XFL 2015: Winners and Losers from Week 2
By: Connor Lenahan
Our second week of the XFL is in the books and suddenly everything we thought we knew from week one has changed. In the blink of an eye Tony Romo went from promising QB for the Las Vegas High Rollers to out until the end of our season. Ouch. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from Week 2.
Winner: The Baltimore Bears
Having a huge game is possible for just about anyone. Sometimes you have everything break right. Having two dominating games in a row? That’s the sign of something special. Laura LaBrecque’s Bears team started the season by putting up 1685 points on Dan Schlosser’s Kansas City Killers. They promptly followed that up by dropping 1780 on fellow juggernaut Pittsburgh. Tom Brady is looking scary – he carved up one of the best secondaries in the league for 660 points this week. And now he and Gronk are playing Jacksonville. Gulp.
Loser: Las Vegas Quarterbacks
Just when Las Vegas was looking really strong disaster struck. Starting QB Tony Romo got his left collarbone broken against the Eagles and backup Jay Cutler suffered a hamstring injury that’ll keep him out a few weeks at least. And just like that everything got crazy in the city of sin. It might be Blake Bortles time in Vegas, and hopefully the depth of positional talent can help carry the weight from here.
Winner: Pittsburgh Spikes
Yes the Spikes did drop to 1-1 this week, but no team looked this good in a loss. Given that TY Hilton was questionable to play and Martavis Bryant was still stuck on the bench with his suspension, the team was far from it’s full self. It still dropped over 1500 points. The Spikes are in a really good spot going forward, especially given the emergence of rookie David Johnson on the bench.
Loser: DeMarco Murray
This is the real stat line for DeMarco Murray this season. 21 rushes, 11 yards, 1 TD.
Holy shit. There’s no other possible way for me to put that. That stands as potentially the worst line in the league for all players. Murray has at least been able to contribute in the passing game, but after being the leading rusher in the league last season he’s been MIA. As a comparison point Murray has 11 more yards on the season than Le’Veon Bell… who was suspended for the previous two games. Speaking of Bell.
Winner and Loser: Waverly Chargers
Here’s the bad news, the Chargers have dropped the first two games of the season and are exceptionally likely to drop a third straight to the Spikes this weekend. Digging yourself out from a 0-3 hole is ridiculously tough – being .500 by the trade deadline is the best case scenario. This is going to be a tough reclamation project in Waverly.
The good news? Things are looking way, way up in terms of roster strength. Carson Palmer and Matt Ryan both are two of the top QBs in the league. Le’Veon Bell is back from suspension this week. Todd Gurley is primed to make his NFL debut this week or the next. Gio Bernard is suddenly the top back in Cincinnati again. Allen Robinson exploded for 400 points in week 2. If this team get’s back to full strength – and if Mike Evans ever catches a pass again – the Chargers could suddenly surge, pun unintended.
Winner: Seattle Rage for Picking Up Travis Benjamin
Here are the top scorers in the XFL, regardless of position.
- Tom Brady – Baltimore
- Ben Roethlisberger – Seattle
- Travis Benjamin – Seattle, no, seriously.
There’s like a 5% chance this will last, but damn if this is not one of the more entertaining surges from a player in history. Benjamin lead all players last week with 675 points. Yikes. It would be even better had Greg not kept Benjamin on his bench.
Loser: Denver Running Backs
LeSean McCoy is still dealing with hamstring injuries that have kept him from being the explosive back that Denver expected from the first round pick. Jeremy Hill, meanwhile, fumbled his way into the dog house for the Bengals. Previously feared as the top running back duo in the league, McCoy and Hill will need to right the ship ASAP to get the suddenly 0-2 Blaze back to competition. Arian Foster could not come back any quicker for this team.
Week 3 Schedule:
Pittsburgh Spikes vs. Waverly Chargers
Baltimore Bears vs. Las Vegas High Rollers
Washington Senators vs. Oklahoma City Lions
New Orleans Tigers vs. Seattle Rage
Green Bay Blizzard vs. Kansas City Killers
Denver Blaze vs. Chicago Hitmen
New York Titans vs. Philadelphia Panthers