This will be the second meeting between Vegas and Seattle in this XFL season with Seattle winning a very close contest, 30-26, in Week 3.
The Seattle Sea Dragons come into this game mourning the death of defensive end Chris Smith, which has cast a pall over everyone in the league. According to XFL.com, the 31-year-old defensive end had already been touched by tragedy while Smith was with the Browns in 2019, his girlfriend, Petara Cordero, was killed when she was hit by a car after she exited the vehicle he was driving.
“Chris was a powerful presence in the locker room. Loved and admired by his teammates and the coaching staff. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his entire family at this difficult time,” the XFL said in a statement.
It needs to be noted how Seattle can claim a trip to the XFL North Championship Game with a win over Vegas and a loss by St. Louis (vs. Orlando) in their Week 10 game. In that scenario, Seattle would finish with a better overall record than St. Louis. If both Seattle and St. Louis win their respective Week 10 games and finish the season with the same overall record, and division record, a determination would go past Tiebreakers 1-3.
What should we look for?
The biggest takeaway from this game is the Sea Dragons have to win to have a shot at the playoff game in D.C. Can they do it? Well, Sea Dragons quarterback Ben DiNucci has a league high 2,332 yards passing, 602 yards ahead of second place Battlehawks quarterback A.J. McCarron. We won’t think about how DiNucci has been picked off a league-high 11 times, and has lost five fumbles.
Seattle is an offensive machine and can score points at will, evidenced by the Sea Dragons owning four of the league’s five successful three-point conversions, due to the fact they go for 3-points so often, but also can be attributed to their depth at wide receiver. Jahcour Pearson leads the XFL in receptions with 57, which is 10 more than anyone else, including teammates Blake Jackson, Jordan Veasy and NFL veteran Josh Gordon.
In last week’s game the Vegas Vipers dropped their seventh game of the season, falling to the Houston Roughnecks, 28-21 at TDECU
Stadium in Houston. Vegas started strong, jumping out to a 12-0 lead after scoring on its second and third possessions of the game. Late in the first quarter, Jalan McClendon found tight end Sean Price for a four-yard score. Then on the Vipers next possession early in the second quarter, McClendon connected with wide receiver Cinque Sweeting for the team’s second score of the game. Vegas may have started hot, but Houston would finish strong to win the game.
Despite being hot and cold on offense, Vegas features an improved defense, led by Pita Taumoepenu, whose 7.5 sacks are tied for second in the league. He is the only player to have forced as many as four fumbles.
The last time these two squads met, Ben DiNucci passed for a whopping 377 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Morgan Ellison’s had a stellar game with 17 carries for 103 yards. Josh Gordon and Pearson combined for 13 receptions and 217 yards, but Vegas made it close when QB Brett Hundley still had a chance to win with a 40-yard Hail Mary in the end zone to Martavis Bryant that was knocked away at the last second.
Seattle has proven themselves even more since that week three game. Seattle’s powerhouse run-and-shoot offense, implemented by Offensive Coordinator June Jones, ranks 1st in the league in pass attempts (335), completions (217), and passing yards (2,338). Much of the offense’s success is due to QB Ben DiNucci who currently ranks first in completions (216) and passing yards (2,332) and second in TD passes (17). Jahcour Pearson, has proven to be DiNucci’s favorite target as he leads the league in total receptions (57) and receiving yards (628). Juwan Green is tied for second in the league in receiving touchdowns (5), Josh Gordon is tied for third in receiving touchdowns (4), and Blake Jackson is fourth in the league in receptions (40).
On defense, Seattle has weapons. Tuzar Skipper, is tied for second in the league in forced fumbles (3) and leads the team in sacks (5). Qwynnterrio Cole is top-10 in the league in total tackles (47) and is tied for most interceptions on the team with his fellow teammate, Bryce Thompson (2).
Seattle’s Dominik Eberle ranks second in field goals made (14) along with the second highest completion percentage in the league (87.5%). Kelvin McKnight ranks first in punt return yards (196) and second in kick return yards (698). With a combined 894 return yards, McKnight leads that category amongst all special teams returners in the XFL.
Conclusion
In this, the last of the 40 regular season games the league will play, don’t discount the emotion the Sea Dragons will carry with them, playing for their fallen teammate, Smith. The Sea Dragons will be playing with Smith’s #42 jersey on the sideline and in the locker room as a reminder to bring this one home in his honor.
In Seattle’s week nine game they traveled to St. Louis to take on the Battlehawks where they stole a victory 30-12, embarrassing the Battlehawks at home. That victory may have given Seattle all the momentum they need to conquer the hapless Vegas Vipers in this week ten matchup.
Vegas is offering the Sea Dragons a 8.5 point spread, and it might be wise to take that and the over of 47 points in this matchup.
