Seattle Sea Dragons (7-3) at Vegas Vipers (2-8)
In Week 10, the Seattle Sea Dragons punched their ticket to the playoffs in a 28-9 win over the Vegas Vipers. While it wasn’t always pretty, a fantastic 3rd quarter from quarterback Ben DiNucci and Seattle’s fleet of talented wideouts gave Seattle enough of a lead to seal the game.
Top Performers
Offense
- WR – Josh Gordon
- QB – Ben DiNucci
- WR – Juwan Green
Honorable Mention(s): WR – Jahcour Pearson, WR – Jordan Veasey, TE – Charlie Taumoepeau
Defense
- S – Qwynnterrio Cole
- DL – Daniel Joseph
- LB – Tuzar Skipper
Honorable Mention(s): DL – Niko Lalos, LB – Tre Walker, S – Bryce Thompson
Stats
Offensive Stats
Passing
| ## | Seattle Sea Dragons | Comp/Att (%) | Yds | TD | Int | LG | Sack – Yds |
| 6 | Ben DiNucci | 26/41 (63.4% comp) | 339 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 0-0 |
| ## | Team | 26/41 (63.4% comp) | 339 | 3 | 2 | 40 | 0-0 |
Rushing
| ## | Seattle Sea Dragons | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | LG |
| 89 | Charlie Taumoepeau | 4 | 44 | 11.0 | 0 | 13 |
| 6 | Ben DiNucci | 4 | 41 | 10.3 | 1 | 14 |
| 30 | Phillip Lindsay | 6 | 30 | 5.0 | 0 | 11 |
| 19 | T.J. Hammonds | 8 | 12 | 1.5 | 0 | 7 |
| ## | Team | 22 | 127 | 0.0 | 1 | 14 |
Receiving
| ## | Seattle Sea Dragons | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | LG | Tgts |
| 0 | Josh Gordon | 9 | 115 | 12.8 | 0 | 40 | 13 |
| 4 | Juwan Green | 4 | 88 | 22.0 | 1 | 37 | 5 |
| 80 | Blake Jackson | 5 | 44 | 8.8 | 0 | 16 | 6 |
| 3 | Jahcour Pearson | 3 | 42 | 14.0 | 1 | 33 | 6 |
| 88 | Jordan Veasy | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 1 | 22 | 7 |
| 89 | Charlie Taumoepeau | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 19 | T.J. Hammonds | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 15 | Damion Willis | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 86 | Kelvin McKnight | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| ## | Team | 26 | 339 | 0.0 | 3 | 40 | 41 |
Fumbles
| ## | Seattle Sea Dragons | Fum | Lost | Rec |
| 0 | Josh Gordon | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| ## | Team | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Defensive Stats
| ## | Seattle Sea Dragons | Solo | Ast | Total | Sacks – Yds | TFL | INT | FF | FR |
| 97 | Niko Lalos | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 96 | Daniel Joseph | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1-4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Tre Walker | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Bryce Thompson | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Antwuan Jackson | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | Tariqious Tisdale | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Mykael Wright | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 51 | Tuzar Skipper | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1-6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Antoine Brooks | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | Tyrell Adams | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Qwynnterrio Cole | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | Austin Faoliu | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Elijah Ponder | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | Shareef Miller | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ## | TEAM | 15 | 22 | 37 | 2-10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Thoughts & Performance Grade
In Week 10, the Sea Dragons hosted the Vegas Vipers in a game that solidified Seattle’s entry into the post-season. While their offense struggled throughout the first half and turned the ball over twice in the 4th quarter, an electric 3rd quarter gave the Sea Dragons a large enough lead to get the win.
It wasn’t his best performance, but quarterback Ben DiNucci continued to make plays with his arm and legs. DiNucci completed 26 of 41 passes for 339 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, also rushing 4 times for 41 yards and a rushing touchdown. Turnovers have been a problem throughout the season for DiNucci, but it hasn’t derailed him from claiming the titles of XFL passing yards leader (2,671), most completions (242), and most 1st down passes (122).
The Sea Dragons continued to show they have the best receiving core in the league, with Josh Gordon grabbing 9 passes for 115 yards, and Jahcour Pearson, Juwan Green, and Jordan Veasy each scoring a touchdown on the day.
Pearson ends the year as the XFL’s leader in receiving yards (670), catches (60), and 1st down catches (32). Additionally, Seattle ends the season with four of the league’s top-ranked wide receivers in Jahcour Pearson (1st), Josh Gordon (6th), Blake Jackson (9th), and Juwan Green (11th).
Seattle’s rushing attack hasn’t set any season benchmarks, as it’s been a struggle to keep a consistent run game throughout the year. However, as the season’s progressed, Seattle’s made the run game work between DiNucci’s legs, running backs Phillip Lindsay and T.J. Hammonds, and most recently, tight end Charlie Taumoepeau taking snaps out of the backfield. Hopefully, Brenden Knox returning from IR just in time for the North Division Championship adds even more stability to Seattle’s ground game.
Defensively, the Sea Dragons played great against Vegas, holding the Vipers to one touchdown and one field goal all game. Safety Qwynterrio Cole added to his interception totals, picking off Vipers quarterback Jalen McClendon in the 4th quarter, making that 3 interceptions on the year. Cole ends the season tied for 8th in solo tackles (32) and 3rd in interceptions. Linebacker Tuzar Skipper has also been one of the brightest spots on Seattle’s defense all season, ending the year tied for 2nd in forced fumbles (3) and 4th in sacks (6).
Regarding special teams, Sunday’s performance wasn’t anything particularly special. However, returner Kelvin McKnight’s had a phenomenal regular season with the Sea Dragons, leading the XFL in punt return yards (235) and ranking 2nd in kick return yards (748) despite only playing in 9 games.
Final Thoughts
Despite a slow start against the Vipers, the Sea Dragons sealed their spot in the North Division Championship next weekend against the D.C. Defenders. While Seattle is well equipped talent-wise to beat their North Division opponents in their 3rd meeting of the season, a performance like this one in Week 10 will not get it done. Seattle must get off to a faster start offensively if they want to beat the Defenders next Sunday. Regardless of the outcome moving forward, it’s been a great regular season for the Sea Dragons, and many of these players have earned a look from NFL franchises.
Good Win, But Have To Start Faster In The Playoffs
Performance Grade: B
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