DC Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu Interview, ESPN, Sunday February 19, 2023.
Sunday, February 19, 8:00 p.m. ET
Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 12,438
Broadcaster: ESPN, ESPN+
Announcers: John Schriffen, Tom Luginbill, Stormy Buonantony, Harry Douglas
D.C. Defenders fans may have had their beloved beer snake confiscated by Audi Field security, but at least their team won and now remains one of the four undefeated teams in the XFL through week one.
First Half
Though the end result was a victory, the home Defenders struggled early on. The opposing Seattle Sea Dragons got off to a strong start, as they led 9-0 going into the second quarter behind a Josh Gordon touchdown to cap off the game’s first drive and a 36-yard field goal from Dragons kicker Dominik Eberle as a result of Seattle’s second drive.
Five of the Defenders’ first six offensive drives ended in a punt, with the exception of their second drive that ended with a one-yard rushing touchdown from QB Jordan Ta’amu during the second quarter. Other than the aforementioned Ta’amu touchdown, not much went down offensively for either team in the second quarter. However, a missed 40-yard field goal for the Dragons during the dwindling seconds of the first half proved costly in hindsight.
Half
Entering halftime, the teams were basically deadlocked with Seattle only leading 9-8.
Third Quarter
The Defenders went three-and-out on the second half’s opening drive. Ben DiNucci and the Dragons proceeded to march down the field and extend their lead via a 13-yard outside run from RB Brenden Knox. The score allowed Seattle to make it a two-possession game thanks to the XFL’s three-point conversion option.
Turning Point
A string of events during the third quarter changed the course of the game and gave D.C. the momentum. First, a phenomenal punt from Defenders punter Daniel Whelan put Seattle right at their own 20. A five-yard penalty followed by a Jarrell Owens sack on DiNucci made it third-and-16 for the Dragons. Then came a temporary delay due to Defenders fans throwing lemons among other objects onto the field in protest of losing their bear snake. The first play after said delay on third-and-long saw DiNucci throw a pick-six, as Defenders DB Michael Joseph returned the pass intended for Dragons WR Kelvin McKnight 15 yards to the End Zone.
From there, the stifling Defenders defense forced a three-and-out and another Michael Joseph interception. The pick, which set D.C. up at Seattle’s 14, prompted a five-yard rushing touchdown from D’Eriq King just two plays later.
King, listed as the backup quarterback on the Defenders depth chart, was used on occasion as part of certain packages for D.C.
Fourth Quarter
Another three-and-out gave the Defenders offense an opportunity to extend their recently acquired 22-18 lead, but a Ta’amu-thrown interception deep in Dragons territory didn’t allow it to happen.
Through the fourth quarter, both defenses continued to hold strong. And a scary bend but don’t break defensive possession for D.C. late in the fourth quarter instilled that.
The Sea Dragons came out of the two-minute warning down 22-18, with no timeouts, needing to go 56 yards to score a touchdown. 22 and 18-yard receptions from Josh Gordon set the Dragons up at the Defenders’ 15 before two more solid gains from DiNucci and Jahcour Pearson, respectively.
At this point it looked like the Dragons had it as they only needed one more yard to take the lead. However, this was not the case. DiNucci threw it away on first down as he was corralled by Defenders players. On second-and-one, DiNucci fumbled the draw allowing Defenders LB Jordan Brooks to come down with the recovery and giving possession to the Defenders.
With 19 seconds left, the Defenders went into victory formation and kneeled it out, signifying their move to 1-0 on the season.
