XFL DC Defenders place kicker Matt McCrane was good for 3 of 4 field goal kicks in the Defenders victory over the Houston Roughnecks, Monday March 27, 2023. (Twitter)
It’s Monday night football XFL style, and the top two teams in the league, the Roughnecks and Defenders, clashed at Washington’s Audi Field. Not only is this a test for these two teams, this is also a test for the league to see what type of ratings they can get for a prime-time game.
Last week in Seattle, the Houston Roughnecks lost their first game of the season after falling behind 15-0 in the first half. They managed to close the gap to just seven points, but were not able to put up the “W”. Brandon Silvers was 25 of 47 passing for 227 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Houston’s running game was ineffective, managing just 52 yards on 13 attempts. A bright point was how the Roughnecks forced four turnovers, but their offence couldn’t capitalize.
Last week, the DC Defenders had a better outcome, defeating the St. Louis Battlehawks 28-20 to clinch at The Dome in St. Louis, overcoming a boisterous crowd in the process. The Defenders controlled the line of scrimmage and ran Abram Smith down the Battlehawks throats for a season high 218 yards. The big question this week is whether the Roughnecks can fare any better than the Battlehawks.
Houston took the kickoff and quarterback Brandon Silvers started on his own 13-yard line. Silvers passed to Travell Harris for a 15-yard pickup. A handoff to Max Borghi was stuffed for a loss, and then quarterback Cole McDonald came in to try to get a running option, and Borghi only made 3 yards. Silvers came back in and passed to Smith for a 19-yard gain. However, Silvers could not convert for another first down and Houston had to punt.
DC’s quarterback Jordan Ta’amu took over on his own 14-yard line. The Defenders went three and out and punted back to the Roughnecks.
Silvers took over on the Houston 34-yard line, and passed 19-yards to Cedric Byrd on 2nd down. Silvers connected to Byrd for 8 yards and then handed to Max Borghi for a 9-yard run and a first down at the DC 28-yard line. A 14-yard pass to Burnett moved the chains to the 14-yard line, and then a face masking penalty moved the first down marker to the DC 4. Max Borghi ran into the end zone for a touchdown. A 2-point conversion pass to Cedric Byrd was good to make the score 8-0 for Houston.
DC took the kickoff on their own 32-yard line. Abram Smith rushed for 4-yards and then drew a penalty for a late hit out of bounds for 15 more yards. Jordan Ta’amu scrambled out of the pocket and then passed short to Lucky Jackson who ran it down field for a 36-yard gain. With the ball on the Houston 6-yard line a defensive pass interference penalty made it 1st and goal. DC was penalized 15-yards for a chop block which moved the chains back to the Houston 16-yard line. The Defenders would settle for a 34-yard Matt McCrane field goal making the score 8-3 for Houston.
Brandon Silvers started his drive on the Houston 28-yard line.
At the end of the 1st quarter the score was 8-3 for Houston.
Silvers was having difficulty getting a first down until a DC holding penalty moved the markers. Brandon Silvers could not connect with his receivers and the Roughnecks punted.
Jordan Ta’amu took over on his own 34. Two consecutive passes to Hammond were good for 29 yards. On 4th and 2 a penalty to Houston’s William Likely was reviewed. Head coach Wade Phillips considered challenging the call but decided against it.
With quarterback D’Eriq King brought in to run the offense, DC was stuffed on 3rd down and 1, and had to settle for a 37-yard Matt McCrane field goal attempt which was missed to the right. The score remained 8-3 for Houston.
The Houston Roughnecks took over on their own 27-yard line. Brandon Silvers went three and out and had to punt back to DC.
Ezzard returned the punt to the DC 39-yard line. On 3rd and 7 Ta’amu connected a 7-yard pass to Ethan Wolf for a first down at mid-field. With a fresh set of downs Ta’amu passed to Lucky Jackson for a 17-yard gain. Then, Lucky Jackson caught a pass on the sideline and the play had to be reviewed to see if his foot was inbounds, which resulted in the ball being placed on the Houston 15-yard line. An 11-yard pass to Ethan Wolf moved the chains to the Houston 4. At the two-minute warning DC was 3rd and goal on the Houston 1-yard line.
A 1-yard Abram Smith run was good for a DC touchdown. The 2-point conversion pass was incomplete, making the score 9-8 for DC.
Lee took the kickoff up to the Houston 40-yard line. Silvers was called for intentional grounding and Houston was pushed back 17-yards. On 2nd down Silvers passed to Harris but was intercepted by DC’s Santos Ramirez for a pick six touchdown. The 2-point conversion pass was caught by Hammond to make the score 17-8 for DC.
