Seattle Sea Dragons Top Houston Roughnecks In Chaotic XFL TNF Showdown
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Seattle Sea Dragons Top Houston Roughnecks In XFL TNF Victory

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Week five of the XFL kicked off late last night. The Seattle Sea Dragons hosted the Houston Roughnecks, in what was set to be an exciting matchup.

Heading into this game, both XFL teams featured high powered offenses. However, Houston has been much more consistent, with an undefeated 4-0 record. Meanwhile, Seattle has had their woes, at 2-2 on the season, losing a couple of nail-biters.

An interesting storyline, which added to the fun, was the offensive coordinators. AJ Smith returned to the Roughnecks in 2023 as their OC; but former Houston head coach, June Jones, took over the OC duties for Jim Haslett in Seattle.

It was bound to be one heck of a game, and it certainly was. Let’s take a look at what happened, as both defenses had their way for most of the night.

First Quarter

Houston received the football, but couldn’t really go anywhere. Brandon Silvers was taken down in the backfield, pushing them in a hole they couldn’t get out of. Seattle’s defense impressively forced a punt on the opening drive. However, the Roughnecks defense did the same, as both teams traded punts to begin the game.

Brandon Silvers looked completely out of sync to open things up, struggling to find a rhythm. Seattle partially blocked the punt, which set them up nicely when it comes to field position.

Ben DiNucci put the team on his back on their second possession, running multiple times and using his legs to create plays. On 3rd down, he scrambled 20 yards for the score, and the Sea Dragons went up 6-0.

With one quarter down, Seattle led by a touchdown.

Second Quarter

It wasn’t an ideal start for Houston in the second. After a nice march down the field, Silvers was stripped of the football by Antoine Brooks, and Daniel Joseph recovered for the Sea Dragons.

Unfortunately for Seattle, they’d be careless with the football as well. They got into Houston territory – but DiNucci got popped on a throw, and it was picked off by Sean Davis.

The Roughnecks continued to falter on offense, unable to figure things out. They moved the ball decently well to about midifield, but stalled out every time.

Right before the two minute warning, DiNucci found Jahcour Pearson on a beautiful dime, which set them up in scoring position.

Seattle scored again, as DiNucci made a play with his legs again. Ben scrambled out of the pocket, before tossing it to Juwan Green for the touchdown.

DiNucci went right back to Green on the three point conversion, and he made a ridiculous catch to make it a 15-0 ball game going into halftime.

Third Quarter

Seattle received the ball to open the second half, but ultimately had to punt. The Sea Dragons kept the foot on the gas pedal, though, making it difficult for Silvers to move the football. Both teams traded multiple punts in the third quarter, as the defenses were winning up front and in the secondary.

Speaking of punts, Houston’s woes at special teams continued. Tuzar Skipper blocked Race Porter’s punt attempt, and Seattle was set up deep in the red zone.

The Sea Dragons couldn’t capitalize. DiNucci was picked off again, this time by Ajene Harris, which gave the Roughnecks the ball right back.

Once again, Seattle made plays on defense. Tuzar Skipper had himself a night, forcing a fumble on Silvers. While Houston recovered, they had nowhere to go and had to punt. With fifteen minutes of action left, it was a 15-0 ball game.

Fourth Quarter

Seattle continued to chew clock, seemingly in a spot where they could score again. However, Morgan Ellison fumbled the football, and it was recovered by Glen Logan for the Roughnecks.

Houston finally made something happen offensively. Max Borghi ran the ball in from a yard out, and just like that it was a one score game at 15-6.

Crazily enough, DiNucci made another mistake. He aired it out deep to Josh Gordon – but, Gordon stopped on his route, which allowed Ajene Harris to pick it off for the second time in the game.

Seattle’s defense came up huge, again. Houston could not move the football, and turned the ball over on downs. The Sea Dragons continued to run the clock out, and Bradwell put the nail in the coffin with a TD run to put the team up 21-6.

Crazy XFL Finish

Houston was able to make something happen late in the game. Silvers found Justin Smith on a crossing route, who took it in for the score to make it 21-12. A successful two point try from McDonald to Burnett made it 21-14, with under 30 seconds to play.

The Roughnecks converted the 4th and 15 attempt, as Silvers found Deontay Burnett on a perfectly executed out route. It was a wild ending, to say the least. A PI call set up Houston inside the 30 yard line. However, Silvers got stripped of the ball by Elijah Ponder, and it ended up in the hands of Niko Lalos in the final seconds.

The Seattle Sea Dragons took down the Houston Roughnecks, 21-14 at home.

Final Thoughts

The Seattle Sea Dragons defense came to play. Ron Zook had his squad fired up, as they made the XFL’s best offense through four weeks look completely inept.

While it wasn’t a perfect win, the Sea Dragons picked up a much needed victory at home, improving to 3-2 on the season. Ben DiNucci still has turnover problems, but thankfully it didn’t cost them the game this time.

Houston just lost their first game ever as an XFL franchise. After winning their first nine games between 2020 and 2023, they lose at the hands of June Jones and the Sea Dragons. While they still have control of the South, Wade Phillips has a lot to look at after this poor outing.

Week five continues on Saturday night, as the St. Louis Battlehawks host the DC Defenders at 7pm ET.

What are your takeaways from this XFL game between the Seattle Sea Dragons and Houston Roughnecks? Which XFL players impressed you the most tonight? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!