XFL Game Summary: San Antonio Brahmas at Houston Roughnecks, Sunday March 5, 2023

Houston Roughneck's wide receiver Jontre Kirklin celebrates a touchdown.
Houston Roughneck’s wide receiver Jontre Kirklin celebrates a touchdown.
  • San Antonio Brahmas (1-1) at Houston Roughnecks (2-0)
  • Sunday, March 5 at 8 p.m. ET
  • TDECU Stadium, Houston
  • Attendance: 11,309
  • Broadcaster: ESPN2, ESPN+
  • Announcers: Tom Hart, Cole Cubelic, Dawn Davenport, Taylor Davis
  • Odds: Roughnecks -4, O/U 36.5 (DraftKings)

The Brahmas had the first drive, which ended in a touchdown pass from Jack Coan to T.J. Vasher for a San Antonio touchdown. Vasher also caught the 1-point conversion pass to make it 7-0 for the Brahmas.

Since Romo kicked off out of bounds the Roughnecks took over on the San Antonio 45-yard line. Silvers marched the ball well, racking up three first downs until he completed a 7-yard pass to Kirklin for a Roughnecks touchdown. The 2-point conversion pass to Kirklin was good, making the score 8-7 for Houston.

Brahmas went three and out and were forced to punt. Brandon Silvers and the Roughnecks took over on their own 28-yard line. On third down Silvers connected a deep 29-yard pass to Kirklin on the Brahmas 43. As the drive continued, Silvers was sacked at the San Antonio 39-yard line. The Roughnecks were forced to punt.

San Antonio took over on their own 10. Jack Coan handed to Jacques Patrick for a 15-yard gain. Coan could not convert another first down and the Brahmas had to punt.

At the end of the first quarter the Roughnecks led 8-7.

Roughnecks’ Cole McDonald came in at quarterback for one play. Max Borghi gained a first down with a 4-yard rush. The Roughnecks continued to hand to Borghi for gains; however, after a short run he appeared to be injured.

On first and 10 at the Houston 45-yard line, Silvers passed to Kirklin for a 27-yard gain. Dean Blandino reviewed the catch and it was good. Then, Silvers completed a 25-yard pass to Justin Smith on the Brahmas 3-yard line, followed by a touchdown pass to Kirklin to make the score 14-7 Roughnecks. The 2-point conversion pass to Burnett failed as it was picked off.

The Brahmas took over on their own 29-yard line. Penalties hurt San Antonio and Jack Coan faced 3rd and 25. A 12-yard pass to Alize Mack helped, but the Brahmas were forced to punt.

Houston took the ball on their own 28-yard line. Brandon Silvers turned to Max Borghi to run the ball, and then completed a 12-yard pass to Borghi. Borghi ran the ball again to get the first down. Then, Silvers completed a pass to Alleyne for a 25-yard gain, and with a penalty tacked on, the Roughnecks had the ball on the San Antonio 17. Quarterback Cole McDonald attempted to run the ball but was stuffed for a 1-yard loss. Then, Brandon Silvers completed an 18-yard pass to Deontay Burnett for the touchdown. Cole Mcdonald was brought in for the 2-point conversion attempt and he ran the ball in for the extra points. The Roughnecks now led 22-7.

The Brahmas took over on their own 23. A 3rd and two pass to Vasher was incomplete, but head coach Hines Ward challenged the play for defensive pass interference. Dean Blandino reviewed the play and could not confirm there was interference. The Brahmas had to punt on 4th down.

The punt was deep and the Roughnecks took over on their 13-yard line. Max Borghi rushed 11-yards for a first down. Then, just before the two-minute warning, Brandon Silvers connected a deep 42-yard pass to Travell Harris at the San Antonio 34. A penalty pushed the Roughnecks back and Silvers could not convert for a first down. A Duplessis 53-yard field goal attempt was short and right.

With 1:34 remaining in the half, San Antonio took over on their own 43-yard line.  When a penalty made it 2nd for 20, Coan rushed for 6 yards. Coan could not do more and the Brahmas were forced to punt. Houston took over on their own 19-yard line with 57 seconds left in the half.

Silvers took over, but was sacked on first down. Then, Silvers just took a knee to end the half with the Roughnecks ahead 22-1.

