Less than a week after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57, the XFL kicked off its third iteration at Choctaw Stadium (former home of MLB’s Texas Rangers) in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday.
The first of 10 regular-season four-game slates opened with the Arlington Renegades rallying for a 22-20 win over the Vegas Vipers on Saturday and concluded with the DC Defenders’ 22-18 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 added intrigue to the XFL’s opening weekend.
BREAKING THE CHAIN: In 2023, XFL and USFL aim (again) to not join long line of failed start-up pro football leagues
XFL 2023 SEASON: Universal challenges, fourth-and-15 ‘onside kicks’ and everything else to know
XFL 2023 ROSTERS: Josh Gordon, Martavis Bryant among the top former NFL players
Here are the winners and losers from Week 1 of the 2023 XFL season.
WINNERS
Football fans
Not only do football fans have the treat of spring football, but the XFL is treating them to an entirely new TV viewing experience.
The live feeds of both teams’ offensive and defensive coordinators calling plays — and then having announcers break down the terminology — adds a unique dimension for those who monitor the dueling strategies during a game.
The XFL on ESPN broadcast shows the playcall being relayed from the offensive coordinator to the quarterback, who tells the rest of the offense. 🏈📺 pic.twitter.com/335iZBYS2L
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 18, 2023
It was also interesting to act like a fly on the wall inside the XFL Command Center where Dean Blandino, the league’s VP of officiating, relayed a review ruling to the on-field referee.
Football fans who seek greater immersion into all the decisions made by various parties during a game have to be pleased with the XFL television product.
Bob Stoops’ defense
The Arlington Renegades didn’t score a single offensive touchdown but rode two pick-sixes to a 22-20 win over the Vegas Vipers in the first XFL game of the 2023 season.
The staunch defensive effort also included a critical sack of Vipers QB Luis Perez as Vegas attempted a game-tying, two-point conversion attempt in the final seconds.
BIG PLAY FOR THE RENEGADES. Luis Perez gets picked off by Tomasi Laulile, who takes it all the way to the house.
Just like that, it’s a 14-9 ball game – the Arlington Renegades have some life! Let’s see how Vegas responds. #XFLpic.twitter.com/TG17BqRC9V
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) February 18, 2023
Renegades head coach Bob Stoops, who coached at the University of Oklahoma from 1999-2016, said after the game he was pleased with his team’s performance rallying from a 14-3 halftime deficit.
Luis Perez
When Perez threw a touchdown pass on the Vegas Vipers’ opening drive in XFL version 3.0’s inaugural game Saturday, he earned a peculiar place in start-up pro football league history. That’s because he also threw the first touchdown pass for USFL version 2.0 last year while 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.
Wade Phillips
Wade Phillips, the 75-year-old defensive wiz who went 82-64 as an NFL head coach, got back in the win column as his Houston Roughnecks defeated the Orlando Guardians, 33-12. Houston forced four turnovers in the victory.
Trent Harris and Tim Ward
Harris accounted for four of the Houston Roughnecks’ seven sacks and Ward had two in the victory over the Orlando Guardians. Orlando lost 28 yards on Harris’ sacks and 10 on Ward’s.
Retire the onside kick forever
The NFL should look no further than Sunday for why it needs to adopt the XFL’s fourth-and-15, got-to-have-it down to replace the onside kick. The St. Louis BattleHawks’ offense was anemic in the first three quarters of its comeback victory against the San Antonio Brahmas, but after quarterback AJ McCarron found Hakeem Butler in the end zone and then converted a three-point attempt to cut the San Antonio lead to three, the BattleHawks became the first team in the 2023 season to convert the onside kick replacement.
McCarron extended the play when faced with 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 inside the two-minute warning to win the game. The NFL loves parity and when games hang in the balance. Adopting this rule would only make thrilling comebacks like this more likely.
The Rock and Dany Garcia
Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia had quite the football-filled weekend. The XFL co-owners managed to attend al