Silvers took over with about a minute remaining. He connected to Cedric Byrd for a 25-yard gain to the DC 39, and then Silvers was sacked by Bellamy for a 9-yard loss. DC kept coming at Silvers as Ramirez and Wallace sacked him again, this time for an 8-yard loss.
At halftime DC led the Roughnecks 17-8.
The Defenders took the kickoff on the DC 28 and Ta’amu immediately connected to Lucky Jackson with a 36-yard pass. Armstead ran the ball twice for 17-yards and Moore-Mckinney caught a pass to move the chains to the DC 9-yard line. Abram Smith ran the ball to the Houston 4, and then Houston’s Jack Heflin was called for a late hit and disqualified. The penalty gave DC 1st and goal on the Houston 2-yard line. More Houston penalties did not serve to help the Roughnecks. Finally, a Ta’amu pass to Alex Ellis was good for another DC touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt failed and the score was now 23-8 for DC.
Houston took over on their own 25. On 4th and 1 they brought in Cole McDonald for a short yardage play, but a false start penalty pushed them back 5 yards. They had to punt.
DC received the ball on their own 42-yard line. Ta’amu passed down field incomplete to Chris Blair and Houston was called for a 16-yard pass interference penalty. Abram Smith ran for 8-yards and a short pass to Ethan Wolf moved the chains.
Houston’s Ajene Harris was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for squirting water on the down judge, giving DC a first down on the Houston 14-yard line.
On 2nd down Ta’amu was sacked by Logan for a 9-yard loss. Unfortunately, Houston’s Beckett was penalized for unnecessary roughness and DC was given a first down on the Houston 11. Houston’s defense stood up and DC had to settle for a 32-yard Matt McCrane field goal making the score 26-8 for the Defenders.
Houston’s Lee returned the kickoff to their own 15-yard line. Cole McDonald came in and passed down field to a wide open Deontay Burnett for an 85-yard touchdown reception. The 3-point conversion failed, making the score 26-14 for DC.
DC took the kickoff to their own 24-yard line. At the end of the 3rd quarter DC was 3rd and short on their own 32.
A 9-yard pass to Hammond gave the Defenders a 1st down, and then a 30-yard run by Abram Smith moved the ball to the Houston 29. A 30-yard pass to Lucky Jackson gave DC another touchdown. The 2-point conversion pass to Chris Blair was good, to make the score 34-14 for the Defenders.
Houston took over on their own 35. Cole McDonald passed 7-yards to Travell Harris and then ran the ball for an 18-yard gain. A 37-yard pass to Ben Putnam put the ball on the DC 1-yard line, and then Max Borghi rushed for a 1-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed making the score 34-20 for DC.
DC took the kickoff to the 33-yard line. Ta’amu passed to Hammond for a 22-yard gain, and then handed to Abram Smith for a 12-yard run to the Houston 33. DC’s drive stalled and a Matt McCrane 50-yard field goal made the score 37-20 for the Defenders.
Cole McDonald came back in for Houston, taking the ball on the Houston 38. On 2nd and 21 McDonald threw a pass to Deontay Burnett for an 18-yard gain, and then threw to a wide open Travell Harris for a 30-yard catch. On 3rd down McDonald rushed for 12-yards to the DC 8 and a first down, and then he rushed for 5-yards to the DC 3. McDonald kept running on 2nd down, and progressed the football to the 1-yard line. This took the game to the two-minute warning.
Cole McDonald rushed 1-yard for the Houston touchdown. The 3-point conversion failed making the score 37-26 for DC.
Instead of an onside kick, Houston opted for 4th and 15 from their own 30-yard line. Cole McDonald passed to Cedric Byrd who pitched it back to Harris for a 10 yard gain, and not enough for a first down.
DC took the ball on the Houston 33-yard line and were content to hand to Abram Smith to run out the clock. Smith was able to get a 1st down with 26 seconds remaining and the Defenders went into victory formation.
Final score was DC Defenders 37, Houston Roughnecks 26.
