Houston Roughnecks Rally To Defeat Seattle Dragons 32-23
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Houston Roughnecks Rally To Defeat Seattle Dragons 32-23

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Week 5 of the XFL season is here, kicking off the action is the Seattle Dragons taking on the undefeated Roughnecks at TDECU Stadium in Houston. It was speculated earlier this week that coach Zorn was set to make a change at QB, but news going into this game was sparse. Once game time came, we finally got a solid answer; BJ Daniels would be starting.

Right away you could see a huge change in the Dragons offense. Daniels was using his legs to get through the Houston defense, moving the ball down the field on their first drive. They weren’t able to score, but you could see the impact Daniels was having for the franchise.

The first quarter was fairly slow, both team struggled to get into scoring position. Due to a Roughnecks fumble, the momentum shifted Seattle’s way. BJ Daniels kept using his feet to move the ball, ultimately ending the drive securing six points for the Dragons.

The Dragons defense continued to play solid, with Anthony Johnson getting a massive sack forcing a fourth down punt.

Again, thanks to the defense, Seattle and BJ Daniels had control of the ball once again. Due to the change in possession, The Dragons were able to capitalize on the field position. With 9:22 left in the half BJ Daniels handed the ball off to Tre Williams who ran it 17 yards for the touchdown. This time around Seattle converted on their 2-point attempt, putting them up 14-0.

With the half roughly halfway over Houston knew that they wanted to get into the mix soon. The franchise wasted no time, making some meaningful plays on their next drive. PJ Walker connected with Nick Holley, who thanks to some fancy footwork was able to secure the teams first touchdown of the afternoon bringing the game to 14-6.

Seattle could not produce on their next drive, giving Houston the ball once again. This time around the Roughnecks relied on James Butler to run it in to add another touchdown before the half. Coach Jones and the Roughnecks decided to go for 2, which they converted tying the game at 14-14.

At the half we were all tied up at 14. Seattle looked much better than they have in recent weeks, mainly due to the change at quarterback. Houston rallied to tie up the game, but had their struggles early.

The Dragons had possession to kick off the second half. They were once again able to drive the field down the field enough to get into scoring position. They couldn’t get enough to get in the end-zone, but they were able to add three via a successful Lacayo field goal. Seattle was once again on top with a slim 17-14 lead.

With Houston back on the field, The Dragons were able to intercept PJ Walker giving them possession again and a chance to expand their lead.

Seattle capitalized on this, ultimately driving the ball in the end-zone adding six more to their lead. They couldn;t convert the extra points, but now were up 23-14.

Roughly halfway through the third quarter Houston rallied to get back into the mix. Walker connected with James Butler once more securing his second touchdown of the game. With the game now at 23-20, the Roughnecks opted for a 3-point conversion, but could not secure the extra-points. But… there was plenty of time left in the game.

The Roughnecks defense came out to play, forcing the Dragons to punt back to Houston. With a little over 9 minutes left in the game Houston was knocking on the end-zone. PJ Walker connected with one of his favorite targets, Cam Phillips, securing his first score of the match-up, giving the Roughnecks their first lead of the game. They could not add any extra-points, but they were now up 26-23.

Seattle once again had struggles moving the ball, giving the Roughnecks the ball late in the fourth. With a very slim lead Houston wanted to extend the margin to secure the game and stay undefeated. Walker moved the ball impressively, and with 3:36 left in the game connected with Cam Phillips again for his second touchdown of the game and the fourth quarter.

Seattle was now down 32-23 with time running out. The Roughnecks weren’t done, they wanted to solidify this victory. The defense came out strong for Houston, forcing a Dragons fumble giving them the ball with just under 2 minutes left in the game.

The Roughnecks, now in control with a 9-point lead continued to drive the ball to effectively run down the clock. The game ended with a little bit of controversy though. PJ Walker used the victory stance to run down the clock, kneeling each time. On his fourth down kneel the clock continued to run, when it seems there should have been two seconds left in the game. With the XFL’s point structure, it could have been enough for Seattle to score a touchdown and convert 3 extra-points; which would have tied the game.

The XFL has since commented on the ending of the match-up, stating that the game should have continues and that the Officiating Supervisor, Wes Booker, had been reassigned.

This was a tough loss for the Seattle Dragons, moving them to 1-4. Houston on the other hand continues to be undefeated at 5-0. Regardless of how the game ended, we did see a great game and had a notable milestone for Roughnecks quarterback PJ Walker. Walker became the first QB in the XFL to surpass 1,000 yards.

The Seattle Dragons will look to rebound next week when they head back home to take on the Los Angeles Wildcats. Houston will try to stay undefeated when they travel to Met Life to battle the New York Guardians.

What did you think of the game? Do you think the league should have brought the players back out to play the last two seconds? Let us know down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.