The first week of the new XFL season is in the books and it seemed to be a huge success. Fans on social media seemed to love the creative rules, and the quality of play was a pleasant surprise. Here is a statistical recap of XFL Week 1.
XFL Week 1 Statistics, Recap
Passing Leaders
- PJ Walker (HOU): 272 yards
- Cardale Jones (DC): 235 yards
- Aaron Murray (TB): 231 yards
PJ Walker of the Houston Roughnecks wasted no time showcasing his skills to XFL fans. He finished with 272 yards, four passing touchdowns, and one interception in Houston’s win over the LA Wildcats. This was good for a passer rating of 103.8, and Williams also added to his big day with a successful run for a two-point conversion. Cardale Jones also had himself a quality debut, finishing with 235 yards and two touchdowns while completing 62% of his passes with a passer rating of 116.7. With Landry Jones missing the first week of the season, Jones and Walker enter Week 2 as the top quarterbacks in the league.
Rushing Leaders
- Matt Jones (STL): 85 yards
- De’Veon Smith (TB): 79 yards
- Jordan Ta’amu (STL): 77 yards
The St. Louis Battlehawks finished XFL Week 1 action with the most team rushing yards. Their running back Matt Jones tallied 21 carries while racking up 85 yards on the ground. Not to be outdone, Battlehawks quarterback Jordan Ta’amu added 77 of his own rushing yards on just nine carries. These two combined for more rushing yards in Week 1 than any other team had combined. De’Veon Smith carried the load for the Tampa Bay Vipers, who finished with the second most rushing yards in XFL week one. His 79 yards on 16 carries was good for just under five yards per carry.
Receiving Leaders
- Daniel Williams (TB): 123 yards
- Nelson Spruce (LA): 103 yards
- Austin Proehl (SEA): 88 yards
Each of these receivers had very promising XFL debuts. Daniel Williams needed just six catches to reach 123 yards, good for an average of 20.5 yards per reception. His long catch on the day was 42 yards. Nelson Spruce was the only bright spot on the offense of the Wildcats, as his 11 receptions were as many as the rest of his teammates combined. He accounted for 48% of the team’s total receiving yards. Austin Proehl of the Seattle Dragons might’ve been the best receiver in Week 1. He was the only player to have two receiving touchdowns, and his 57-yard reception was the longest on the week.
Tackles Leaders
T1. Darius Hillary (STL): 9 tackles
T1. Ben Heeney (NY): 9 tackles
T1. Bunmi Rotimi (NY): 9 tackles
Bunmi Rotimi of the Guardians had the best defensive stat line in XFL week one action. To go with his nine tackles, he had a sack, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, and a forced fumble. His teammate Ben Heeney had himself a good week as well, as he added a tackle for loss and a QB hit to his nine tackles. Defensive back Darius Hillary of the Battlehawks also joined the duo of Guardians with nine tackles on the week.
Field Goals
Across the league as a whole, kickers were 10/13 on field goal attempts. Austin MacGinnis of the Dallas Renegades led the way, going 3-for-3 on attempts from 23, 32, and 43 yards. Ty Rausa of the Defenders had the longest field goal of the week, a 54-yard bomb at the end of the first half. Former NFL kicker Matt McCrane was good from 49 for the Guardians, and Taylor Russolino of the Battlehawks knocked one home from 48.
Extra Points
This will be the most interesting data point to track throughout the season. The XFL allowing teams to go for one, two, or three points following a touchdown is an interesting wrinkle to the game. In XFL week one, no teams attempted a three-point conversion. There were eight two-point conversions attempted and three completed, good for a conversion rate of 37.5%. It is worth noting, though, that one of the successful two-point attempts followed a penalty on the first attempt, so the play was ran from the one yardline instead of the five. Of the 11 one-point attempts in week one, four were completed for a conversion rate of 36.4%. Houston was the only team to attempt more than two two-point attempts, as they successfully converted two of their four tries.
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