XFL Week 1 Recap: 3rd Time's the Charm

As someone who loved the original XFL in 2001, I was so, so elated when the league was coming back in 2020. The XFL returned less than a week after Super Bowl LIV was played, and from what I saw, it looked good. It looked really good. I do admit that the 2001 version did have its problems, but I did love it and enjoy it. I mean, come on. Who wouldn't love the concept of watching professional football in the late winter and early spring months? And the rules were much different from what we saw in the NFL. But while the league looked very upstart-ish in 2001, in 2020, it looked like whatever mistakes were made 19 years prior were fixed. Nothing could stop the XFL this time.

Well...except a deadly pandemic.

COVID-19 started popping up big time in late February/early March 2020, but it didn't start hitting the sports world until March 11 of that year. Literally every sports league got to work on responding to this incoming crisis. The NBA and NHL paused for several months. The NCAA, whose March Madness conference tournaments were in play, canceled the rest of the tournaments and the big dance. MLB pushed back Opening Day bit-by-bit until starting an abbreviated season in July. As for the XFL, they shut down the rest of the season, but even then, I figured the XFL wasn't done.

Enter Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his ex-wife/business partner, Dany Garcia. Within months, the dynamic duo banded together on this venture, buying the rights to the XFL and making a long-tiered plan to bring back the league. Finally, after nearly three years and a lot of investment, the XFL returned to play on February 18, 2023, six days after Super Bowl LVII. There were a few changes, starting with the teams. While the league consists on eight teams and two divisions, the divisions are now North and South instead of East and West in the previous versions. Also, two of the eight teams from 2020 have now relocated. The Tampa Bay Vipers are now in Vegas, and the New York Guardians are now in Orlando. The Los Angeles Wildcats are no more, and a new team was added: the San Antonio Brahmas. The other teams from 2020 are back in action: the Arlington Renegades, the Houston Roughnecks (who were unbeaten in 2020), the DC Defenders, the Seattle Sea Dragons, and the St. Louis BattleHawks.

The first game of the season featured the Arlington Renegades hosting the Vegas Vipers, with The Rock welcoming fans to the revamped XFL prior to the kickoff. Speaking of the kickoff, that was the first of the rules that we saw. On kickoffs, both teams stand completely still until the ball is either caught, or three seconds after the ball lands on the ground. I do like this rule, because it encourages more returns in a safer fashion. The first touchdown of the season was scored by Jeff Badet, a receiving TD from Luis Perez, but the Vipers' one point conversion was thwarted. The conversion rule remained from the 2020 edition; a one-point conversion would place the ball at the two-yard line, a two-point conversion puts the ball at the five-yard line, and a three-point conversion would put the ball at the 10-yard line (more on that last one later).

The Vipers led 14-3 at halftime, but the Renegades bounced back in the third quarter, starting with a Pick Six, followed by two field goals, outscoring the Vipers 12-0 in the third frame. After another Pick Six touchdown by the Renegades, the Vipers struck back with a touchdown, but their comeback fell short, resulting in a 22-20 win for the Renegades. The Renegades' defense made the game easier for QB Drew Plitt, who only threw for 172 yards and an interception.

Opening week was exciting, but the only game that was over when it started was the second half of the Saturday double-dip between the Houston Roughnecks and the Orlando Guardians. During the Vipers/Renegades game, they showed the championship odds, with the Roughnecks shown as the favorites to win the whole thing this year. They definitely played the part; blasting the Guardians, 33-12, to remain undefeated all-time. Houston won their first five games in 2020 before the league shutdown, and this win continues their unbeaten start to their brief franchise history. The team is coached by Wade Phillips, whose family is a household name in Houston--dating back to the days of the NFL's Oilers. Speaking of the oilers, the Roughnecks' logo is an homage to that team, and even though it's only Week 1, it does appear that the Roughnecks may bring the pro football prestige that had been denied so long in Texas' largest city.

The best game of Week 1 had to be this outing between the San Antonio Brahmas and the St. Louis BattleHawks. When the BattleHawks debuted in 2020, it marked pro football's return to St. Louis after the Rams' return to Los Angeles in 2016. For the Brahmas, this was their first game ever, and they were coached by legendary Pittsburgh Steeler and Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward. The team was off to a great start, holding the BattleHawks to a mere field goal and leading 15-3 late in the fourth quarter. However, this is the XFL. A 12-point deficit is not the end of the world. St. Louis would need a touchdown, a three-point conversion, and a field goal just to break even.

Amazingly, St. Louis got the hard part over with: a touchdown and a three-point conversion put them within a field goal of tying this game up. This would lead to another stand-out rule in the XFL: another option in place of the onside kick, but only for the fourth quarter. The BattleHawks had to convert a 4th and 15 on their own 25 to retain possession, and they did just that. They didn't need to go all the way. They could have settle for a field goal and went to OT. However, the Hawks decided to go for the throat, and A.J. McCarron's pass to Austin Proehl connected for what would be the game-winning touchdown. If that surname, Proehl, is familiar to you, it should be. His father is Ricky Proehl, a two time Super Bowl Champion wide receiver, who also serves as the BattleHawks' WR coach. One of the elder Proehl's two championships was as a member of the St. Louis Rams in 1999, and what we saw afterwards is a big time celebration between father and son, as the BattleHawks went on to win, 18-15.

The week ended with a pair of 2020 teams facing off: the renamed Seattle Sea Dragons and the DC Defenders. This was another close battle that I managed to watch along with the NBA's All-Star Game, but in the end, DC emerged victorious by a score of 22-18. One of the things I love about these other football leagues is that they serve as an additional chance for ex-NFL players--either to try to get back in the NFL, or just to play the game they love. One such player featured in this game was none other than Ben DiNucci, who started a small number of games for the Dallas Cowboys. I was actually elated to see DiNucci, but his game play left something to be desired. His numbers in his XFL debut: 35/54, 282 yards, one touchdown and two picks. Not exactly a good performance, and it does show why he's not in the NFL anymore, but DiNucci is trying his best. He'll get it together.

So one week is down, and there are nine more to go. The XFL regular season lasts for 10 weeks, and it's followed by the XFL Playoffs, with the top two teams in each division qualifying. The Semifinal games will pit the division foes against each other, with the winners facing off in the XFL Championship Game. The Semifinals (the Division Championships) will take place on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30, followed by the XFL Championship on Saturday, May 13 in San Antonio. Regarding broadcasting rights, ABC, the ESPN networks, and FX will air the games as part of a deal that will last through the 2027 season.

Week 2 begins with Thursday night action between the St. Louis BattleHawks and the Seattle Sea Dragons. On Saturday, the Vegas Vipers will host the DC Defenders, and on Sunday, we'll see the San Antonio Brahmas and the Orlando Guardians compete for their first win of the season, while the Arlington Renegades and the Houston Roughnecks will face each other in a battle of 1-0 teams.

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