Less than a week after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57, the XFL kicked off its third iteration on Saturday at Choctaw Stadium (former home of MLB’s Texas Rangers) in Arlington, Texas.
The first of 10 four-game regular season league tables began with a 22-20 win for the Arlington Renegades over the Vegas Vipers on Saturday and ended with the DC Defenders 18-18 win over the Seattle Sea Dragons on Sunday night.
The league, co-owned by entertainer/actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has a number of rule differences from those in the NFL, and those changes made the XFL’s opening weekend even more interesting.
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XFL owner Dwayne Johnson speaks on the field before the game between the Vegas Vipers and the Arlington Renegades.
Here are the winners and losers for week one of the 2023 XFL season.
WINNER
football fans
Not only can football fans enjoy spring football, but the XFL also offers a whole new viewing experience.
Having the live feeds of both teams’ offensive and defensive coordinators announcing plays – and then letting the announcers break down the terminology – adds a unique dimension for those overseeing dueling strategies during a game.
It was also interesting to act like a fly on the wall at the XFL Command Center, where Dean Blandino, the league vice president, forwarded a review decision to the on-field referee.
Football fans who want to delve deeper into all the decisions made by different parties during a game have to be satisfied with the XFL television product.
Defense of Bob Stoops
The Arlington Renegades didn’t score a single offensive touchdown, but drove two pick sixes to a 22-20 win over the Vegas Vipers in the first XFL game of the 2023 season.
The steadfast defensive effort also included a critical sack from Viper’s QB Luis Perez as Vegas made a game-winning two-point conversion attempt in the dying seconds.
Renegades head coach Bob Stoops, who coached at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 to 2016, said after the game he was pleased with his team’s performance, which recovered from a 14-3 halftime deficit.
Luis Perez
When Perez threw a touchdown pass to the Vegas Vipers’ opening drive in Saturday’s opening game of XFL version 3.0, he earned a special place in the history of start-up pro football leagues. That’s because he also threw the first touchdown pass for the USFL version 2.0 last year as a member of the New Jersey Generals. Perez – who led Texas A&M-Commerce to the 2017 NCAA Division II national championship – also played for the Birmingham Iron of the AAF in 2019.
Wat Phillips
Wade Phillips, the 75-year-old defenseman who won 82-64 as an NFL head coach, returned to the winning column as his Houston Roughnecks defeated the Orlando Guardians 33-12. Houston forced four turnovers in the win.
Houston Roughnecks head coach Wade Phillips hugs Orlando Guardians head coach Terrell Buckley after their game.
Trent Harris and Tim Ward
Harris accounted for four of the Houston Roughnecks’ seven sacks and Ward had two in the win over the Orlando Guardians. Orlando lost 28 yards to Harris’ sacks and 10 to Ward’s.
Reset the onside kick forever
The NFL should look no further than Sunday to find out why it needs to take over the XFL’s fourth and 15th spot to replace the onside kick. The St. Louis BattleHawks offense was anemic for the first three quarters of their comeback win over the San Antonio Brahmas, but after quarterback AJ McCarron found Hakeem Butler in the end zone and then converted a three-point try to change the San’s lead Antonio down to three, the BattleHawks became the first team in the 2023 season to switch the onside kick substitute.
McCarron extended the game when he was under pressure and found receiver Austin Proehl to convert the first down and keep the St. Louis offense on the field. The play – and subsequent touchdown drive – allowed the BattleHawks to score 15 points within the two-minute warning to win the game. The NFL loves parity and when games are at stake. Adopting this rule would only make such exciting comebacks more likely.
The Rock and Dany Garcia
Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia had a weekend of football. The XFL co-owners managed to attend all four of the opening games over the weekend. That’s quite an achievement. “The Rock” even gave an impassioned speech before the first game between the Vegas Vipers and the Arlington Renegades.
Thankfully, The Rock didn’t revisit his “Can You Smell What The XFL’s Cooking” speech from the XFL’s first incarnation in 2001.
LOSER
DC Defenders fans throw lemons on the field
Apparently upset that their precious beer line was being confiscated, the DC Defenders fans who were in the area behind one of the end zones (the standing-only fan area designed for MLS team DC United) threw lemons onto the field . The game was temporarily suspended because of the lemon toss. The beer line was described by ESPN announcers as a “tradition” for DC Defenders fans (please note this was only the fourth home game at Audi Field when combined with the 2020 version of the XFL DC Defenders).
A “release the snake” chant erupted.
Moments later, Seattle Sea Dragons quarterback Ben DiNucci (remember him?) threw a pick-six to Michael Joseph as DC cut Seattle’s lead to 18-14 en route to victory. Despite this positive moment on the pitch for defenders and their supporters, throwing objects onto the pitch should not be tolerated.
San Antonio Brahmas D fits when it matters most
With the exception of two minutes of Sunday’s game, the Brahmas dominated. Their defensive line harassed St. Louis BattleHawks quarterback AJ McCarron and prevented St. Louis from maintaining drives. But then, with play on the line, San Antonio’s defense suddenly played far too conservatively. In the fourth quarter, the Brahmas allowed McCarron to rush for 11 of 14 attempts for 133 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score. Most of this production came in the last two minutes of the game.
the last minute
During Saturday’s opening game between the Vegas Vipers and the Arlington Renegades, some fans watching on TV were caught off guard when the game clock dropped under a minute to play. Instead of the clock counting down to two digits (e.g. :59) instead of four, the clock stayed on four digits (e.g. 59:59) as it counted down the last 60 seconds.
This tricked some viewers into temporarily believing there were 59 minutes left in the quarterfinals, when in fact there were only 59 seconds left.
A Twitter user suggested the broadcast should turn the numbers red after dipping under a minute to help viewers make the necessary distinction, but the broadcast was canceled for the final three quarters of Saturday’s game and for the remainder of the weekend binary.
The USFL
If you watched the Super Bowl last week, you might have noticed a commercial for the USFL that claimed there would be no more football for another eight weeks. Of course that’s not true. When the USFL finally gets underway on April 15, the XFL’s 10-week regular season will be almost complete. How will American sports fans’ appetite for second division professional football be by then? Let’s also note that the XFL plays home games in the cities the teams represent. The USFL, which played all of its games in Birmingham, Alabama last season, will play its eight teams in four “host cities” this year; only three teams play in the cities they theoretically represent. For example, if you’re a fan of the New Jersey Generals, your team’s “home games” are played in Canton, Ohio.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: XFL Week 1 Winners, Losers: The Rock, New Rules Add Intrigue
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