Seattle Blows The Lead, And The Chance To Upset XFL-Leading Houston

There were more than a brief few moments in which it looked like the Seattle Dragons were primed to upset the XFL-leading Houston Roughnecks, the latter of whom boasted an undefeated record and the most prolific offense in the league. At two different junctures of the game, the Dragons held a lead over the Roughnecks, and appeared to be in the driver’s seat to hand Houston their first loss of the season.

But every time Seattle came up with an answer for Houston, the Roughnecks seemingly had a better one for the Dragons. And that’s why the game would end with a 32-23 score, comprised of Houston handing Seattle their third-straight loss of the season.

The Dragons seemed to have brought the momentum from the second half of their game against St. Louis last week, into the game against Houston. On the second drive of the game, Dragons’ defensive end Jacquies Smith stripped Houston quarterback PJ Walker of the football, and recovered the fumble himself. That would lead to a one-yard touchdown run from Dragons’ quarterback B.J. Daniels.

The next time Seattle got the ball, they went down the field in eight plays, finishing off the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run by running back Trey Williams; Daniels’ pass to Austin Proehl on the two-point conversion would give Houston a 14-0 lead.

And even after Houston would tie the game up at 14-14, Seattle cornerback Marko Myers intercepted a pass by Walker thrown early in the 3rd quarter, returning the ball all the way to Houston’s 1-yard line; Daniels would run for a touchdown on the ensuing play, giving the Dragons a 23-14 lead.

Unfortunately, that’s where the highlights would end for Seattle. After taking the aforementioned lead, the Dragons could only muster a total of 27 net yard on their remaining four drives of the game. Unsurprisingly, three of those four drives ended in a punt, and the final drive ended in a fumble.

Meanwhile, after being bullied by the Dragons’ defense for the first half (and change), Walker would come alive in the third quarter, leading Houston to back-to-back drives in which they scored a touchdown. Walker and the Roughnecks scored touchdowns in each of their first two drives of the 4th quarter, helping cement Houston’s win. Walker, who appears to be the front-runner for the XFL’s Most Valuable Player award this year, would finish the day with 351 yards passing, completing 27 of 38 passes and throwing 3 touchdowns.

It’s undoubtedly going to be a long week for Dragons’ Defensive Coordinator Clayton Lopez. After his group got out to an excellent start, limiting Houston to a total of 9 net yards on seven plays in the first quarter, it went all downhill from there, with the Roughnecks seemingly moving the ball at will. Six of their next eight drives would span at least 42 yards, and the Roughnecks got at least one first down in each of those eight drives.

Even the commentators at the end of the game commented how Seattle was badly in need of returning home, as they spent the last two weeks on the road. Fortunately, they’ll come back to CenturyLink Field next weekend, when they take on the Los Angeles Wildcats. The game will be particularly meaningful for each of the two teams, since the winner will likely be relegated to last place in the XFL West.