The Seattle Dragons Pick Up Their First XFL Victory

For the Seattle Dragons of the XFL, there was clearly no place like home.

Playing their inaugural game at CenturyLink Field one week after being defeated by the DC Defenders in their XFL debut, the Dragons earned the win over the Tampa Bay Vipers in a 17-9 defensive slugfest.

In a contest in which neither team exceeded 300 yards of total offense and neither quarterback threw for more than 155 yards, the Dragons would turn their 9-0 second-half deficit into a 14-9 lead at the end of the third quarter, with a 27-yard field goal conversion from kicker Ernesto Lacayo cementing the win.

As the halftime score would indicate, things didn’t turn out so well for the Dragons in the first half. Seattle would punt the ball on four of their five first-half possessions, with their first possession that made it into Vipers’ territory ending with a missed field goal (from 47 yards out). In their five first-half possessions, the Dragons managed 46 total yards and 5 first downs.

To make matters worse, the Dragons opened up the second half by again entering Tampa Bay territory, only to watch quarterback Brandon Silvers throw an errant pass just outside the reach of tight end Connor Hamlett, only to watch cornerback Tavarus McFadden intercept the pass and take it 78 yards the other way for a touchdown.

That mistake clearly lit a fire in Seattle, as they would quickly eliminate their deficit. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Silvers would calmly connect with wide receiver Keenan Reynolds deep downfield, as the former Naval Academy standout had beaten former LSU cornerback Jalen Collins down the middle of field in single coverage. The catch and throw between Silver and Reynolds resulted in a 68-yard touchdown.

Just four plays after that, Tampa Bay quarterback Quinton Flowers was drifting backwards to attempt a screen pass in the flat, but the attempt was grabbed right out of the air by defensive end Marcel Frazier, who had to scamper for only a few yards before scoring a touchdown of his own, giving the Dragons a 12-9 lead; Silver and Reynolds would connect on the two-point conversion after that, giving Seattle the 14-9 lead.

While Tampa Bay would have two possessions, spanning 15 and 10 plays, in the fourth quarter, both of them ended via turnover on downs – the first of which actually ended with a goal-line stand by the Dragons, who kept Tampa Bay out of the endzone from the 2-yard line. The Dragons offense did their part in the fourth quarter as well, going on a 10-play drive that ate almost six minutes off the clock, severely crippling any chance that the Vipers had to come back and win.

The victory marks the first win of Head Coach Jim Zorn’s XFL career. The former NFL quarterback and head coach of the Washington Redskins would’ve probably enjoyed seeing a few more offensive fireworks in the game, but certainly nobody could argue against the outcome of the game.

Seattle will now try to make it two home wins in a row next Saturday, when they host the Dallas Renegades. Their opponents have a similar 1-1 record, comprising a loss to start the XFL season followed by a win in Week 2.

The Renegades are overseen by former University of Oklahoma Sooners Head Coach Bob Stoops.