of course, is the worldwide capital of the Beer Snake – and increasingly, lemons. It’s been neat to see how each city’s fans have uniquely embraced their XFL teams.
Down: Blowouts
The XFL’s distinctive scoring structure of point-after conversions, as well as its 4th-and-15 comeback period, is meant to encourage close games. A team can be down by as many as nine points and it’s still considered a one-possession game. Through nine weeks, the intent of these rules has succeeded in avoiding blowouts. Over the last four weeks, only four games have ended with the margin of victory larger than nine points. Close games keep fans interested longer whether watching on TV or attending live. The drama of a game that goes down to the wire also helps attract more casual viewers. While we saw a glimpse of many of these changes in 2020, the XFL has to be happy about the results of these rule adjustments over the course of an entire season.
