XFL odds, picks for Week 2: Sea Dragons rebound vs. Battlehawks, Roughnecks down Renegades
Welcome to Week 2 of the XFL, and I gotta say, Week 1 was more entertaining than I thought it would be. Out of the four games, three incuded second-half comebacks that ended in thrilling fashion. You can't make up what happened in the St. Louis Battlehawks vs. San Antonio Brahmas matchup, as A.J. McCarron's offense scored 15 straight points in the final 1:30 to come back and win. They even converted that fourth-and-15 onside kick to keep the ball and score the game-winning touchdown!
Since CBS Sports pays me the big bucks, it should surprise no one that I went 4-0 ATS. Just kidding, I can't believe I went 4-0 ATS -- especially considering how wild the games ended up being. I know that gambling on Week 2 in the NFL is sometimes very difficult because it's easy to overreact to what happened in the season openers. I bet that's even more true for a league like the XFL. Let's jump in.
ATS record: 4-0
Straight up record: 3-1
XFL Favorites ATS: 2-2
St. Louis Battlehawks at Sea Dragons (-3)
Thursday, 9 p.m. ET (FX/ESPN+)
I picked the Battlehawks in Week 1 because I thought McCarron had a chance to be one of the better quarterbacks in this league. While he led an incredible comeback, I still feel as though my initial prediction was wrong. Virtually all of his stats came in the fourth quarter. I'm nervous to pick St. Louis on the road again.
The Sea Dragons are on a very short week, as they fell to the D.C. Defenders late Sunday night, 22-18. If you want to claim the Sea Dragons looked like the better team in that matchup, I wouldn't necessarily disagree. Ben DiNucci seems like a feast-or-famine quarterback, and then Josh Gordon and Jahcour Pearson appear to be two legitimate wideouts. They combined for 169 yards and a touchdown in Week 1. Seattle was clearly affected by the rowdy D.C. crowd, but this week, the Sea Dragons get to check out what playing football is like in front of your home fans. Give me the home team to cover.
The pick: Sea Dragons -3
Projected score: Sea Dragons 26-20
D.C. Defenders at Vegas Vipers (-3.5)
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (FX/ESPN+)
My colleague Bryan DeArdo has the Defenders atop his Week 2 XFL Power Rankings, and while I love him dearly, I disagree. The Defenders are one of the best teams in the league, but their offense has some question marks. Jordan Ta'amu didn't have a great outing with 86 passing yards and an interception, and then D'Eriq King is more of a running quarterback -- although maybe that's something D.C. wants. I expect both to play moving forward. The Defenders do have an awesome defense, captained by Gregg Williams, and a great home-field advantage. However, this game is not at home.
Vegas blew a 14-3 lead to Arlington in Week 1, thanks to two pick-sixes from Luis Perez. He's a spring league veteran that's going to give you some good and some bad. The Vipers don't appear to have a high-powered run game, but they do have a few legitimate wideouts in Jeff Badet, Geronimo Allison and Martavis Bryant. Cinque Sweeting also had 64 yards and a touchdown last week as well. The line surprises me, but home teams went 3-1 in Week 1. Give me the Vipers.
The pick: Vipers -3.5
Projected score: Vipers 18-13
San Antonio Brahmas (-3) at Orlando Guardians
Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Most came into this season believing the Guardians would be the worst team in the league. Orlando didn't exactly help its case by getting blown out by 21 points to the Houston Roughnecks. Was that more of the Guardians struggling or the Roughnecks being a prospective powerhouse? Time will tell. Either way, I think the Brahmas present a bounce-back opportunity for ... Quinten Dormady I guess?
I didn't think Jack Coan was incredibly impressive, but it was Week 1. San Antonio is going to be a team that runs the ball, as the Brahmas rushed for 133 yards on 39 attempts vs. the Battlehawks. Here's my hot take for the week: I'm going to take the points with the "lowly" Guardians. I'm not sure I want to call for the upset, but I'll hold my nose and take three points.
The pick: Guardians +3
Projected score: Brahmas 17-16
Arlington Renegades at Houston Roughnecks (-4.5)
Sunday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
The Renegades' defense landed them in the win column last weekend. It certainly wasn't because of the offense. Drew Plitt completed 19 of 25 passes for 172 yards and one interception, while the run game averaged 2.7 yards per carry.
As for Houston, the Roughnecks appear to be the best team in the league. Brandon Silvers threw for 272 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Jontre Kirklin caught five passes for 71 yards and a touchdown, and Deontay Burnett caught eight passes for 90 yards and a score. Four-and-a-half points feels like a lot given that we are one week into this thing, but I'm going to take the home favorite.
The pick: Roughnecks -4.5
Projected score: Roughnecks 25-20
