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Seattle Sea Dragons XFL Week 8 Stats, Top Performers, & Post-Game Thoughts

Seattle Sea Dragons (5-3) at D.C. Defenders (7-1)

The Seattle Sea Dragons hosted the D.C. Defenders in Week 8, for a battle between two of the XFL’s best offenses. Unfortunately for Seattle, the Sea Dragons’ 5-game winning streak came to an end, and the D.C. Defenders sealed their ticket to the playoffs.

Top Performers

Offense

  • QB – Ben DiNucci
  • RB – Phillip Lindsay
  • WR – Juwan Green

Honorable Mention(s): WR – Blake Jackson, WR – Jahcour Pearson, WR – Josh Gordon

Defense

  • S – Antwaun Brooks
  • LB – Tre Walker
  • LB – Clarence Hicks

Honorable Mention(s): DE – Niko Lalos, S – Bryce Thompson, LB – Tyrell Adams

Special Teams

  • K – Dominik Eberle
  • KR/PR – Kelvin McKnight

Stats

Offensive Stats

Passing

##Seattle Sea DragonsComp/Att (%)YdsTDIntLGSack – Yds
6Ben DiNucci28/42 (66.6% Comp)30131560-0
##Team28/42 (66.6% Comp)30131560-0

Rushing

##Seattle Sea DragonsAttYdsAvgTDLG
6Ben DiNucci4235.8010
30Phillip Lindsay8232.918
19T.J. Hammonds177.007
##Team13530.0110

Receiving

##Seattle Sea DragonsRecYdsAvgTDLGTgts
4Juwan Green714220.325610
80Blake Jackson45313.30244
0Josh Gordon4399.80288
3Jahcour Pearson5346.81148
15Damion Willis3124.0065
19T.J. Hammonds294.5082
89Charlie Taumoepeau166.0061
30Phillip Lindsay263.0082
##Team283010.035640

Fumbles

##Seattle Sea DragonsFumLostRec
##Team000

Defensive Stats

##Seattle Sea DragonsSoloAstTotalSacks – YdsTFLINTFFFR
32Qwynnterrio Cole628.00-02010
8Tre Walker448.00.5-20000
97Niko Lalos145.00-01010
21Linden Stephens415.00-00000
1Bryce Thompson145.00.5-20000
52Antwuan Jackson224.00-00000
2Antoine Brooks404.00-02000
33Alijah Holder314.00-00000
40Tyrell Adams134.00-01001
9Clarence Hicks123.01-01000
5Chris Payton-Jones202.00-00000
51Tuzar Skipper022.00-01000
42Chris Smith112.00-00000
48Shareef Miller112.00-01000
58Austin Faoliu011.00-00001
##TEAM312859.02-119022

Thoughts & Performance Grade

In Week 8, the Sea Dragons hosted the D.C. Defenders in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. The game lived up to expectations, coming down to the wire in an outing determined by a singular point. Unfortunately, Seattle found themselves on the losing side, making their road to the playoffs significantly more difficult in their final two regular-season games.

Ben DiNucci played one of his better games of the entire year, making great throws and generally playing smart football throughout. While the offense was a bit slow out of the gates, they figured things out in the second quarter and beyond, and made it one of the best games we’ve seen all season. Additionally, DiNucci became the first quarterback in the XFL to exceed the 2,000 yards passing mark.

Sea Dragons wide receiver Juwan Green played the best game of his season. He totaled 7 receptions for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns, spinning and pushing his way out of defenders to get into the endzone. Additionally, newly acquired running back Phillip Lindsay got involved in the run game early, finding the endzone on a 2-yard score in the second quarter.

On the defensive side, Seattle played well against the run, holding Defenders’ running back Abram Smith to only 66 yards on 17 carries, and the entire Defenders team to 87 yards total on the ground. However, the Sea Dragons struggled heavily against D.C.’s passing attack throughout the game, allowing 247 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air.

Sea Dragons cornerback Linden Stephens along with a few other members of Seattle’s defense made a number of mistakes throughout the game, which directly extended drives for the Defenders and kept them in the driver’s seat for most of the matchup. Seattle totaled 8 penalties, with the majority of them coming in crucial or game-changing moments.

Special teams weren’t as explosive as we’ve seen in recent weeks, but they held up their end of the bargain. Kicker Dominike Eberle nailed a 29-yard field goal, which was his only attempt of the evening. Additionally, Kelvin McKnight continued to excel with kick/punt return duties, although he didn’t have any breakaway returns like we’d seen over the last few weeks.

Final Thoughts

The Sea Dragons played a great game, but ultimately not great enough. The offense was a bit slow to start but played well once they figured things out in the second quarter and onward. While they aren’t totally eliminated yet, this loss makes their path to the playoffs significantly more difficult.

Seattle’s most straightforward path to the post-season would be to win their Week 9 game against the St. Louis Battlehawks, beat the Vegas Vipers in Week 10, and hope St. Louis loses their Week 10 matchup against the Orlando Guardians. This isn’t the Sea Dragons’ only path to the playoffs, but things do become increasingly more difficult if they can’t win both of their final two matchups.

Outplayed by the league’s best.

Performance Grade: B+


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Matt Lyons is a Writer/Contributor for XFL News Hub, USFL News Hub, & CFL News Hub, covering the XFL, USFL, ELF, and TSL since August of 2020.

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