Houston took the ball in the 3rd quarter, and the defenses took over forcing both teams to trade punts. In Houston’s next possession, Silvers was intercepted by Kelly giving San Antonio the ball on the Houston 45. Jack Coan engineered a drive, aided by a pass interference call, that ended with San Antonio’s Jacques Patrick rushing for a 2-yard touchdown. A 2-point conversion attempt failed making the score 22-13 for Houston.

At the end of the third quarter the score was San Antonio 22, Houston 13.

Houston was mostly rushing the ball, and taking advantage of the talents of Max Borghi. On third and one on the Brahmas 32-yard line, Cole McDonald was brought in to get the first down but he was stuffed. On 4th and one McDonald was held for zero yards. The officials measured the spot and Houston turned over the ball on downs.

Jack Coan’s first pass was incomplete, but the Roughnecks picked up the ball and returned it for what they thought was a touchdown. The officials deemed the pass to be incomplete and ruled 2nd and 10 for Coan. On the next play, a deep pass to T. J. Vasher was intercepted by Houston and the Roughnecks took over on their own 29-yard line. Vasher was injured on the play.

Silvers handed to Max Borghi twice, but he could not gain any yards. An incomplete pass to Burnett forced the Roughnecks to punt on 4th down.

San Antonio took over on their own 45 yard-line. Despite a penalty, and getting stuffed on third and one, Coan was able to generate a first down on 4th down, moving the ball to the Houston 46. Jacques Patrick ran for 7-yards but a Roughnecks 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty tacked on 15 more.

The Brahmas were 1st and 10 on the Houston 23. A short rush by Ballage and a 6-yard pass to Jonsen was augmented by a pass interference call against Ajene Harris in the end zone. At first and goal from the 1-yard line, Ballage was stopped cold. Ballage tried again on 2nd down and he could not make it. On 3rd down, Coan kept it himself and made 0-yards. On 4th and 1, Ballage was dropped for a loss. Houston’s defence successfully defended a goal line stand.

With 3:51 remaining, Houston took over on their own 5-yard line. With two carries, Max Borghi made enough yards for a first down. Brandon Silvers kept driving the ball, gaining first downs in an attempt to run out the clock. On 4th and 1 on the San Antonio 39-yard line, with 26 seconds remaining, the Roughnecks were forced to punt.

The Brahmas took over on their own 11-yard line with 18 seconds remaining. Coan was sacked to end the game.

The final score was Houston 22, San Antonio 13.

Box scores – Statistics Summary

Scoring

	1	2	3	4	F
SA	7	0	6	0	13
HOU	8	14	0	0	22

------ SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS ------

Passing

PLAYER		C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	LONG	SCK-YDS
Jack Coan	8/20	64	3.2	1	1	12	1 - 0

Rushing

PLAYER		CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Jacques Patrick	8	36	4.5	1	15
Kalen Ballage	10	35	3.5	0	16
Jack Coan	9	27	3.0	0	7
TEAM TOTAL	27	98	3.6	1	16

Receiving

PLAYER		REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Alize Mack	3	27	9.0	0	12	4
Travis Jonsen	2	14	7.0	0	8	4
T.J. Vasher	1	9	9.0	1	9	3
Kalen Ballage	1	8	8.0	0	8	4
Fred Brown	1	6	6.0	0	6	2
Jacques Patrick	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
Darece Roberson	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
TEAM TOTAL	8	64	8.0	1	12	19

Fumbles

FUM	LOST	REC
0	0	0

Defensive

PLAYER		SOLO	AST	TOT	SACKS-YDS	TFL	INT	FF	FR
Tenny Adewusi	8	0	8.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Jordan Williams	7	0	7.0	0.0 - 0.0	1.0	0	0	0
Jack Koerner	4	1	5.0	0.0 - 0.0	1.0	0	0	0
Ranthony Texada	5	0	5.0	0.0 - 0.0	2.0	0	0	0
Riko Jeffers	3	2	5.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Kameron Kelly	4	0	4.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	1	0	0
Delontae Scott	3	0	3.0	1.0 - 4.0	2.0	0	0	0
Kamilo Tongamoa	2	1	3.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Drew Lewis	2	1	3.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Mike Tverdov	2	0	2.0	1.0 - 6.0	1.0	0	0	0
Kobe Smith	2	0	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Luq Barcoo	2	0	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	1.0	0	0	0
Sean Williams	2	0	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	1.0	0	0	0
Ben Davis	1	1	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Terrell Bonds	1	0	1.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Matthew Gotel	1	0	1.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTAL	49	6	55.0	2.0 - 10.0	9.0	1	0	0

