The second weekend of the XFL has now come and gone. The results were a little underwhelming, but we still got at least one good game and now it’s becoming more clear who the early contenders are. So let’s get on to the XFL Power Rankings and see where each team stands.
Week 2 XFL Power Rankings
1. DC Defenders (2-0) [Last Week: 2]
After making a good impression with their opening win, the Defenders came out in Week 2 and did even better by pitching a shutout. Pretty much everything was firing on all cylinders for them. Even the running game was improved over the previous week. And Cardale Jones looks like an early contender for XFL MVP (along with the other 2-0 team’s quarterback). Notably, they currently have easily the best point differential in the league with +39, and only the Roughnecks have scored more points.
As things currently stand, it looks very much like the Defenders are an early contender to be a playoff threat. They look to have better competition in the East with St. Louis than the West will, but they definitely have the ability to get it done. It’ll be helpful if the running game remains productive like this, but as we saw in Week 1, they are still very capable of winning even if that’s not working.
2. Houston Roughnecks (2-0) [Last Week: 1]
The Roughnecks have quickly established themselves as easily the best team in the West Division. Their quarterback Phillip “PJ” Walker has been moving the ball absurdly well and throwing touchdown after touchdown. It certainly helps when your top receiver (Cam Phillips, in this case) brings in a hat trick as well.
The Roughnecks were in danger of letting a 21-6 lead slip away here, but they staved off the comeback and held on. This was in part due to their defense. Even though they allowed Jordan Ta’amu to have four total touchdowns, they still forced a couple of big turnovers. The only real issue with this team is that they’re not very well-rounded on offense – no running back had more than seven carries. Still, it doesn’t seem to be hurting them thus far.
3. St. Louis BattleHawks (1-1) [Last Week: 3]
The BattleHawks definitely came to play against a tough opponent. They did struggle in the second quarter which put them in a big hole, but they still almost managed to come back from it. And given that one of Ta’amu’s interceptions happened on a controversial missed offsides call, it’s difficult to look down too badly on them. Ultimately, they’re still the only other team besides the top two heavyweights with an actually good quarterback.
Despite falling to 1-1, the BattleHawks look to be in a much brighter spot than most of their peers in that position. They’ve proven they can play with the best, and look to be the only real competition for the Defenders in the East. Whether they’ll be able to upend them or not when the time comes remains to be seen.
4. Dallas Renegades (1-1) [Last Week: 7]
This team had the biggest upward jump in the Power Rankings. There’s still cause for concern with them; the early performance of Landry Jones was not encouraging. Neither is the fact that they couldn’t score a touchdown until the fourth quarter, even though they did play much better at that point.
But it was still an all-around better performance than their opener with a backup quarterback. They were more aggressive with the ball, and they also had the best performance out of their running backs for the week – an area that has struggled in general in the XFL thus far. Cameron Artis-Payne stood out, getting 99 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries. They’ve still got some work to do, but they certainly looked improved after their season opener.
5. Seattle Dragons (1-1) [Last Week: 5]
Bizarrely, the Dragons looked worse this week when they won than last week when they lost to the Defenders. Brandon Silvers played a terrible game, going 7-for-18 with only 91 yards. And his pick-six put his team in a big hole early on. They had to depend upon the running game and a pick-six from their own defense in order to come back and win against a team that has yet to score a touchdown on offense in this league.
Right now, their merits rest more on the fact that they hung with the Defenders for most of the game in Week 1. Silvers certainly looked more promising in that one, even if still inconsistent. They’ll certainly have to play more like that in the future as opposed to whatever this Week 2 performance was.
6. Los Angeles Wildcats (0-2) [Last Week: 6]
Like their opponents the Dallas Renegades, this team struggled to do anything in the first three quarters before exploding in the fourth. Oddly enough, they seemed more passive at first with Josh Johnson at quarterback as opposed to Chad Kanoff. This definitely didn’t help, but Johnson played well when they finally started being more aggressive.
What helps vaults this team up slightly is Nelson Spruce, who is arguably the best receiver in the XFL thus far. Last week, he pulled in 11 catches for 103 yards. He followed that up with six catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. His team’s still 0-2 despite that, but he’s helping keep them at least competitive. If this team tried being less passive and throwing somewhat longer passes, they might still be able to try and salvage the season. But until then, they’re still one of only two winless teams.
7. New York Guardians (1-1) [Last Week: 4]
Despite the New York Guardians getting a blowout victory last week, they were hardly explosive and it was against a very poor opponent. Those who were cautious of crowning them were proven right when they completely unraveled against the DC Defenders in a shutout loss. Sure, the Defenders are the best team in the league. But that doesn’t excuse the anemic performance the offense had.
Matt McGloin, after being effective enough but still not noteworthy last week, went 8-for-19 with 44 and two interceptions and then got benched. They weren’t very effective on the ground either. Maybe they’ll do better against an opponent that’s less of a juggernaut, but this performance made them look very much like pretenders.
8. Tampa Bay Vipers (0-2) [Last Week: 8]
It doesn’t matter what quarterback they start, apparently. They didn’t play Aaron Murray this week, but Taylor Cornelius and Quinton Flowers were just as bad. Once again, the running game was effective and the defense helped give them an early lead with a pick-six. But neither of those factors could make up for the terrible quarterback play.
The Vipers are the only team so far to not have scored a touchdown on offense. Their only touchdown so far at all is on defense. Even if there are some positives to this team, they can’t make up for the negatives. Maybe it’s time to try Chase Litton at quarterback?
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