We are now halfway through the XFL season. And even so, teams keep constantly shifting back and forth on the totem pole. The only constant has been Houston dominating. Right now we’ve got a three-way tie for first place in the East Division. Let us try our best to sort through the madness and see which teams look the best – at least for this week. So without further ado, the XFL Power Rankings for Week 5…
Week 5 XFL Power Rankings
1. Houston Roughnecks (5-0) [Last Week: 1]
Phillip “PJ” Walker had some struggles early on for the first time all year that put Houston in an early hole. And yet the Seattle Dragons still couldn’t hold them off. Walker finished with 351 passing yards and three touchdowns, and Cam Phillips had 10 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
But perhaps most notable is that the running game finally got going. They had two touchdowns off of that, courtesy of James Butler, and over 100 yards total. If the Roughnecks can consistently keep the running game going, they might actually be about as close to unstoppable as is possible in this league. The defense is still a little suspect at times, but it hasn’t hurt them much yet. They’re 5-0, and there’s not even a 4-1 team in this league.
2. DC Defenders (3-2) [Last Week: 4]
Perhaps a shakeup at the quarterback position was all that was really needed there. Cardale Jones got benched after throwing another interception, and they ran a more run-dependent offense with Tyree Jackson. And maybe it was just because the BattleHawks weren’t expecting that, but it worked. They tore up the St. Louis defense, which isn’t anything to sneeze at.
The defense got back to its more dominant ways as well, holding the BattleHawks offense (which has been one of the most well-rounded ones) to only six points and keeping them out of the end zone. It’s hard to believe it was the same defense that got shredded by the Los Angeles Wildcats and Tampa Bay Vipers. Time will tell if they’re able to keep the better level of play up – on both sides of the ball.
3. New York Guardians (3-2) [Last Week: 5]
Just a couple of weeks ago, this team was dead last in the XFL Power Rankings. Now they’ve won two in a row and dropped 30 points on the Dallas Renegades. And they have a winning record. Changing the quarterback seems to be a big part of it, as Luis Perez – while not outstanding – has played well and not made that many errors. The running game was key again for them as well.
This week’s win was a complete team effort, though. They had a touchdown on offense, a touchdown on defense (pick-six), and a touchdown on special teams (kickoff return). They may not repeat that every week, and they do still need to score more touchdowns on offense. But this team has turned things around impressively quickly.
4. St. Louis BattleHawks (3-2) [Last Week: 2]
The performance of this team over the weekend is definitely a headscratcher. Matt Jones and Christine Michael combined for 139 yards rushing. Jordan Ta’amu didn’t turn the ball over – in fact, neither did anyone else. And yet, the BattleHawks could not get in the end zone at all. Two field goals saved them from a shutout loss.
And while the defense only surrendered 15 points, they still gave up well over 150 yards on the ground. Perhaps it was a matter of not expecting the Defenders to bench Cardale Jones so early and switch to another offense entirely. But that still leaves the question as to why the BattleHawks offense couldn’t keep up. All things considered, it’s probably an anomaly on their part. But they’ll likely be anxious to bounce back in Week 6.
5. Los Angeles Wildcats (2-3) [Last Week: 6]
The Wildcats needed that win over the Vipers badly, and they got it – by scoring 41, coming back from an early 24-6 deficit, and having Josh Johnson throw four touchdown passes. Now they’re tied for second in the West Division, even with a 2-3 record. And with Landry Jones out for a little while longer for the Renegades, it’ll be a good opportunity to take full control of second place.
It’s worth noting that despite being 2-3, the Wildcats are currently one of only three teams with a positive point differential – the other two being the Roughnecks and the BattleHawks. They’ve still got some catching up to do, but they’re on the right track.
6. Dallas Renegades (2-3) [Last Week: 3]
For all of the problems that Landry Jones has with turnovers, the fact is that the Dallas Renegades are worse off without him. This is a little odd considering that Philip Nelson played pretty well in the AAF, but here he’s not even being allowed to do much – the offense is run in a more stifled manner with him. And due in part to falling behind quickly, they couldn’t depend on the running game to save them versus the Guardians.
The Renegades are going to have to find a way to manage without Jones for at least one more game. They don’t want to fall to 2-4; while they could conceivably come back from that, it’s not a position one wants to be in with only four games to go afterwards. If the Wildcats continue to play well, that won’t help matters for Dallas.
7. Tampa Bay Vipers (1-4) [Last Week: 7]
After a terrible start, the Vipers have looked actually a lot better for the last three games. The problem? They’ve still lost two of those three games. At some point, even if you’re not playing like a dumpster fire anymore, you’ve still got to start winning games. The Vipers have been unable to close the deal in these closer games twice now. This was arguably the most egregious, because they were up 24-6 early in the second quarter – and blew it.
The Vipers have a fair amount of positives right now on offense since they’ve got a good running game going and Taylor Cornelius is playing decently. However, it seems like their defensive performance against the Defenders may have been a fluke thanks to the implosion of Cardale Jones. And that still-suspect defense (which just gave up 41 to the Wildcats) may just be their final undoing.
8. Seattle Dragons (1-4) [Last Week: 8]
The Seattle Dragons actually held a lead over the undefeated Roughnecks for a good portion of the game… and still lost. B.J. Daniels is sparking them a bit with his rushing ability, but his passing was pretty pedestrian on Saturday. Their defense helped them out a bit too at first by getting some rare interceptions off Walker, but then they couldn’t close the deal and hold on.
That’s been pretty much the story of their season. This team cannot put a complete game together. Their only win came against a Vipers team that had yet to break out. They’ve played some good close games, but not really won any of them. As long as these struggles continue, they’ll probably continue to be at the bottom of the XFL Power Rankings.
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