Interceptions

PLAYER		INT	YDS	TD
Kameron Kelly	1	0	0

Punt Returns

PLAYER		NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Darece Roberson	1	7	7.0	7	0

Kick Returns

PLAYER		NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Travis Jonsen	4	120	30.0	59	0

Punting

PLAYER		NO	YDS	AVG	TB	IN-20	LONG
Brad Wing	6	293	48.8	0	2	60




------ HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS ------

Passing

PLAYER		C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	LONG	SCK-YDS
Brandon Silvers	24/35	278	7.9	3	1	42	2 - 10
Cole McDonald	1/1	3	3.0	0	0	3	0 - 0
TEAM TOTAL	25/36	281	7.8	3	1	42	2 - 10

Rushing

PLAYER		CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Max Borghi	15	74	4.9	0	13
Brycen Alleyne	7	25	3.6	0	10
Cole McDonald	7	5	0.7	0	5
Raleigh Texada	1	-1	-1.0	0	-1
Brandon Silvers	1	-1	-1.0	0	-1
TEAM TOTAL	31	102	3.3	0	13

Receiving

PLAYER		REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	TGTS
Jontre Kirklin	6	77	12.8	2	29	7
Travell Harris	2	48	24.0	0	42	4
Brycen Alleyne	4	40	10.0	0	25	4
Cedric Byrd	3	39	13.0	0	27	3
Deontay Burnett	2	31	15.5	1	18	6
Justin Smith	1	25	25.0	0	25	2
Max Borghi	4	12	3.0	0	12	4
Nick Holley	1	8	8.0	0	8	3
Ben Putman	2	1	0.5	0	2	3
TEAM TOTAL	25	281	11.2	3	42	36

Fumbles

FUM	LOST	REC
0	0	0

Defensive

PLAYER			SOLO	AST	TOT	SACKS-YDS	TFL	INT	FF	FR
Tavante Beckett		5	1	6.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Emmanuel Ellerbee	3	2	5.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Deandre Johnson		4	0	4.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
John Daka		2	1	3.0	0.5 - 0.0	2.0	0	0	0
Sean Davis		2	0	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Trent Harris		2	0	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Glen Logan		2	0	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Jack Heflin		2	0	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Ajene Harris		1	1	2.0	0.0 - 0.0	1.0	1	0	0
C. J. Brewer		1	0	1.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Raleigh Texada		0	1	1.0	0.0 - 0.0	1.0	0	0	0
William Likely		1	0	1.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Kary Vincent		1	0	1.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
A.J. Hendy		0	1	1.0	0.0 - 0.0	0.0	0	0	0
Chauncey Rivers		0	1	1.0	0.5 - 0.0	1.0	0	0	0
Jordan Mosley		0	1	1.0	0.0 - 0.0	1.0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTAL		26	9	35.0	1.0 - 0.0	6.0	1	0	0

Interceptions

PLAYER		INT	YDS	TD
Ajene Harris	1	0	0

Punt Returns

PLAYER		NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
William Likely	3	7	2.3	4	0



------ TEAM STATS ------

TEAM STATS		SAN	HOU
TOTAL PLAYS		48	68
TOTAL YARDS		162	374
YARDS PER PLAY		3.4	5.5
FIRST DOWNS		10	22
FIRST DOWNS PASSING	1	12
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING	6	9
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY	3	1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY	18.2%	53.3%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY	50.0%	50.0%
TOTAL PASSING YARDS	64	271
PASS COMPLETIONS	8	25
PASS ATTEMPTS		20	36
PASSES INTERCEPTED	1	1
YARDS PER PASS		8.0	10.8
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS	1	3
SACKS ALLOWED		1	2
SACK YARDS LOST		0	10
TOTAL RUSHING YARDS	98	103
RUSH ATTEMPTS		27	30
YARDS PER RUSH		3.6	3.4
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS	1	0
PENALTIES		10	8
TURNOVERS		1	1
FUMBLES			0	0
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS	0	0
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS	0	0
POSSESSION		26:43	33:17