The Houston Roughnecks remained undefeated after Week 4 of the XFL’s 2020 regular season, thanks to a big win in Dallas over the Renegades. They lead the XFL West by two games over Dallas, with Los Angeles and Seattle tied for third behind them, although the Wildcats hold the tiebreaker advantage due to touchdown differential. In the XFL East, St. Louis has won two in a row and sits at 3-1, a game ahead of the D.C. Defenders, who have lost two in a row after winning their first two games in laughers, and the New York Guardians, who only have scored five touchdowns in four games but are still 2-2. Behind them are the Tampa Bay Vipers, who picked up their first win of 2020 last week. We have your XFL Odds & betting predictions for each of the four matchups for this coming week 5.
XFL: Week 5 Games Preview & Betting Odds
Saturday, March 7
Seattle Dragons (+13) at Houston Roughnecks (2:00 pm ET, ABC)
P.J. Walker had a solid day at quarterback for Houston, throwing for 239 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 27-20 win over Dallas. Walker has a 12:2 TD:INT ratio. It helped, of course, that Houston got three interceptions from Dallas’ Landry Jones in the first quarter. But Walker’s steady hand has been crucial in Houston’s strong start.
Seattle dug themselves a 17-3 hole this last week and then pulled B.J. Daniels off the bench at quarterback. He went five for ten for 50 yards, but the South Florida product also ran seven times for 84 yards. Daniels should start against Houston; can the Roughnecks cover that giant line?
Final Score Prediction: Houston 24, Seattle 16
New York Guardians (+7.5) at Dallas Renegades (5:00 pm ET, FOX)
vDallas played nicely against Houston — after digging themselves a 15-0 hole that they could not dig themselves out of. Landry Jones had those three first-quarter picks, but he also had 205 passing yards, and he found tight end Donald Parham for a crucial touchdown. However, Dallas only averaged 3.4 yards per offensive play in the game. They will need to do better with the defensively minded Guardians coming to town.
New York seems to have solved their quarterback dilemma, as Luis Perez, formerly a star in the AAF, led the Guardians to a 17-14 win over Los Angeles. Perez went 18 for 26 for 150 yards and a score, but the most important stat was the zero turnovers. The Guardians have three players with two or more sacks, as their defense is their bread and butter.
Final Score Prediction: Dallas 20, New York 17
Sunday, March 8
St. Louis BattleHawks (-2.5) at D.C. Defenders (3:00 pm ET, FS1)
Jordan Ta’amu is the best quarterback in the XFL not named P.J. Walker right now. He threw for 264 yards and ran for 63 more as St. Louis beat Seattle, 23-16. Ta’amu is #2 in the XFL with 876 passing yards — and fourth among ball carriers with 186 yards on the ground. Will Hill had his second pick in the last two weeks.D.C. got two great games out of Cardale Jones at quarterback, followed by two forgettable games in a shockingly awful 25-0 road loss to previously winless Tampa Bay. Jones picked up a 30.9 quarterback rating for the game, averaging just 3.3 yards per passing attempt. The running game did not pick up the slack, gaining just 46 yards on 13 carries. D.C. is still unbeaten at home, but can they stop St. Louis?
Final Score Prediction: St. Louis 27, D.C. 16
Tampa Bay Vipers (NL) at Los Angeles Wildcats (9:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Josh Johnson threw for 330 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but third down conversions still are a problem for Los Angeles, as they just converted two times in 11 chances. New York beat them with a field goal — with 10:54 left on the clock. Los Angeles needs to get stops, and they need to finish late drives.
Tampa Bay had a terrific first half against D.C., going into the locker room up 16-0 with a 223-79 edge in yards of offense. Taylor Cornelius threw for 211 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Tailbacks De’Veon Smith and Jacques Patrick combined for 230 yards on 45 carries. There is no line yet, but could Tampa Bay have found a way to start winning?
Final Score Prediction: Tampa Bay 30, Los Angeles 20
