The Arlington Renegades go into the XFL Championship game against the DC Defenders as underdogs, but some key statistics could show how they pull off an upset.
The focus of this article will include stats on the improvement of the offense and the consistency of the defense. With the offense being more of the concern for the Renegades overall this season, more of the stats will focus on how much they have grown in the last four games with Luis Perez starting at quarterback. The defense is more about the individual games they had that led to three of their four regular season wins.
Arlington Renegades Key Numbers
Turnovers – 22
That is the number of turnovers the Renegades’ defense has created this season which is the most in the XFL. Arlington is the only team this season that has created a turnover in all 11 games this season. They lead the league in interceptions with 13 while also recovering nine fumbles in the process. These were key plays early in the season when they were winning games.
Two defensive touchdowns against the Vegas Vipers in their season opener helped them win by two points. Five turnovers and a defensive touchdown in their second meeting against the Orlando Guardians led them to another two-point win to keep their playoff hopes alive. In their first meeting against the San Antonio Brahmas, they had three interceptions that sealed an also two-point win against them.
Points Per Game – 19.8
Arlington’s offense has been much better through the last four games as they have scored just under 20 points per game. Through their first seven games of the season, they averaged just 13.2 points per game which was the worst in the league at that point. What helped the team was the defense was fourth in the league in points allowed per game at 19.4 per game.
Total Offensive Yards Per Game – 110.1
A big reason for the increase in points per game is the performance of the offense overall from the first seven games to the last four games they have played. For example, through the first seven games of the year before Luis Perez was the quarterback, the offense was averaging 232.9 total yards per game. Since Perez has been the starter, the offense increased to 343 yards per game which is a difference of 110.1 yards per game. Let’s break down key offensive stats from an individual standpoint or overall view.
Passing Yards – 87.4 & 55
If fans want a staggering passing stat to show how much Arlington’s passing attack has improved, here is one to read. Through the first seven games of the season, the Renegades were averaging 167.4 passing yards per game. Since Perez took over the last four games, they have increased the average to 254.8 passing yards per game. That is an improvement of 87.4 passing yards per game with Perez running the show.
Another stat for passing Perez has 55 more passing yards in the last four games as the Renegades starter than DC Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu had in that same span. Perez has thrown for 1,019 in his four starts with the Renegades with a 2-2 record during that time. As for Ta’amu, he has thrown for 964 yards in that same span with a record of 4-0.
Rushing Yards – 94 & 137
De’Veon Smith ran for that many in the South Division Championship playoff game against the Houston Roughnecks which they won 26-11. It was a season of consistent 40 to 50 yards per game for Smith on the ground with a lot of bruising three-to-four-yard runs. It was rare to see the Renegades break out a major run in a game. Smith found more success in their win against the Roughnecks in the playoffs where he had two runs of over ten yards in the first half.
This is an important stat as the team looks to have more balance and success between the passing game and the running game. Arlington was averaging 82 rushing per game which was second to last in the XFL besides the San Antonio Brahmas. In the playoffs, the Renegades had the most rushing yards of the weekend with 137 total rushing yards outgaining DC who had…. 82 rushing yards against the Seattle Sea Dragons.
Overall View of Offense and Defense
Starting with the defense, the old saying defense wins championships may be coming into place with the Renegades as all season it has been their defense that has kept them in games. With the team getting healthy again with linebackers Donald Payne and Edmond Robinson healthy, there is hope that this unit will play a big role in the Renegades capturing their first XFL title.
What the passing yards are supposed to show is this is not the same Renegades offense fans saw for a good portion of the season. Perez has come in and been able to improve the offense by having more consistency in the passing game. Arlington threw for over 200 yards only twice through the first seven games. Perez did it in three of the last four games including 335 yards in one game against…. the DC Defenders. If there is a player who is capable of upsetting DC through the air, it’s Perez.
With Leddie Brown looking to return for the championship game, the Renegades’ rushing attack will still have Smith as their lead back with Brown and Brian Herrien to be more of the speed, receiving backs. The offensive line has shown great improvement thanks to guard Mike Horton and the emergence of tackle Willie Beavers. Arlington ran for 113 yards against DC the last time these two teams played so it should be more of the same if not an improvement from that performance.
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