Week 2 in the XFL began with a matchup of two 1-0 teams. The DC Defenders had no trouble taking care of business against the New York Guardians, rattling Matt McGloin to the point of a quarterback change and watching Cardale Jones shine for the second straight week en route to a 27-point rout. The Seattle Dragons, meanwhile, started slow in front of a roaring CenturyLink crowd but held on for a defensively-fueled 17-9 victory over Marc Trestman's Tampa Bay Vipers.
Whether you're fired up or just curious about the Week 2 games, CBS Sports' XFL coverage is here for you. We've got you covered with power rankings, stats to know from Week 1, what to watch for in Week 2, how sportsbooks have handled the new league and why QBs are the key to the league's survival. Plus you can check out my picks, or head to SportsLine to see picks from an expert who went 4-0 against the spread in Week 1.
If it's the games themselves you're interested in, you came to the right place. You can relive all the updates, highlights and analysis from Saturday's action below.
Saturday, Feb. 15
DC Defenders 27, New York Guardians 0
Seattle Dragons 17, Tampa Bay Vipers 9
Sunday, Feb. 16
Dallas Renegades at Los Angeles Wildcats, 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
St. Louis BattleHawks at Houston Roughnecks, 6 p.m. ET (FS1, fuboTV)
Thanks so much for joining us throughout the day for XFL coverage. Be sure to relive today's action by scrolling through our live blog here, or keep it locked at CBSSports.com for plenty of in-depth content on the rest of this week's games.
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No. Way. Taylor Cornelius drives the Vipers inside Seattle's 25-yard line with under 15 seconds to go. Two straight incompletions. Then he appears to find his man for a go-ahead touchdown. Instead, the drive ends with an interception in the end zone -- a deep ball intended for Reece Horn and snagged by LB Kyle Queiro. Dragons will hold on in dramatic fashion. An intense ending to what began as an ugly game. Seattle gets its first win. Tampa Bay falls to 0-2. And another day of XFL football is in the books!
Ernesto Lacayo hits a FG from 27, and the Dragons now lead this 17-9. Unless the Vipers have an eight-point score in them, this thing is over. Sixty-seven seconds remain on the clock.
Hard not to pin this Vipers loss on coach Marc Trestman, if the score holds or Seattle adds points here. When you look at the box score, you won't -- or shouldn't -- be impressed by what the Dragons did in front of a roaring home crowd. Brandon Silvers was below-average aside from his 68-yard bomb to Keenan Reynolds. The run game was so-so for much of the contest. And while the defense certainly deserves credit for stepping up with four sacks, a goal-line stand and a pick-six, Trestman's conservative play-calling and QB rotation pretty much never helped Tampa Bay capitalize throughout the evening.
Vipers handing this one to the Dragons now, with an unnecessary roughness penalty on a drive where they need every stop they can get. Seattle now all the way up to Tampa Bay's 13-yard line with under two minutes to play and a five-point lead.
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That might do it. Taylor Cornelius operating as Trestman's QB on a crucial drive, brings the Vipers out from their own two-yard line to near midfield, but is sacked on a fourth-and-8. If Seattle can pick up a first or two here with its ground game, the Dragons can win this for their home crowd.
Not sure we'll see a red-zone drive with that much incompetence all year. Talk about a squandered opportunity. Marc Trestman opts to keep the ball out of his rotating QBs' hands for much of a 15(!)-play drive, all the way down to the Dragons' one-yard line, but the Vipers come up with zero points. Zero. Despite being down just five at the time. Credit to Seattle's front four for standing strong, but if you're the Vipers, you simply can't leave those opportunities on the field. Yes, Trestman attempted a field goal on a fourth-and-2, but that came after an exorbitant number of runs, and even that did not work, with a fumble botching the whole attempt.
Fourth quarter time in Seattle. The Dragons hold a narrow lead after their unusual pick-six, but perhaps not for long. The Vipers are working on a 10-play drive and are now in the red zone. Let's see if Jim Zorn's QB duo can get the job done here.
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Folks, we have ourselves a changing of the tide! Alert. Alert. Alert. Roughly six minutes after Brandon Silvers breaks up an incredibly dull performance with a deep-ball TD pass and roughly seven minutes after his interception was returned 78 yards for a Tampa score, the Dragons have given the Vipers a taste of their own medicine, picking off Quinton Flowers at the one-yard line and falling into the end zone for a go-ahead pick-six. Marcel Frazier was simply lifting his arms to try to bat Flowers' dump-off, but it stuck to his hands, and now we have ourselves a Dragons lead at CenturyLink. After a successful two-point try, it's officially 14-9 Seattle.
