Announcers: Lowell Galindo, Sam Acho, Eric Mac Lain, Taylor McGregor
Odds: Houston -3, O/U 41.5 (DraftKings)
We have reached week five of the XFL season, and recall that the previous XFL only made it this far. We should also recall that the Houston Roughnecks are still unbeaten as an XFL team. Will this be the game where their record is broken?
Last week, Houston took a 20-0 lead over Orlando in the first quarter and never looked back, trouncing the Guardians 44-16. Quarterback Brandon Silvers completed 24 of 30 passes for 239 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Travell Harris caught three passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns, Deontay Burnett had 3 receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Jontre Kirklin catching 2 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. The Roughnecks defense was on point, putting pressure on Orlando’s pivots and registering four sacks with Trent Harris (1.5) leading the way.
Seattle was also coming off a win after beating San Antonio 15-6 at Lumen Field. Ben DiNucci completed 28 of 41 passes for 264 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Running back Morgan Ellison rushed for 69 yards on 18 attempts. The defense shut down the Brahmas, keeping them out of the end zone and shutting down their run.
The home crowd at Lumen field was sparse, indicative of a late game taking place on a week night.
The Sea Dragons kicked off to the Roughnecks. Quarterback Brandon Silvers started on the Houston 31-yard line. He began with a pass to Max Borghi who took it 11 yards for a first down. Silvers was sacked for a loss on 2nd down, and could not connect with Jontre Kirklin on 3rd down. Houston was forced to punt.
Seattle quarterback Ben DiNucci took the ball on his own 34-yard line. On 3rd and 3 DiNucci connected with Juwan Green for 5-yards and a first down. DiNucci tried to go deep to Josh Gordon but was incomplete. On the next down he tried to go to Gordon again but could not connect. Seattle had to punt.
Silvers started on his own 30. His first pass was batted down, and his 2nd pass to Cedric Byrd was only for 1-yard. On 3rd down he passed to Max Borghi who lost a yard. Again, Houston punted.
Seattle partially blocked the punt, and it only travelled 16 yards. The Sea Dragons took over on the Houston 46. DiNucci hit Damion Willis for an 11 yard gain, then DiNucci ran it himself for another 9 yards. A pass to Jahcour Pearson moved the chains to the Houston 19. On 3rd and 11 Ben DiNucci ran it 20 yards for a touchdown. The 3-point conversion failed, making the score 6-0 for Seattle.
Seattle kicked off and the Roughnecks setup on their own 20-yard line. Brandon Silvers passed to Justin Smith for 12 yards and a 1st down. Houston was moving the ball. Travell Harris caught a 16 yard pass, and Deontay Burnett snagged a pass for 11 yards. Brycen Alleyne ran the ball into the end zone but a flag brought it back.
At the end of the 1st quarter the score was 6-0 for Seattle.
Brandon Silvers was sacked and he fumbled. The ball was recovered by Daniel Joseph on the Houston 47.
Ben DiNucci connected with Jahcour Pearson for a 22-yard gain. Another pass to Pearson gave the Sea Dragons a 15-yard gain to the Houston 27. A pass to Josh Gordon on the 7 yard-line drew a defensive interference call, but a holding call against Seattle offset the penalty. On third down, DiNucci was rocked and his deep pass was picked off by Sean Davis in the end zone. The play was challenged by Seattle for roughing the passer and the review found no foul.
Silvers started on his own 26. He managed a pass to Putnam for 13-yards and a first down. On 3rd and 1, Cole McDonald ran 5-yards to move the chains. The drive stalled on the Seattle 36-yard line and the Roughnecks were forced to punt.
Seattle took a fair catch on their own 10-yard line. DiNucci was initially pressured deep in his own end. However, on 3rd and long he connected to Damion Willis for a 23-yard gain. Just before the two-minute warning, DiNucci connected with Jahcour Pearson for a 33-yard catch to the Houston 34.
Ben DiNucci connected with Willis at the Houston 20, and then to Green for 12-yards to move the chains to the Houston 9-yard line. A pass to Damion Willis in the end zone gave Seattle another touchdown. The 3-point conversion pass to Juwan Green was good, making the score 15-0 for Seattle.
With 39 seconds remaining in the half, Silvers took the ball on the Houston 11. He ran one play and the clock ran out.
At half time the Seattle Sea Dragons led the Houston Roughnecks 15-0.
Seattle took the ball in the 2nd half with Ben DiNucci starting his drive on his own 20. DiNucci handed to T.J. Hammonds for a 14-yard gain on the ground. Then, DiNucci was incomplete to both Jahcour Pearson and Josh Gordon, resulting in Seattle being forced to punt.
Houston took the ball on the their own 34. On 3rd and 3, Silvers connected with Cedric Byrd to move the chains. Then, Houston’s Parker was called for a late hit and the Roughnecks were penalized 15-yards. Houston could not overcome the deficit and punted the ball back to Seattle.
Ben DiNucci took over on his own 31, and looked down field for Willis and Pearson, but could not connect. On 3rd down DiNucci ran the ball, but the Roughnecks only allowed him five yards. Houston had to punt the ball.
Silvers drove the ball from his own 29. The Roughnecks went three and out and punted back to Seattle. However, the punt was blocked by Skipper, and Seattle recovered the ball on the Houston 9-yard line.
Ben DiNucci ran the ball to the 2-yard line, but a holding penalty against Seattle brought the ball back to the 17. Ben DiNucci attempted a pass to Josh Gordon in the end zone, but Ajene Harris picked off the pass and turned the ball back over to Houston.
Houston fielded the ball on their own 35-yard line. Seattle’s Skipper pressured Silvers and forced a fumble that the Roughnecks recovered. Houston punted, and Seattle returned the ball to their own 29.
Ben DiNucci connected a pass to Jordan Veasy for a 16-yard gain.
At the end of the 3rd quarter the score remained 15-0 for Seattle.
In the 4th quarter, Morgan Ellison ran for a Seattle 1st down. Then, DiNucci was sacked for a 5-yard loss, and the ball nearly came loose. On 3rd down, DiNucci was sacked a second time for another loss. Seattle had to punt.
Houston could not move the ball against a stiff Seattle Defense. They managed one first down before they were forced to punt back to Seattle.
With 9:26 remaining, the Sea Dragons took over on their own 20, but a handoff to Morgan Ellison was fumbled with the Roughnecks’ Logan recovering the ball on the Seattle 25. A defensive pass interference call on Cole in the end zone gave the Roughnecks 1st and goal from, the 1-yard line. Max Borghi carried the ball 1-yard for the touchdown. The 2-point conversion attempt failed and the score was now 15-6 for Seattle.
Ben DiNucci took over on his own 29 and was able to connect to Josh Gordon for a 15-yard pass and a first down. A pass down field to Josh Gordon was picked off by Ajene Harris and returned 15 yards to the Houston 32-yard line.
With 5:16 remaining, Brandon Silvers had another chance for a scoring drive. However, Seattle’s defense stood strong. On 4th and 4, Silvers could not complete a pass to Alleyne and turned the ball over on downs.
With 3:47 on the clock, Ben DiNucci took possession on the Houston 38. On 3rd down, DiNucci connected to Jordan Veasy for a 17-yard gain to the Houston 15. This took the clock down to the two-minute warning.
Seattle kept it on the ground in an attempt to run out the clock. On 2nd and 9, T.J. Hammonds ran the ball 11 yards for a 1st down on the Houston 4-yard line. On 1st down, Darius Bradwell ran the ball into the end zone for another Seattle touchdown. A 3-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 21-6 for Seattle.
With 1:16 on the clock, and two time-outs remaining, Houston took over on their own 26. Brandon Silvers connected with Travell Harris for a 9-yard gain and a first down, and then a 17-yard pass to Harris put the ball on Seattle’s 37. A penalty pushed the Roughnecks back 10-yards. With 29 seconds remaining, Silvers passed to Justin Smith who ran it in for a 47-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion pass to Burnett was good making the score 21-14 for Seattle.
With 24 seconds remaining, the Roughnecks opted for a 4th and 15 from their own 25. Brandon Silvers connected 17-yards to Deontay Burnett to get the first down. A downfield pass drew a defensive pass interference call putting the ball in the Seattle 27. On his next pass, Silvers was intercepted by Lalos giving Seattle possession. The Roughnecks asked for a challenge for illegal hands to the face, but the challenge failed.
The final score was Seattle Sea Dragons 21, Houston Roughnecks 14.
Houston’s 9-game XFL winning streak had ended.
