XFL 2020: Stats to know from Week 1, from leading passers and rushers to team rankings and more

All the stats leaders you need to know from the XFL's debut weekend

By Jordan Dajani

Feb 10, 2020 at 2:30 pm ET • 3 min read

Week 1 of the XFL is officially in the books, and it was a rather successful debut. There were big hits, big plays and a very interesting kickoff format.

The biggest "upset" of Week 1 actually came with the last game on Sunday, as the St. Louis BattleHawks took down the Dallas Renegades, 15-9. The Renegades are one of the favorites to win the league this year, but they couldn't find the end zone in their first game. It's worth mentioning, however, that starting quarterback Landry Jones was out due to an injury. We'll see if he can take Dallas from pretender to contender next week.

So, which players really stood out this weekend? Who is the leading passer and who has scored the most touchdowns? Below, we'll break down all the stats you need to know from Week 1 in the XFL.

Passing leaders

Temple product P.J. Walker threw for a league-high 272 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in the Houston Roughnecks' 37-17 win over the Los Angeles Wildcats. All four touchdowns went to different receivers, but he was a big fan of Cam Phillips, who caught four of nine targets for 67 yards and a touchdown. The 37 points the Roughnecks scored on Saturday were the most of any team, and they appear to be one of the better squads in this league. Cardale Jones of the D.C. Defenders was not far behind Walker, as he threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns in the 31-19 win over the Seattle Dragons. While he hadn't started a meaningful game since the 2015 College Football Championship, Jones is someone people are seemingly high on, and he had a nice first outing for the Defenders.

Rushing leaders

Most teams threw the ball much more than they ran it, but the BattleHawks found success on the ground. Former Washington Redskins running back Matt Jones rushed for a league-high 85 yards on 21 carries, while quarterback Jordan Ta'amu rushed for 77 yards on nine carries. People were clearly sleeping on Jonathan Hayes' squad, and they have the league talking after their upset win over the Renegades.

Receiving leaders

While the BattleHawks excelled on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Vipers did not. Their 23-3 loss to the New York Guardians was tough to watch, as Aaron Murray struggled. He threw two interceptions and fumbled once. The Vipers do have a kid out of Jackson State named Daniel Williams, however, and he might be one of the better receivers in the league. He caught six passes for 123 yards, which was the biggest output from a wideout in the opening weekend. We have to give a quick shoutout to Austin Proehl of the Dragons, who caught five passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns, and Nelson Spruce of the Wildcats, who caught 11 of his 15 targets for 103 yards on Saturday. He definitely registered a couple highlight-reel plays.

.@nspruce22 is the #XFL's first ever 100-yard receiver pic.twitter.com/qJ6PVByTTG
— XFL (@xfl2020) February 9, 2020

Defensive leaders

As for the defensive side of the ball, three different players recorded nine combined tackles in their first games, and two play for the Guardians. Bunmi Rotimi Jr. and Ben Heeney both made nine tackles against the Vipers and were simply outstanding. Rotimi also recorded a sack, two quarterback hits and two tackles for loss. Two players also recorded two sacks apiece: Guardians safety Wesley Sutton and Roughnecks defensive end LaTroy Lewis.

A tip of the cap to XFL Statistics for these stats: