The St. Louis BattleHawks are currently in second place in the XFL’s East Conference, with a record of 3-2. That has them tied with both the D.C. Defenders and the New York Guardians, but St. Louis’ win over New York has them ahead of the Guardians, who are in third place. However, their loss to D.C. means that the BattleHawks would enter as the conference’s second seed. The East has been much different from the West, a conference that Houston has dominated with a 5-0 record. The BattleHawks have one of the top defensive units in the league; in fact, the eight touchdowns that they have permitted leads the XFL. Only St. Louis and New York have permitted fewer than a dozen touchdowns through five games. The East is full of teams that are much more conservative on offense; St. Louis is tied with Tampa Bay for the conference lead in touchdowns scored with 11. In the West, Houston leads with 21 touchdowns and every team except Dallas has 12 or more touchdowns. What could we expect out of St. Louis in the playoffs? If you plan to include the XFL postseason in your sports betting when you return, check out our thoughts on St. Louis.
St. Louis BattleHawks 2020 Season Analysis
Offensive Analysis
Jordan Ta’amu has been the best quarterback in the XFL East Conference this year and one of the top three in the entire league in terms of passer rating and yardage. He has a 72 percent completion rate, tops in the league, and he has thrown for 1,050 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. His passer rating is 101.3, third behind Houston’s P.J. Walker (104.4) and Los Angeles’ Josh Johnson (106.3).
Tailback Matt Jones is second in the XFL in yards gained with 314, on 80 attempts, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. He has scored one touchdown so far. One thing we are learning from the statistics so far is that rushing offense is a lot less important for teams than passing is, as far as overall composition of offenses. However, having a credible threat in the backfield does keep teams from sending the kitchen sink on the pass rush.
Defensive Analysis
On defense, St. Louis has two of the top five tacklers in the XFL through five games. Linebacker Terence Garvin has 36 tackles, and safety Dexter McCoil has 33. Andrew Ankrah is one of nine XFL defenders with two sacks, tied for third in the league. The fact that St. Louis found a way to bottle up what had been a prolific D.C. offense to just 15 points on the road and held both Dallas and New York to single digits bodes well for their prospects down the stretch.
Key Players/Numbers
Obviously, Ta’amu is the top player to watch for the BattleHawks. The teams in the XFL who have at least serviceable quarterbacks would advance to the semifinals if the XFL decides to hold a postseason. The teams who either have not found a quarterback who can move the ball or who have had their starting quarterback go down to injury would be on the outside looking in. The contributors we mentioned for the St. Louis defense, particularly Garvin and McColl, have been key in stopping drives and keeping opponents out of the end zone.
Odds to Win the XFL Championship:
Currently, there are no updated odds on the 2020 XFL Championship. The postseason is supposed to consist of the top two teams in each conference, and since the XFL has canceled the remainder of the 2020 regular season without commenting on the postseason, we have put together team previews of the four teams that would advance, if that same format held. The BattleHawks have done serviceably well with the roster they were dealt, and when play resumes in the XFL, if the postseason will be played, we will update you with the latest odds for each team.
