Three weeks of the XFL are now done. And if this weekend proved nothing else, it proved that anything can happen any given Sunday (or Saturday) – just like the NFL. Doesn’t matter what league it is, football remains sometimes unpredictable. Anyway, let’s see where the teams rank now in the XFL Power Rankings after this weekend’s games.
Week 3 XFL Power Rankings
1. Houston Roughnecks (3-0) [Last Week: 2]
The Roughnecks are now the last remaining undefeated team, and there are two reasons for that: Phillip “PJ” Walker and Cam Phillips. The latter has had two hat tricks in a row and has seven total touchdowns in three games. Meanwhile, Walker leads the XFL in both passing yards and touchdowns. Not to mention that they have the most points scored (99) and currently the best point differential (31).
Granted, their defense hasn’t always been helping them out. And there might be some valid concern over the fact that they had to win a shootout with the Tampa Bay Vipers, who didn’t score a single touchdown on offense the first two weeks. But they’ve been winning so far, and that’s ultimately what counts. And as long as Walker and Phillips keep producing at an insane level, it’ll take a big effort for another team to dethrone them from the ranks of the undefeated and in the XFL Power Rankings.
2. St. Louis BattleHawks (2-1) [Last Week: 3]
The BattleHawks didn’t have to strain too hard to beat the Guardians this week. But with their 20-point win and DC having a blowout loss, they’ve taken the lead spot in the East Division. What’s more telling than anything is that Jordan Ta’amu didn’t have to do really anything – he had zero touchdowns. Instead, it was the running game and the defense that did all the work.
It’s notable that St. Louis has had more success with the running game than most. Matt Jones leads the league in rushing (224 yards). And he certainly had a big day, but Christine Michael did well too. They might not be as high-powered as the Roughnecks passing attack, but as of this week, they look to have the most well-rounded squad.
3. DC Defenders (2-1) [Last Week: 1]
This was the game that essentially proved that anything could happen any given Sunday in the XFL as well. Because the DC Defenders, a team that looked like a complete juggernaut the first two weeks, instead looked like they switched places with the Tampa Bay Vipers. Cardale Jones looked more like his NFL self as opposed to the MVP contender we’d seen at first. And the defense got shredded by a formerly 0-2 team.
Still, it is just one game and the product we saw from them the first two weeks was markedly different. They could easily bounce back. Jones will need to be more confident in the backfield, and the defense will have to play better too. At the moment, it seems like it’s probably just a fluke. But then again, even if that’s the case, it was a pretty awful fluke.
4. Dallas Renegades (2-1) [Last Week: 4]
The least impressive team with a winning record… still ultimately has a winning record, and they’re 2-0 under Landry Jones. Even with his mistakes, he’s been making up for them and outweighing the negatives. And their running game had another good day as well – Cameron Artis-Payne and Lance Dunbar seem to be a good duo for them.
This team may not raise eyebrows the way the Roughnecks, BattleHawks, or the first-two-weeks Defenders will, but they’re still finding ways to win games thus far. And while things do look to be heating up now in the race for second place in the West Division, they’ve got a leg up on that spot.
5. Los Angeles Wildcats (1-2) [Last Week: 6]
That was quite a way for the Wildcats to get their first win – by getting a 30-point win over what was supposed to be the best team in the league. It’s hard to believe this is the same team that looked so lifeless in the first three quarters of last week. But Josh Johnson absolutely shredded the Defenders defense (and yes, there’s definitely irony there) – and not even with just Nelson Spruce.
But arguably more impressive is their defense holding the Defenders to just nine points and forcing four interceptions off Cardale Jones. Especially considering that during the first two weeks, their defense looked like possibly the worst. The difference here was night and day. And don’t look now, but they’ve suddenly got the second most points in the league (74). They’ll have to keep this level of play up, but if they do, they could still be a threat.
6. Seattle Dragons (1-2) [Last Week: 5]
Brandon Silvers played better this week than last week when they won… and yet they lost. This team doesn’t make much sense. Their problem this time was actually that they were shutout during the second half. For some reason, this team just cannot put a complete game together.
Their top two running backs both averaged over four yards a carry, so perhaps they might want to try and lean on that a little more. And given also that their defense played pretty decently in the first half, it’s clear that the ability is there. They just can’t seem to put it all together. And at this rate, that might leave them falling behind in the race too quickly.
7. Tampa Bay Vipers (0-3) [Last Week: 8]
They’re the last winless team now, but they tried their hardest to get that first win against a really tough opponent. They finally scored touchdowns and kept pace with the Houston Roughnecks for almost the entire game. Taylor Cornelius played fairly well in his second start, and generally, the team just played a lot closer to the way that was originally expected.
If this game’s any indication, it won’t take too long for them to get that first win. They play DC next week, and that will be very much a game of “which version of the teams show up this time,” given that both teams looked like polar opposites of themselves this week. But good for Tampa Bay trying to stay alive.
8. New York Guardians (1-2) [Last Week: 7]
It’s getting more and more bizarre that the Guardians even defeated the Vipers in Week 1 at all. They have nine points in the last two weeks. Perhaps Aaron Murray was just that bad? But even then, the offense looked better (even if not spectacular) in that game than it has the last two weeks. It got bad enough this time that they brought in the third quarterback – former AAF passer Luis Perez.
There’s a lot of problems here. Unlike most of the other teams, they don’t seem to have much receiving talent, which may not be helping the quarterback situation. But the defense is also quite suspect. There’s hardly any positives to speak of with this team right now, and even though they have a lone win to their name, their performance as of late still leaves them at the bottom of the XFL Power Rankings.
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