XFL draws 1.43 million viewers for championship game

XFL 3.0 didn’t perform as well on TV as XFL 2.0. But XFL 3.0 actually finished its season, which makes it a positive.

Via Bill Shea of TheAthletic.com, the XFL attracted an average viewership of 1.43 million for the championship game between Arlington and D.C. on Saturday night. The game was televised by ABC.

It was the highest number since Week One, when a pair of games on ABC generated 1.5 million and 1.6 million viewers.

“It performed within our expectations,” ESPN’s vice president of programming and acquisitions Tim Reed told Shea. “We ended on a high note.”

in the 10-week regular season, the XFL averaged 622,000 viewers per game on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, FX, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. Eight games televised by ABC attracted average audiences of 1.13 million viewers.

The championship game, won by Arlington, brought 22,754 fans to the Alamodome in San Antonio.

There’s definitely room for spring football. It holds its own. And perhaps a merger of the XFL and USFL could make it even bigger.

Still, how profitable will it ever be? That’s the question. And if it ever becomes incredibly profitable, that’s when the NFL shows up and buys the whole thing.

The XFL originally debuted on 2001. The first game, on a Saturday night in February, racked up an estimated 54 million viewers.

Renegades stun Defenders to capture 2023 XFL championship

The Arlington Renegades took down the D.C. Defenders 35-26 in stunning fashion to win the 2023 XFL championship Saturday.

The Renegades, led by former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, were powered to victory by the arm of Luis Perez. Perez was named MVP of the championship game after slicing up the Defenders’ secondary to the tune of 288 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Perez’s first touchdown came on Arlington’s opening drive as he found Sal Cannella on a 41-yard pass to give the Renegades a 6-0 lead. It was a lead they’d never surrender.

Perez quickly got back to work on his next drive, throwing another touchdown to put his club up 14-0.

The Defenders finally found the end zone for the first time with just over 30 seconds left in the second quarter, as Abram Smith pounded it in from two yards out to cut the deficit to 17-6. Arlington added a field goal before the half to make it 20-6.

D.C. tried to rally with 20 second-half points but was unable to claw all the way back. The Defenders narrowed the deficit to nine with just over a minute remaining before Jordan Ta’amu’s fourth-down pass was picked off by defensive back Cre’Von LeBlanc to seal the Renegades’ victory. The fourth-down attempt came in lieu of a kickoff.

Ta’amu, who was named the 2023 XFL Offensive Player of the Year, was held in check by the Renegades’ defense. He completed just 16 of his 30 pass attempts for 245 yards with two touchdowns to three interceptions.

The 5-6 Renegades entered the championship game as underdogs against the Defenders, who held a 10-1 mark prior to Saturday’s bout.

However, Perez’s insertion into the starting lineup in Week 8 after being acquired in a midseason trade changed the Renegades’ fortunes. Arlington scored over 26 points in three of their final four games, including the postseason.

For Stoops, the XFL crown joins his collection of hardware, which also includes 10 Big 12 titles and a college football national championship.

Defenders vs. Renegades Set for XFL Championship as Fans Shame Josh Gordon in Loss

The XFL Championship is set, with one team that was expected to make the finals and another that’s making a surprise appearance.

The D.C. Defenders, fresh off a 9-1 regular season that solidified them as the team to beat, cruised to a 37-21 victory over the Seattle Sea Dragons in the North Division Championship Game on Sunday to earn a shot at the title against an Arlington Renegades team that finished 4-6 in the regular season.

A dominant second half offset a 9-9 halftime score, as Jordan Ta’amu led the charge with 258 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Briley Moore-McKinney led all Defenders receivers with 80 yards on four catches, while Lucky Jackson and Ethan Wolf each brought in a touchdown. Abram Smith and Cam’Ron Harris scored a combined three rushing touchdowns, with the former leading the ground game with 48 yards on 23 carries.

The Seattle Sea Dragons performance was a disappointment following a two-game winning streak to make the postseason. Ben DiNucci recorded 295 yards and three touchdowns, but the running game picked up just 13 yards. Juwan Green and Jahcour Pearson hauled in three total touchdowns and had 89 and 56 yards, respectively.

Josh Gordon made four catches for 23 yards, which was second lowest among Seattle receivers who recorded a reception. 

