The last time the XFL had a champion, the year was 2001, and Tommy Maddox led the Los Angeles Xtreme to a title. This time around, the winning quarterback will be Jordan Ta’amu of the D.C. Defenders or Luis Perez of the Arlington Renegades? The Defenders (10-1) come in as the heavy favorites, even though they only defeated the Renegades (5-6) by two points in their lone regular-season matchup. The Renegades upset the Houston Roughnecks to win the South Division and earn a championship berth, while the Defenders won as expected over Seattle in the North Division semifinal. Don’t commit to any XFL betting on this game until you have read our preview.
XFL Championship Preview
Arlington Renegades vs D.C. Defenders
When: Saturday, May 13, 2023, 8:00 pm ET
Where: Alamodome, San Antonio
TV: ABC
Radio: No National Broadcast
Live Stream: ESPN+
XFL Odds: Arlington +6.5 / O/U 48 // Arlington +215 / D.C. -260
Why should you bet on the Renegades?
Despite playing poorly down the stretch, the Renegades benefited from the fact that the San Antonio Brahmas (and the rest of the South Division) played even more poorly, and the Renegades got the 2-seed in the South. They went to Houston after losing to those same Roughnecks in Week 10 and pulled off the upset, thrashing the Roughnecks in the first half while holding on for the win after halftime, the defense basically keeping Houston from getting close enough to threaten points.
Perez had his first dominant game of the season, going 19 of 27 for 289 yards and three scores, including a couple of bombs. Head coach Bob Stoops obviously saw some things in Week 10 that he was able to put to his advantage for the Renegades in this quick rematch. If you like the Renegades, you remember that they hung close with D.C. during the regular season, and that they come into this title game with all kinds of confidence.
Bet on the Renegades!
Why should you put your money on the Defenders?
D.C. dominated teams all season long, with the only setback coming in Week 7, when the Orlando Guardians took down the unbeaten Defenders to get their first win of the season. The Defenders then finished with three straight wins, including that Week 9 win over Arlington. In that game, the Defenders had a late lead over the Renegades, but Arlington roared back from a double-digit deficit to force overtime, but Ta’amu got a two-point conversion in overtime to seal the win, 28-26.
In the North Division championship, D.C. met the Seattle Sea Dragons in a game that was tied, 9-9, at the half before the Defenders made a laugher out of it after the intermission. Ta’amu went 19 of 31 for 258 yards, two scores and two picks, and tailback Cam’Ron Harris found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter to salt away the win. The defense shut Seattle out for the entire third period before giving up some garbage-time points in the waning minutes of the game.
Bet on the Defenders!
Final Score and Prediction
D.C. is the favorite for a reason, as they have dominated all comers this season. They did give up a lot to the Renegades in Week 9, but most of those points came near the end of the fourth quarter. I see the Defenders making the necessary adjustments to finish 60 minutes of football this time around. I predict a final score of D.C. 27, Arlington 16.
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