Box scores – Statistics Summary
Scoring
1 2 3 4 F
HOU 8 0 6 12 26
DC 3 14 9 11 37
------ HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Brandon Silvers 10/17 111 6.5 0 1 25 2 - 17
Cole McDonald 8/11 194 17.6 1 0 85 0 - 0
TEAM TOTAL 18/28 305 0.0 1 1 85 2 - 17
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Cole McDonald 6 37 6.2 1 18
Max Borghi 11 25 2.3 2 9
Brycen Alleyne 1 10 10.0 0 10
Dejoun Lee 1 0 0.0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 19 72 0.0 3 18
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Deontay Burnett 4 122 30.5 1 85 6
Travell Harris 5 60 12.0 0 30 5
Cedric Byrd 4 37 9.3 0 25 6
Ben Putman 1 37 37.0 0 37 2
Justin Smith 2 29 14.5 0 19 5
Ajene Harris 1 19 19.0 0 19 2
Max Borghi 1 1 1.0 0 1 2
TEAM TOTAL 18 305 0.0 1 85 28
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Justin Smith 1 0 1
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Emmanuel Ellerbee 8 3 11.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
A.J. Hendy 5 2 7.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tavante Beckett 3 2 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jordan Mosley 3 2 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Glen Logan 3 1 4.0 1.0 - 9.0 1.0 0 0 0
William Likely 4 0 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
John Daka 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Scean Mustin 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Kary Vincent 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
C. J. Brewer 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Trent Harris 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Chauncey Rivers 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Ajene Harris 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Trevon Mason 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
John Brannon 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jack Heflin 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Deandre Johnson 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Caliph Brice 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Charles Wiley 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 35 20 55.0 1.0 - 9.0 5.0 0 0 0
Interceptions
INT YDS TD
0 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
William Likely 1 19 19.0 19 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Dejoun Lee 8 197 24.6 35 0
Kicking
FGM FGA FG% LNG
0 0 0.0% 0
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Race Porter 4 172 43.0 0 1 49
------ DC DEFENDERS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Jordan Ta'amu 19/31 245 7.9 2 0 36 1 - 9
Deriq King 1/1 4 4.0 0 0 4 0 - 0
TEAM TOTAL 20/32 249 0.0 2 0 36 1 - 9
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Abram Smith 19 95 5.0 1 30
Ryquell Armstead 8 26 3.3 0 9
Jordan Ta'amu 3 -5 -1.7 0 -1
TEAM TOTAL 30 116 0.0 1 30
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Lucky Jackson 5 136 27.2 1 36 8
Josh Hammond 5 65 13.0 0 22 8
Ethan Wolf 3 21 7.0 0 11 3
Abram Smith 2 10 5.0 0 7 3
Briley Moore-Mckinney 1 10 10.0 0 10 1
Ryquell Armstead 1 4 4.0 0 4 1
Chris Blair 1 2 2.0 0 2 5
Alex Ellis 1 1 1.0 1 1 1
Jazz Ferguson 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
Jequez Ezzard 1 0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 20 249 0.0 2 36 32
Fumbles
FUM LOST REC
0 0 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Francis Bernard 8 1 9.0 0.0 - 0.0 2.0 0 0 0
Dejuan Neal 4 1 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Michael Joseph 4 1 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Anthony Hines 3 1 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Kentrell Brice 3 0 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jamal Brooks 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Anthoula Kelly 3 0 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Santos Ramirez 1 2 3.0 0.5 - 4.0 0.0 1 0 0
Malik Fisher 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Andre Mintze 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Joseph Wallace 0 1 1.0 0.5 - 4.0 0.0 0 0 0
Caraun Reid 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Davin Bellamy 1 0 1.0 1.0 - 9.0 1.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 30 10 40.0 2.0 - 17.0 3.0 1 0 0
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Santos Ramirez 1 40 1
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Jequez Ezzard 4 49 12.3 20 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Jequez Ezzard 4 73 18.3 23 0
Kicking
PLAYER FGM FGA FG% LNG
Matthew McCrane 3 4 75.0% 50
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Daniel Whelan 1 63 63.0 0 0 63
------ TEAM STATS ------
TEAM STATS HOU DC
TOTAL PLAYS 49 63
TOTAL YARDS 360 356
YARDS PER PLAY 7.3 5.7
FIRST DOWNS 16 27
FIRST DOWNS PASSING 8 14
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING 6 5
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY 2 8
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 54.5% 50.0%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 0.0% 0.0%
TOTAL PASSING YARDS 288 240
PASS COMPLETIONS 18 20
PASS ATTEMPTS 28 32
INTERCEPTIONS THROWN 1 0
YARDS PER PASS 10.3 7.5
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1 2
SACKS ALLOWED 2 1
SACK YARDS LOST 17 9
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS 72 116
RUSH ATTEMPTS 19 30
YARDS PER RUSH 3.8 3.9
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 3 1
PENALTIES 12 3
TURNOVERS 1 0
FUMBLES 0 0
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS 0 1
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS 0 0
POSSESSION 25:57 34:03
