Seattle Dragons (1-1) vs Tampa Bay Vipers (0-2) @ CenturyLink Field
Dragons cover +2.5
Under 44 covers
Powered by a 3 interception and 4 sack performance for the defense, the Seattle Dragons were able to hold off the Tampa Bay Vipers despite a last second bid to tie the game. Both defenses set a heavy tone early in the Week 2 showdown of two 0-1 teams, ending the first half 3-0 in Tampa Bay’s favor. After Tarvarus McFadden returned a Brandon Silvers interception for a touchdown to make it 9-0, the Dragons scored the final 17 points of the game for their first victory of the season in front of their home crowd at CenturyLink Field.
Game Stats
- The Vipers had more net yards than the Dragons (289 to 199)
- The Vipers had more first downs (19 to 14)
- The Vipers were 9/17 on third down while the Dragons were 2/10
- The Vipers out-rushed the Dragons 141 to 117
- Both teams had 5.1 yards per pass
- The Vipers were sacked 4 times (Dragons only twice)
- The Vipers threw 3 interceptions (Dragons only one)
- The Vipers had 99 penalty yards while the Dragons only had 53
Seattle Dragons
29,172. The total number in attendance on Saturday in what was by far the best crowd in the short history of the XFL. The Dragons defense was incredible and I think a major player in that was the Seattle fans, often referred to as “12” or the 12th man for the Seahawks. The Dragons failed to put points on the board until the 11:26 mark of the third quarter. At that time, Keenan Reynolds the Dragon was finally awaken with a 68-yard touchdown reception.
The Dragons never looked back as they returned an interception for a touchdown with 5:31 left in the third followed by a 2-pt conversion with Keenan Reynolds and topped it off with a Eddie Lacayo 27-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the 4th. The Dragons move to 1-1 and welcome in the Dallas Renegades next week on Saturday, Feb. 22nd at 2PM est.
8 catches, 87 yards, 1 Touchdown (Keenan Reynolds WR)
10 combined tackles, 2 tk for loss (Steven Johnson LB)
7 comb. tackles, 1.5 sacks (Steve Williams CB)
Tampa Bay Vipers
After matching the energy of the Dragons defense for 2+ quarters, the Vipers became snakebitten by turnovers and were unable to hold their 9-0 lead. If you look at this game from purely a statistical point of view, the Vipers dominated. They had 289 total net yards while keeping the Dragons to under 200, they converted on 9 third downs and averaged 4.5 yards per rush. Then you see two key statistics that were their downfall, 3 interceptions, and 99 penalty yards. The interceptions were particularly harmful to the now 0-2 Vipers.
After taking a 9-0 lead early in the third quarter, the Vipers soft coverage allowed for Keenan Reynolds to blaze past the Tampa Bay secondary for a relatively easy 68-yard touchdown reception. The back-breaker was a Quinton Flowers interception returned for a touchdown with 5:31 left in the third and the Vipers never recovered.
After an ugly week 1, the Vipers are trending in the wrong direction, especially in a 10-game season. At 0-2, Tampa Bay will be desperate for a win as they return home for the first time next week against the Roughnecks (Saturday, Feb. 22nd).
14 rushes, 73 yards, 1 rec, 18 yards (Jacques Patrick RB)
12 combined tackles, 1 sack (Marcelis Branch S)
5 receptions, 8 targets, 51 yards (Reese Horn WR)
Fantasy Review
Outside of Keenan Reynolds (19.7 DraftKings points), the two fantasy darlings were the Dragons defense (23 points) and the Vipers defense (14 points). To view more of the Vipers and Dragons fantasy results, take a look at my tweet below referencing the DraftKings DFS tournament for Week 2:
For more news and notes on the Seattle Dragons and for all things DFS, follow me at @AlexMcKinnonXFL!
William G. G
February 16, 2020 at 8:02 pm
score was actually 17 to 9 not 19 to 7 but it was a good game enjoyed it