Box scores – Statistics Summary
Scoring
1 2 3 4 F
HOU 0 0 0 14 14
SEA 6 9 0 6 21
------ HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Brandon Silvers 25/47 227 4.8 1 1 47 3 - 24
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Brycen Alleyne 5 35 7.0 0 11
Max Borghi 6 12 2.0 1 6
Cole McDonald 1 5 5.0 0 5
Dejoun Lee 1 0 0.0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 13 52 4.0 1 11
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Justin Smith 3 63 21.0 1 47 4
Travell Harris 5 58 11.6 0 17 6
Deontay Burnett 3 35 11.7 0 17 8
Ben Putman 2 22 11.0 0 13 7
Max Borghi 5 21 4.2 0 11 5
Cedric Byrd 5 20 4.0 0 7 9
Nick Holley 1 6 6.0 0 6 1
Brycen Alleyne 1 2 2.0 0 2 5
Jontre Kirklin 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 25 227 9.1 1 47 46
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Brandon Silvers 2 1 1
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Jordan Mosley 6 1 7.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Emmanuel Ellerbee 2 4 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tim Ward 4 1 5.0 1.0 - 5.0 2.0 0 0 0
Tavante Beckett 0 4 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
John Daka 1 3 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 1 0
Ajene Harris 1 3 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 2 0 0
William Likely 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Chauncey Rivers 1 2 3.0 1.0 - 6.0 2.0 0 0 0
Sean Davis 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 1 0 0
A.J. Hendy 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Raleigh Texada 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Kary Vincent 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
C. J. Brewer 1 1 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Charles Wiley 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jack Heflin 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Deandre Johnson 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Trevon Mason 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 24 29 53.0 2.0 - 11.0 5.0 3 1 0
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Ajene Harris 2 15 0
Sean Davis 1 28 0
TEAM TOTAL 3 43 0
Punt Returns
TEAM TOTAL
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Travell Harris 2 19 9.5 14 0
Kick Returns
TEAM TOTAL
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Dejoun Lee 4 73 18.3 21 0
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Race Porter 6 157 26.2 0 1 48
------ SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Ben DiNucci 17/32 209 6.5 1 3 33 2 - 11
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Ben DiNucci 4 33 8.3 1 20
T.J. Hammonds 4 28 7.0 0 14
Morgan Ellison 6 15 2.5 0 5
Darius Bradwell 9 12 1.3 1 5
TEAM TOTAL 23 88 3.8 2 20
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Jahcour Pearson 5 82 16.4 0 33 8
Damion Willis 5 61 12.2 1 23 8
Jordan Veasy 2 33 16.5 0 17 2
Juwan Green 2 17 8.5 0 12 2
Josh Gordon 2 15 7.5 0 15 7
Blake Jackson 1 1 1.0 0 1 3
T.J. Hammonds 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 17 209 12.3 1 33 31
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Morgan Ellison 1 1 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Qwynnterrio Cole 5 5 10.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Niko Lalos 3 2 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 1 0 0
Bryce Thompson 3 2 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Zafir Kelly 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Emmanuel Smith 2 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Austin Faoliu 1 2 3.0 1.0 - 5.0 1.0 0 0 0
Clarence Hicks 2 1 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Antoine Brooks 1 1 2.0 1.0 - 7.0 1.0 0 1 0
Elijah Ponder 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Alijah Holder 0 2 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Chris Payton-Jones 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jordan Evans 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Sharif Finch 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tuzar Skipper 1 0 1.0 1.0 - 12.0 1.0 0 1 0
Tre Walker 0 1 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Mykael Wright 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Linden Stephens 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Shareef Miller 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 27 22 49.0 3.0 - 24.0 4.0 1 2 0
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Niko Lalos 1 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Kelvin McKnight 4 15 3.8 7 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Kelvin McKnight 1 10 10.0 10 0
T.J. Hammonds 1 12 12.0 12 0
TEAM TOTAL 2 22 11.0 12 0
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Cameron Nizialek 4 156 39.0 0 0 40
------ TEAM STATS ------
TEAM STATS HOU SEA
TOTAL PLAYS 63 57
TOTAL YARDS 255 286
YARDS PER PLAY 4.0 5.0
FIRST DOWNS 17 18
FIRST DOWNS PASSING 12 13
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING 3 5
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY 2 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 35.7% 50.0%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 50.0% 0.0%
TOTAL PASSING YARDS 203 198
PASS COMPLETIONS 25 17
PASS ATTEMPTS 47 32
INTERCEPTIONS THROWN 1 3
YARDS PER PASS 4.3 6.2
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1 1
SACKS ALLOWED 3 2
SACK YARDS LOST 24 11
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS 52 88
RUSH ATTEMPTS 13 23
YARDS PER RUSH 4.0 3.8
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1 2
PENALTIES 7 6
TURNOVERS 2 4
FUMBLES 1 1
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS 0 0
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS 0 0
POSSESSION 30:45 29:15
