It wasn’t pretty, but the Seattle Dragons were victorious against the Tampa Bay Vipers by a score of 17-9 in Week 2 of XFL action. In a game that Tampa Bay led 3-0 heading into halftime, Seattle won on the back of their strong defense and one explosive play. They move to 1-1 on the year, while Tampa Bay falls to 0-2.
Seattle Dragons Squeak by Tampa Bay Vipers
Slow Start to Sloppy Game
The first half of this game was sloppy in every sense of the word. Tampa Bay went to the half with 100 yards of total offense, while Seattle added 41 of their own. The two teams combined to punt six times on 10 completed drives in the first half. There were also drives that ended in a missed field goal, an interception, and a turnover on downs. A 36-yard field goal by Andrew Franks of the Vipers accounted for the only points scored in the first half.
Defensive Touchdowns
Though the scoring picked up in the second half, it was again mostly due to poor quarterback play. Of the three touchdowns that were scored in the half (and the game), two of them came via pick-sixes. After leading a promising drive to start the second half, Brandon Silvers of the Dragons threw a pick-six deep in Vipers territory. This gave the Vipers a 9-0 lead. Silvers showed mental toughness, though, and threw a 68-yard touchdown to Keenan Reynolds on his very next pass attempt.
Later in the third quarter, Quinton Flowers attempted a screen pass deep in his own territory. The pass was intercepted by Dragons defensive end Marcel Frazier who was practically standing in the end zone when he caught the ball. Following the two-point conversion, Seattle was out to a 14-9 lead. They added a field goal with just over a minute left in the game to make the score 17-9.
Red Zone Woes Continue for Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay’s Achilles heel in Week 1 was their poor play in the red zone. They had the most yards of total offense of any team during the XFL’s opening week but had just three points to show for it. In four trips to the red zone, they came away with just one field goal. In this game with Seattle, they had two trips to the red zone. One trip produced their made field goal. Their other red zone appearance saw them get all the way to Seattle’s one-yard line. They ended up going backwards before a bad snap on a field goal attempt, resulting in no points. Despite outgaining their opponent by 90+ yards for the second straight week, Tampa Bay continued to shoot themselves in the foot when it mattered most.
Looking Forward
Seattle will look to move above .500 as they will play host to the Dallas Renegades in Week 3. It’s hard to have much of a gauge on Dallas yet, as they were without their QB1 Landry Jones in Week 1. Things don’t get any easier for Tampa Bay, as they host the Houston Roughnecks in Week 3, whose passing attack set the world on fire in Week 1. It will be an uphill battle for the Vipers to get their first win of the season.
