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1. Houston Roughnecks
The Roughnecks picked up right where they left off in the 2020 season, getting the most dominant win of the week. After Orlando was moving the ball early, the Roughnecks were able to shut everything down. It was such an outmatch that HC Wade Phillips was caught throwing shade on a hot mic.
The win felt a lot like the 2015-16 Broncos (Wade Phillips was the DC). The offense made enough plays while the defense created turnovers and a ton of pressure. Brandon Silvers is going to have to clean up his mistakes though. It’s hard to imagine the defense will be as dominant against more competent offenses, so they'll need more help from their own offense.
The Roughnecks are an odd team. I could see them becoming a middle of the pack team after playing better opponents. Or they could stay the XFL standard because of Coach Phillips’ brilliance. Their game against Arlington will be a great defensive battle and a measuring stick for Silvers.
2. St. Louis Battlehawks
Through three quarters, I didn’t think there was any chance that I would have the Battlehawks in my top 4 teams. The defense struggled against the run and the offense couldn’t do anything. I don’t expect the offense to have the same heroics as they did late in the game. But their offense should look closer to what it did late in the game going forward.
AJ McCarron is going to be an elite XFL quarterback. He’s a leader, has played in the big moments, and is very talented. He looked like a dud early in the game, but most of that was because he had no time to throw. The offensive line was breaking down and receivers weren’t getting open. For the last 3 drives of the game, there were a couple of new linemen in the game of St. Louis. These were their best 3 drives of the game. If their line can hold up like they did in those drives, it’s going to be difficult for any team to stop McCarron. I expect a great 4 quarter game from St. Louis next week, when they take on Seattle.
3. San Antonio Brahmas
My goal for this article was to have one of the losing teams in my top 4. It's very unlikely the 4 teams that won will remain the best teams throughout the season. Yet, I didn’t realize how easy it would be for me to pick a losing team. It’s possible that I would have the Brahmas as a top 2 team if they didn’t choke the game away in the last 3 minutes. The Brahmas defense looked great all game, especially at generating pressure. Jack Coan was the perfect game manager that this team needed. And in a week where most teams struggled to run the ball, San Antonio was excellent. After 1 week, San Antonio is the most balanced team in the league.
It shouldn’t take long for San Antonio to recover from that choke job. Hines Ward showed to be a very even-keeled coach, and the team takes on the Guardians next week. So long as the Brahmas keep Latimer contained, it should be an easy victory for the Brahmas next week.
4. Arlington Renegades
The Renegades are an interesting team. There’s nobody on the offense that scares me. However, their defensive line is exceptional. Right now, I'd rank the Arlington defensive line as the second-best position unit in the league. I'd only rank the Brahmas running backs as a better unit. Their line gave up only 25 rushing yards on 15 attempts, while also getting 3 sacks and an interception.
I need to see their offense produce more before I can have full confidence in them. If they can even be a middle tier offense, they have a true title chance.
5. DC Defenders
The Defenders didn’t show me enough in week one for me to believe in them as a title contender. In fact, Seattle was the better team, but home field advantage came into play for them. But alas, they won, so it would be unfair to put them in the bottom three of the league.
Their defense for most of the game was less than impressive. It took the spark of lemons being thrown onto the field for them to get going. Meanwhile, their offense was bad most of the game. At one point, they had five ‘3 and outs’ on six drives…yikes. They were able to be opportunistic and make a few big plays when they needed them. Despite, the defensive struggles early on, that unit is going to be the strength of the team. Joseph is looking like a star corner in the league. If he can continue to lead the defense, and they can build off the second half momentum, they’ll be tough to play against. There's also something to be said for teams that find ways to win, even if it's ugly.
6. Seattle Sea Dragons
The success of this team is going to depend on the success of Ben DiNucci. At times, he looked brilliant. At other times, he looked terrible. If he can be more consistent, there’s no telling what this offense can do. When DiNucci was on, the offense was efficient and looked as good as any offense in the league. Gordon proved to be his favorite target, catching 6 passes for 74 yards. Even though I have Seattle ranked 6th, they are still championship contenders because of that duo.
Offense is only one side of the ball, though. The defense was actually the better unit for Seattle. They did a good job getting pressure on Ta’amu all night. It was difficult to tell how good the unit actually was, because DC shot themselves in the foot plenty of times. Next week will be a challenge for them, as they face St. Louis and AJ McCarron. That will be a great game to see how legit of a defensive unit they are.
7. Vegas Vipers
This could a whole different story, had the Vipers stayed rolling like they were in the first half. Quarterback Luis Perez was calm in the pocket and made a lot of good decisions. Their defense was fast to the ball too. The team felt fun. But then, it fell apart.
This Vegas team has the talent to win some games. But it was their lack of leadership that let them down. As momentum started to swing in favor of Arlington, nobody stepped up for Vegas. After squandering the lead, the entire team looked like they had given up before the game ever ended. It’s only been one game, but they need to find a leader if they want to be a top team in the league.
8. Orlando Guardians
There’s not much good to say about Orlando after week 1. They had things going early, but self-inflicted wounds took them out of it. Early on, Cody Latimer was balling out. Making contested catches and moving the chains. As the game progressed, though, he went quiet and so did the offense.
Look for the Guardians to give Deondre Francois a chance at QB. He didn’t play at all week 1, but the coaches will be willing to give everything a try after taking that beatdown. Francois is a talented QB, who was plagued by injuries in his time at Florida State. It’s been a while since Francois has been on the big stage, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does. For Orlando and the XFL’s sake, I hope he’s their answer.