Seattle Sea Dragons Defeat Arlington Renegades To Win Five Straight In XFL
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Seattle Sea Dragons Defeat Arlington For Fifth Straight Win

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Week seven of the XFL kicked off tonight. The Arlington Renegades hosted the Seattle Sea Dragons, in a matchup that had important playoff implications for both teams.

Heading into this game, Arlington held a 3-3 record, barely holding on to the second seed in the XFL South after a loss to San Antonio the prior week. Meanwhile, Jim Haslett’s Sea Dragons have won four games in a row, but still sit behind the St. Louis Battlehawks due to a head-to-head loss.

The Arlington Renegades saw some major changes this week. QB Kyle Sloter was cut from the team, which resulted in a trade for Vegas Vipers QB Luis Perez. Perez just joined the team, though, so Drew Plitt was the starter for tonight’s game.

Clearly, this showdown had a lot on the line. Let’s take a look at what happened, as Seattle took control early.

First Quarter

Seattle received the opening kickoff, and got off to a solid start. Ben DiNucci made a few plays with his legs, extending the drive. Ultimately, T.J. Barnes got a sack on DiNucci, so the Sea Dragons settled for a 44 yard field goal from Dominik Eberle.

The Arlington Renegades looked pretty good on their first possession, with Drew Plitt in charge. He made a couple of nice plays to keep the chains moving, using his legs as well. On 4th and 5, after Sal Cannella dropped a first down, they went for it – utilizing the same play, and Cannella caught it for the first down.

The team eventually resorted to a field goal, as Taylor Russolino knocked through a 37 yarder to tie things up at 3. With one quarter down, it was all knotted up in Choctaw Stadium.

Second Quarter

DiNucci and the Sea Dragons were playing well to start this game, pushing the ball down the field. Ben found Blake Jackson on a deep ball, which set the team up nicely. However, Arlington’s defense held strong, holding Seattle to a field goal attempt which was successful.

Antoine Brooks has been an outstanding defender for Seattle so far this season, and made an impact on Arlington’s next drive. Brooks made a ridiculous tackle in the backfield, slowing down the momentum the Renegades had – forcing a punt. Seattle punted the ball right back, though, unable to get things going on their end.

It wasn’t an ideal drive for Arlington up next, to say the least. Qwynnterrio Cole picked off Plitt, who threw a terrible long ball right to the defense.

Seattle was able to capitalize. DiNucci found Jordan Veasy, who made defenders miss and turned a short pass into a 4 yard gain. Then, Darius Bradwell ran it in from a few yards out, putting the Sea Dragons in front 13-3 with a successful PAT.

Arlington put together an excellent drive down the stretch of the first half. Plitt looked much more comfortable this time around, and De’Veon Smith continued to be a force on the inside. After getting into the redzone, Smith ran it in from a yard out.

Two Minute XFL Offense

With under two minutes to go, Seattle made something happen. DiNucci put the team on his back, picking up large chunks of yardage with his legs. Then, he dropped an absolute dime to Josh Gordon in the back corner of the end zone, who made a fantastic catch in traffic.

Heading into halftime, the Seattle Sea Dragons led 21-9 after a successful two point attempt.

Third Quarter

Arlington marched down the field to start the second half, and appeared to be in a position to score. However, on 4th and 1 within the red zone, they decided to go for it – and failed. A pass came up short from Plitt to Cannella, and Seattle took over on downs.

Just when you thought Seattle was going to completely pull away, the dynamic shifted just a bit. The Sea Dragons got into the redzone on a ridiculous pass from DiNucci to Veasy, who made an outstanding grab. However, Will Hill snagged a pick in the end zone, which ended this drive.

With two long drives in the third quarter, it went by relatively fast despite no scores. With fifteen minutes left, Arlington had possession of the ball.

Fourth Quarter

Unfortunately for the Renegades, they couldn’t find a way to get back into a rhythm on offense. The team stalled out once again, punting back to Seattle.

The Sea Dragons continued to pour it on, as DiNucci was slinging it without worrying about the previous mistake. A Dominik Eberle 48 yard field goal was good, and Seattle took a 24-9 lead.

As time trickled down, Arlington desperately needed something to work. Vic Bolden pulled off an impressive tip-toe down the sidelines on a screen, setting the team up with great field position.

De’Veon Smith was an absolute workhorse for the Renegades today, putting the team on his back. Smith ultimately barreled his way into the endzone for his second touchdown of the game, and it was a 24-15 ball game.

With a couple of minutes to go, Seattle executed. They continued to pick up first downs, making Arlington use all of their timeouts. As time expired, the Sea Dragons maintained possession – and won, taking down Arlington on the road 24-15.

Final Thoughts

The Seattle Sea Dragons are playing complete football. While it isn’t perfect, Jim Haslett has this team rolling, picking up their fifth straight win of the XFL season. Ben DiNucci always does enough to win, and really stepped up as the team was missing Morgan Ellison once again.

Meanwhile, the Arlington Renegades have a lot to figure out, with only three weeks left. They’ve dropped two straight, as Bob Stoops can’t seem to get this team to stay consistent. As we’ve seen in previous weeks, the overall offensive scheme is just too dry at times. It doesn’t matter if Kyle Sloter or Drew Plitt is the quarterback – neither fit the system that Stoops is running with Jonathan Hayes.

Had Arlington simply executed when they had opportunities in plus territory, this game would have had a different outcome. At 3-4, the Renegades are going to have to hope that Luis Perez is ready to go next week.

Week seven of the XFL continues tomorrow. The Vegas Vipers host the San Antonio Brahmas at 3pm ET on ESPN2.

What did you think of this matchup between the Arlington Renegades and Seattle Sea Dragons? Which XFL players impressed you the most? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!