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The Dragons breathe fire again! (Or, more like, for the first time today.) Brandon Silvers finally delivers by lofting an easy 68-yard TD to Keenan Reynolds, who was so wide open across the middle that he deserved the six. Not sure whether it was a coverage breakdown, miscommunication or Reynolds simply beating his man, but either way, Seattle is on the board. And this is a game. 9-6 Vipers.
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So much for Brandon Silvers settling in. A simple second-and-10 play-action out pass turns into disaster for Seattle, as Silvers badly throws behind his target, and Vipers CB Tarvarus McFadden easily gets the pick. Not only that, but he returns it 78 yards, weaving past several Dragons on his way into the end zone for the game's biggest play and, depending on how things play out, perhaps the one that ends up dooming Seattle's shot to get its first "W." Vipers now up 9-0 in a game where offense has mightily struggled.
Worth noting the Dragons have targeted WR Austin Proehl just twice. He's got one catch for -1 yard. Guy was almost the reason they stole the DC Defenders' thunder in Week 1. If you're Seattle, you have to find ways to get him involved and get him in space. Perhaps it's as simple as a few screens, which might help Brandon Silvers get into a rhythm as well.
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FOX's broadcast did show that a couple former Seattle Seahawks are in the house, though, and the fans at CenturyLink are all the way in. If anything, this game is showcasing early XFL support.
Halftime at CenturyLink, and we've got ourselves a sloppy ballgame. Tampa Bay leads 3-0, and the score is very much indicative of the contest unfolding between Jim Zorn and Marc Trestman's offensively challenged squads. Neither side has more than 100 total yards, though the Vipers are out-gaining Seattle by averaging 3.2 yards per play as opposed to 1.7. (Both of those, we should note, are bad.) Trestman's QB rotation has been just so-so, with Quinton Flowers at least giving his side some juice on the ground. Brandon Silvers, meanwhile, has struggled tonight, going 5 of 11 in the first half alongside a hardly-existent rushing attack.
Ernesto Lacayo is no good from 48 on the FG attempt for Seattle, so we're still scoreless. Vipers finally doing something with the ball after Cornelius connects with WR Reece Horn for 17, but then a couple of no-gainers prevent them from capitalizing. Decision time on fourth down at Seattle's 17, and Trestman elects to just get points on the board, which is probably smart at this point. Andrew Franks drills it from 36, and we have our first lead. Tampa Bay is up 3-0 with just 2:36 until halftime. A sloppy contest so far.
Vipers rotating QBs now. Taylor Cornelius in on their last drive. Not sure how well this strategy is going to aid Marc Trestman's offense. Almost 20 minutes into the game, and Tampa Bay is averaging two yards per play. To be fair, the Dragons aren't moving much, either, with Brandon Silvers still looking for his second completion of the evening.
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Dragons defense stands strong in front of the home crowd, sacking Quinton Flowers on a fourth-and-7 in their own territory. But this is a defensive battle both ways, it seems. Brandon Silvers gets thrown down behind the line two plays later. The two teams have just a combined 60 net yards through one quarter of action. Only five first downs so far, too. Which QB can step up?
That didn't take long. Quinton Flowers is now in at QB for the Vipers. The former USF standout opened the year as a QB/RB hybrid, but he's the one throwing the passes after two series with Taylor Cornelius leading the charge. Cornelius went 1 of 5 for seven yards and a bad interception, though he was also hit as he threw on the pick.
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That QB switch thing? Not working out the best so far for Tampa. Marc Trestman obviously had no choice but to replace the injured Aaron Murray, but Taylor Cornelius is off to a rough start. Facing a third-and-6 nearing midfield, the QB is hit after holding the ball in the pocket and attempting a deep ball, and the pass falls right into the waiting arms of S Jeremy Clark. Fortunately for the Vipers, Seattle can't do anything with its subsequent possession.
CenturyLink Stadium, home to the Seattle Seahawks as well as the Dragons, pretty loud for kickoff: https://twitter.com/XFLonFOX/s...
A reminder that Taylor Cornelius, the former Oklahoma State QB, will start under center for the Tampa Bay Vipers, who mustered just three points with Aaron Murray as the signal-caller in Week 1. Murray was previously ruled out with an injury sustained in Tampa's opening-week loss, but plenty expected former USF standout Quinton Flowers might get the official call as Murray's replacement.
And that's it from Audi Field. Defenders win this one 27-0, sending the Guardians to .500 as they improve to 2-0. Cardale Jones with another impressive start. (And he remains undefeated as a starting QB since college!) Stick around for coverage of the next XFL game, the Dragons and Vipers!