Meanwhile, the Arlington Renegades showed just how tough it is to beat a team three times in a season on Saturday. Following losses in Weeks 2 and 10 to the Houston Roughnecks, the Renegades rode a strong first half offensively and held the Roughnecks at bay in the second half to win 26-11 and advance to the league championship.

Luis Perez was surgical breaking down the Roughnecks defense, throwing for 289 yards and three touchdowns and completing 19-of-27 passes. De’Veon Smith led the team in rushing with 94 yards on 24 carries, while JaVonta Payton caught two touchdowns and had 121 yards, while Brandon Arconado caught the other one.

The championship game appears to be a mismatch, with the league-leading Defenders facing a Renegades team that finished under .500. Still, Arlington’s performance in the South Division Championship shows that anything can happen in the postseason.

The two teams met in Week 9, with the Defenders securing a narrow 28-26 overtime victory. The XFL Championship is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on May 13 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Renegades Beat Roughnecks to Reach 2023 XFL Championship

In one of the most stunning upsets of the season, the Arlington Renegades are moving on to the XFL Championship Game.

The Renegades took down the Houston Roughnecks, the top-seeded team in the South Division, 26-11 on Saturday.

Not only did the Renegades enter the postseason as the only team with a losing record at 4-6, but Roughnecks also dominated them in their two meetings during the regular season.

The two teams met last week for the final game of the regular season, and Houston blew out its in-state rivals, 25-9.

But it’s extremely hard to beat a team three times in a year, which the Renegades only confirmed Saturday.

Led by legendary college coach Bob Stoops, Arlington had players all over the roster make a huge impact in the win, but none more than the duo of quarterback Luis Perez and receiver JaVonta Payton.

Perez threw for a game-high 289 yards to go along with three touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 19 of his 27 passes. Payton was benefactor of a handful of those passes, finishing with 121 yards and two scores.

Stoops’ defense came up big as well, holding an explosive Houston offense to only 11 points. It was previously held to under 20 points only three times during the regular season.

The Renegades winning the championship in the revamped league’s first season would be an incredible storyline considering how far they’ve come.

They’re set to face the winner of Sunday’s game between the DC Defenders and Seattle Sea Dragons, both of whom have been the best teams in the XFL for much of the year.

Sea Dragons Punch Ticket to North Division Championship with 28-9 Win Over Vipers

In front of 15,046 football fans at Lumen Field, the Seattle Sea Dragons secured their spot in the North Division Championship game with a dominating 28-9 victory over the Vegas Vipers. The Sea Dragons will face off against the DC Defenders at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Sea Dragons started slow, leading 6-0 at the half, but exploded in the third quarter with 14 points, eventually cruising to victory. Seattle’s offense was led by quarterback Ben DiNucci, who completed 26 of his 41 pass attempts for 339 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. DiNucci also showed off his mobility, rushing for 41 yards and a touchdown on 4 attempts.

Seattle’s receiving corps had a strong showing, with Josh Gordon leading the way with 9 catches for 115 yards. Juwan Green and Jordan Veasy each caught a touchdown pass, with Green totaling 88 receiving yards and Veasy adding 25. Jahcour Pearson also contributed with 3 catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.

On the ground, the Sea Dragons were paced by Phillip Lindsay, who rushed for 30 yards on 6 carries. T.J. Hammonds contributed 12 yards on 8 carries and caught a pass for 9 yards.

The Vipers’ offense struggled to find its rhythm throughout the game, with quarterback Jalan McClendon completing just 6 of his 21 pass attempts for 201 yards and an interception. The running game fared no better, with Shai Mckenzie leading the way with 11 yards on 6 carries and a touchdown.

In the receiving game, Mathew Sexton emerged as the standout performer for the Vipers, catching 2 passes for 119 yards, while Travis Koontz and Cam Sutton chipped in with 45 and 27 receiving yards, respectively.

Defensively, both teams made plays in the secondary. Marwin Evans and Jamar Summers each recorded an interception for the Vipers, while Qwynnterrio Cole snagged an interception for the Sea Dragons.

With the win, the Sea Dragons are one step closer to achieving XFL glory, as they prepare to battle the DC Defenders in the North Division Championship. The Vipers, on the other hand, will head into the offseason with a disappointing 2-8 record, looking to regroup and improve for next season.

Seattle Sea Dragons’ XFL playoff hopes on life support after wild 34-33 loss to DC Defenders

The Seattle Sea Dragons (5-3) are on the cusp of being eliminated from XFL postseason play after their five-game win streak was snapped by the DC Defenders (7-1) in a 34-33 thriller at a rainy Lumen Field on Sunday afternoon. Once again, an inability to score in short yardage cost the Sea Dragons in the closing seconds, and it may cost them their season.

Seattle’s offense was largely ineffective in the 1st half, with former Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay getting the Sea Dragons’ only points on a short-yardage touchdown. Keep in mind that defensive pass interference on a 3-point conversion gave Seattle a 3-point try at the 1-yard line, and they got stuffed. Oh the pain.

The offense couldn’t convert 3rd downs, while the defense kept giving up 3rd downs via penalty or through yardage gained. Jordan Ta’amu gutted through a left shoulder injury and led the Defenders to a 16-6 halftime lead. A touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter to Ryquell Armstead put the Defenders up 22-6, but a strip-sack and fumble return on the 2-point conversion was run back for two the other way by the Sea Dragons, courtesy of Tyrell Adams.

At 22-8, that sparked the Sea Dragons offense into life. Jawan Green caught a 46-yard seam pass touchdown, while Blake Jackson’s point-after conversion made it 22-15. A botched handoff was recovered by Seattle’s defense and set them up to tie or take the lead, but Ben DiNucci has his customary interception on a tip drill at the DC 3-yard line. Gregg Williams had a Cover-0 blitz and DiNucci is not Russell Wilson.

After a defensive stand, the Sea Dragons got the ball back but stalled out in the red zone and only kicked a field goal to make it 22-18. DC embarked on a 13-play, 73-yard drive that took over seven minutes off the 4th quarter clock, culminating in a Ta’amu touchdown to Brandon Smith. At 28-18 with 5:13 left, this could’ve been the dagger. Back came DiNucci with a long touchdown to Green for his second score, and this crazy three-point conversoin (after an unsportsmanlike penalty) from the 25-yard line made it 28-27.

The Defenders promptly fumbled the ball on a 1st down carry and recovered it, lost yards on 2nd down, and then turned loose for a 70-yard touchdown by Chris Blair on a way too easy catch-and-run. Critically, DC did not convert the 2-point try which gave Seattle a chance to tie or win at 34-27.

DiNucci went 9/9 for 70 yards in the two-minute drill, finding Jahcour Pearson for the touchdown with :31 left. The two-point attempt for the win… ended in a sack. In the 4th and 15 onside kick alternative, DiNucci was pressured and heaved a prayer to Josh Gordon that was incomplete and likely short of the sticks.

Former Seattle Seahawks cornerback had a particularly difficult afternoon with defensive pass interference penalties and just getting beaten in coverage, and the Sea Dragons defense allowed 67 percent of DC’s 3rd down plays to turn into a new set of downs.

That was a really fun game and I say this half-jokingly, but that felt exactly how some recent Seahawks teams would similarly lose a game—the 4th quarter rally, the inability to get critical defensive stops, and allowing untimely pressures and sacks with the game on the line.

DC wins the XFL North, and they are surely the favorites to win the championship.

The Sea Dragons take on the St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2) in St. Louis next Sunday at 3 PM ET/12 PM PT on ESPN+ and ESPN. A Seattle loss eliminates them from the playoffs, whereas a win keeps them alive entering the final week.

Roughnecks hold off Brahmas in overtime

The Houston Roughnecks blew a nine-point lead in the final 1:07 of the fourth quarter, then scored in overtime to beat the host San Antonio Brahmas 17-15 on Sunday to clinch a berth in the XFL playoffs.

The Roughnecks (5-3) scored the only conversion in overtime — in which teams alternate attempts to reach the end zone from their opponent’s 5-yard line — when Cole McDonald connected with Deontay Burnett on a quick slant for two points.

Houston led 15-6 in the third quarter on quarterback Brandon Silvers’ second touchdown pass, a 5-yarder to Garrett Owens.

San Antonio (2-6) rallied with nine fourth-quarter points on Jacques Patrick’s 2-yard touchdown run with 1:07 left, and John Parker Romo’s 49-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining in regulation. Romo also made kicks of 26 and 42 yards. Patrick finished with 96 yards on 16 carries.

Silvers completed 17 of 36 passes for 146 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. San Antonio’s Jack Coan was 23 of 41 for 190 yards, no TDs and two interceptions.