Coming off a tough loss in week 1, the Sea Dragons have a short week heading into their home opener against the St. Louis Battlehawks in the league’s first Thursday night matchup.
St. Louis Battlehawks (1-0) at Seattle Sea Dragons (0-1)
Kickoff: Thursday, February 23rd, at 6:00 pm PT
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA
TV: FX, ESPN+, and ESPN Xtra on Sirius/XM
Broadcast Team: Lowell Galindo, Sam Acho, Ian Fitzsimmons & Taylor McGregor
Weather
Thursday evenings forecast around Lumen Field calls for partly cloudy skies with temperatures around the low 30 degrees mark and winds around 7 mph. No precipitation is expected to fall throughout the day, but there may still be snow on the ground from Wednesday’s snowfall. Additionally, there will be around 45% humidity.
Betting Odds Per DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread:
Seattle Sea Dragons: -3
St. Louis Battlehawks: +3
Moneyline:
Seattle Sea Dragons: -155
St. Louis Battlehawks: +135
Over/Under: 36.5
Seattle Sea Dragons Week 2 Depth Chart
Offense
1
2
3
QB
Ben DiNucci – 6 (Captian)
Stephen Montez – 12
Harrison Frost – 14
RB
Brendan Knox – 28
Morgan Ellison – 25
WR
Josh Gordon – 0
Damion Willis – 15
WR
Jah’cour Pearson – 3
TJ Hammonds – 19
Kelvin McKnight – 86
WR
Blake Jackson – 80
Jaylon Redd – 13
WR
Juwan Green – 4
Jordan Veasy – 88
TE
Charlie Tamoepeau – 89
OT
Liam Jimmons – 71
Barry Wesley – 69
OG
Mike Menet – 72
Paul Gratten – 65
OC
Jared Thomas – 73
Tejan Koroma – 56
OG
Chris Owens – 55
Josh Seltzner – 70
OT
Colin Kelly – 67
Defense
1
2
3
DE
Niko Lalos – 97
Daniel Jones – 96
DN
Antwuan Jackson – 52
PJ Hall – 92
Sama Paama – 50
DT
Austin Faoliu – 58
Trayvon Hester – 93
OLB
Elijah Ponder – 44
Shareef Miller – 48
ILB
Tre Walker – 8
Emmanuel Smith – 43
ILB
Jordan Evans – 26 (Captian)
Clarence Hicks – 9
OLB
Tuzar Skipper – 51
CB
Chris Jones – 5
Rojesterman Farris – 17
Zafir Kelly – 36
CB
Linden Stephens – 21
Shabari Davis – 24
Mykael Wright – 16
S
Bryce Thompson – 1
Qwynnterrio Cole – 32
S
Antoine Brooks – 2
Alijah Holder – 33
Special Teams
1
2
3
K
Dominik Eberle – 11
P
Cameron Nizialek – 10
LS
Thomas Fletcher – 45
KR
Jeylon Redd – 13
Morgan Ellison – 25
PR
Jah’cour Pearson – 3
Kelvin McKnight – 86
St. Louis Battlehawks Week 2 Depth Chart
Offense
1
2
3
QB
A.J. McCarron – 10
Nick Tiano – 14
Manny Wilkins – 5
RB
Brian Hill – 23
Kareem Walker – 0
Mateo Durant – 21
WR
Marcell Ateman – 3
Hakeem Butler – 88
Steven Mitchell Jr. – 22
WR
Darius Shepherd – 11
Austin Proehl – 13
George Campbell – 15
TE
Jovani Haskins – 9
Jordan Thomas – 83
Jake Sutherland – 84
OT
Jaryd Jones-Smith – 75
Eric Magwood – 77
OG
Steven Gonzalez – 74
Daishawn Dixon – 79
OC
Mike Panasiuk – 61
Dallas Warmack – 55
OG
Vandal Alexander – 78
Christian Olmstead – 67
OT
Juwann Bushell-Beatty – 73
Defense
1
2
3
DE
LaCale London – 96
Taniela Tupou – 91
NG
Kevin Atkins – 90
Damion Daniels – 93
DE
Gelen Robinson – 99
Freedom Akinmoladun – 98
SLB
Silas Kelly – 29
Carson Wells – 53
MLB
Willie Harvey – 51
Mike Rose – 27
Tre Watson Sr. – 33
WLB
Lakiem Williams – 6
JK
Elorm Lumor – 95
Travis Feeney – 56
CB
Brandon Sebastian – 38
Lavert Hill – 24
CB
Elijah Hamilton – 1
Mike Hampton – 8
LS
Chris Cooper – 39
Nate Meadors – 26
Jonathan Alexander – 32
FS
Ben DeLuca – 28
Lukas Denis – 25
Special Teams
1
2
3
K
Donny Hogeman – 2
P
Sterling Hofrichter – 16
LS
Alexandr Matheson – 47
KR
Darrius Shepherd – 11
Austin Proehl – 13
PR
Brian Hill – 23
Darrius Shepherd – 11
Injury Report
Seattle Sea Dragons
Treyvon Hester – Knee – Questionable
Brenden Knox – Right Hand – Probable
Jordan Evans – Hip – Questionable
PJ Hall – Shoulder – Probable
Austin Faoliu – Knees – Questionable
Blake Jackson – Thumb – Questionable
Roe Farris – Hamstring – Probable
Chris Owens – Knee – Probable
Liam Jimmons – Knee – Questionable
Jaylon Redd – Left Hamstring – Questionable
St. Louis Battlehawks
Brian Hill – Hamstring – Questionable
Travis Feeney – Concussion – Questionable
Seattle Sea Dragons – St. Louis Battlehawks Prediction
St. Louis’s defense played well throughout their matchup against San Antonio, but the Battlehawks’ offense struggled for most of the game. In the end, A.J. McCarron and the offense figured things out with less than 2 minutes left and rallied for a crazy comeback win.
If the Battlehawks can pick up where they left off, they’ll be a tough team to beat. That said, they’ll have to clean up the penalties, which they had 6 of in week 1, and A.J. McCarron will have to be more consistent throwing the football.
Seattle played almost the exact opposite game the Battlehawks did. While St. Louis struggled until late in the 4th quarter, Seattle and quarterback Ben DiNucci came out of the gates hot but struggled for nearly the entire game after the 1st quarter.
Despite the struggles, Seattle’s defense kept D.C. in check for most of their matchup. However, the only sack Seattle recorded was on a 2-point conversion attempt, so it will be interesting to see how their pass rush stacks up against a Battlehawks team that allowed 5 sacks in their opening game.
The Sea Dragons nearly rallied for the win late, but a fumble lost by Ben DiNucci on a quarterback run with 26 seconds left, and no timeouts ended the game with a loss for Seattle. The game was definitely winnable, but poor playcalling in the second half and poor decision-making by DiNucci, resulting in interceptions, lost the game.
If DiNucci can get back to making quick decisions as he did in the first quarter of Sunday night’s game, Seattle showed they have the talent on offense to be dangerous in the XFL. However, the Battlehawks defense won’t make it easy for them. Additionally, Seattle’s injury report is already looking like a CVS receipt.
Between Seattle’s injuries already piling up and the Battlehawks momentum coming off their opening game, I have to give the edge to St. Louis. I think Seattle is the more talented team, but the Sea Dragons have to clean some things up if they want to beat coach Anthony Becht’s tough Battlehawks squad. I expect another close game, but I think St. Louis will come away with the win.
Prediction: Seattle Sea Dragons 22 – St. Louis Battlehawks 24
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