Final score, DC Defenders 22, Seattle Sea Dragons 18
Box scores – Statistics Summary
Scoring
1 2 3 4 F
SEA 9 0 9 0 18
DC 0 8 8 6 22
------ SEATTLE SEA DRAGONS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Ben DiNucci 35/54 282 5.2 1 2 31 2 - 8
Steven Montez 1/2 6 3.0 0 0 6 0 - 0
TEAM TOTAL 36/56 288 5.1 1 2 31 2 - 8
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Brenden Knox 11 31 2.8 1 13
Morgan Ellison 3 17 5.7 0 12
Ben DiNucci 3 3 1.0 0 8
TEAM TOTAL 17 51 3.0 1 13
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Charlie Taumoepeau 1 16 16.0 0 16 1
Damion Willis 1 3 3.0 0 3 3
Josh Gordon 6 74 12.3 1 22 9
Juwan Green 1 4 4.0 0 4 2
Jordan Veasy 2 22 11.0 0 13 4
Kelvin McKnight 4 19 4.8 0 6 6
Morgan Ellison 1 4 4.0 0 4 2
Blake Jackson 8 51 6.4 0 12 11
Jahcour Pearson 12 95 7.9 0 31 14
T.J. Hammonds 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 36 288 8.0 1 31 53
Fumbles
PLAYER FUM LOST REC
Ben DiNucci 2 1 1
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
P.J. Hall 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Treyvon Hester 1 1 1.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Emmanuel Smith 7 1 7.5 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Alijah Holder 1 4 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Austin Faoliu 2 1 2.5 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Qwynnterrio Cole 1 1 1.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Morgan Ellison 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Chris Jones 1 1 1.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Niko Lalos 0 3 1.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.5 0 0 0
Jordan Evans 4 0 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Antwuan Jackson 0 4 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.5 0 0 0
Tuzar Skipper 1 1 1.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Linden Stephens 1 1 1.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Tre Walker 2 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Zafir Kelly 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 25 20 35.0 0.0 - 0.0 4.0 0 0 0
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Bryce Thompson 1 0 0
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Kelvin McKnight 4 19 4.8 9 0
Jahcour Pearson 1 6 6.0 6 0
TEAM TOTAL 5 25 5.0 9 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Kelvin McKnight 4 105 26.3 30 0
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Cameron Nizialek 3 152 50.7 0 1 59
------ DC DEFENDERS ------
Passing
PLAYER C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT LONG SCK-YDS
Jordan Ta'amu 8/19 86 4.5 0 1 18 0 - 0
Deriq King 1/2 7 3.5 0 0 7 0 - 0
TEAM TOTAL 9/21 93 4.4 0 1 18 0 - 0
Rushing
PLAYER CAR YDS AVG TD LONG
Ryquell Armstead 8 30 3.8 0 11
Jordan Ta'amu 5 9 1.8 1 4
Abram Smith 11 28 2.5 0 7
Deriq King 8 14 1.8 1 5
Jequez Ezzard 1 3 3.0 0 3
TEAM TOTAL 33 84 2.5 2 11
Receiving
PLAYER REC YDS AVG TD LONG TGTS
Josh Malone 1 18 18.0 0 18 4
Ethan Wolf 1 12 12.0 0 12 4
Ryquell Armstead 1 14 14.0 0 14 2
Josh Hammond 1 14 14.0 0 14 2
Chris Blair 1 10 10.0 0 10 1
Lucky Jackson 4 25 6.3 0 8 5
Jequez Ezzard 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
TEAM TOTAL 9 93 10.3 0 18 19
Fumbles
FUM LOST REC
0 0 0
Defensive
PLAYER SOLO AST TOT SACKS-YDS TFL INT FF FR
Francis Bernard 4 1 4.5 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Anthoula Kelly 5 2 6.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Reggie Northrup 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Dejuan Neal 8 0 8.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jacub Panasiuk 2 2 3.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Andre Mintze 2 0 2.0 0.0 - 0.0 1.0 0 0 0
Anthony Hines 1 1 1.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Santos Ramirez 4 0 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
K.J. Sails 1 0 1.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Kentrell Brice 3 2 4.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jarrell Owens 1 0 1.0 1.0 - 4.0 1.0 0 0 0
Michael Joseph 4 2 5.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 2 0 0
Artavis Pierce 0 1 0.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
Jamal Brooks 5 0 5.0 1.0 - 4.0 1.0 0 1 1
Davin Bellamy 0 1 0.5 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTAL 42 12 48.0 2.0 - 8.0 5.0 2 1 1
Interceptions
PLAYER INT YDS TD
Michael Joseph 2 37 1
Punt Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Jequez Ezzard 2 19 9.5 10 0
Kick Returns
PLAYER NO YDS AVG LONG TD
Jequez Ezzard 3 68 22.7 24 0
K.J. Sails 1 13 13.0 13 0
TEAM TOTAL 4 81 20.3 24 0
Punting
PLAYER NO YDS AVG TB IN-20 LONG
Daniel Whelan 6 267 44.5 0 2 53
------ Team Stats ------
STAT SEA DC
TOTAL PLAYS 75 54
TOTAL YARDS 331 177
YARDS PER PLAY 4.4 3.3
FIRST DOWNS 20 12
FIRST DOWNS PASSING 17 5
FIRST DOWNS RUSHING 3 6
FIRST DOWNS PENALTY 0 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 37.5% 38.5%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 66.7% 0.0%
PASS COMPLETIONS 36 9
PASS ATTEMPTS 56 21
PASSES INTERCEPTED 2 1
YARDS PER PASS 7.8 10.3
PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1 0
SACK YARDS LOST 8 0
RUSH ATTEMPTS 17 33
YARDS PER RUSH 3.0 2.5
RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1 2
PENALTIES 4 7
TURNOVERS 3 1
FUMBLES 2 0
INTERCEPTIONS 2 1
DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWNS 0 1
SPECIAL TEAMS TDS 0 0
POSSESSION 35:30 24:30
