Week 9 of the XFL is set to get underway Saturday. There are several meaningful games to talk about. St. Louis and Seattle play for what very likely will determine the second playoff spot in the rugged XFL North. DC and Arlington play in a game that has a lot to mean for both. A win by DC secures their playoff spot as they beat St. Louis twice in the regular season. Arlington winning this game locks their ticket in. Houston and Vegas play in what should be a fun, but meaningless game. Meaningless because Houston is already in, and Vegas eliminated. Finally, at 1 pm, Orlando takes on San Antonio, in a game San Antonio must have to make the playoffs.

Tale of the tape

Last week, when talking about Arlington and Orlando, I mentioned that it was going to be a game of great offense against a great defense. This week is going to be almost the exact same thing. Orlando’s offense since Dormady took over has been one of the best in the league. Orlando’s defense has been one of the worst in the league in almost every single matrix except for rushing defense. For San Antonio, it is the direct Inverse.

I’ve compared this team to the Denver Broncos on many occasions. Their defense is exceptional, however, their offense is still trying to find footing. Jack Coan has been hit or miss at quarterback. They brought in Kurt Benkert trying to mix it up. He got hurt in his first game. Next, they signed Paxton Lynch off waivers from the Orlando Guardians. It remains to be seen if he gets his first start this weekend.

Orlando By the Numbers

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

San Antonio by the numbers

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Scenarios

Orlando wins if:

They can play the same type of game that they played against DC. Orlando must limit the number of penalties and undisciplined mistakes that have plagued them all season long. Jah-Maine Martin and Devin Darrington will need to be able to run the ball, a tall task again one of the XFL’s best defenses. Quinten Dormady needs to shake off the five-turnover game he had against Arlington and come back as the leader we know he can be.

Cody Latimer and Charleston Rambo are going to need to get open early to help the offensive line out. Finally, the offensive line must do a better job of protecting Quinten Dormady. Whether it was Dormady or Paxton Lynch, this offensive line has been unable to truly protect them.

San Antonio wins if:

They do exactly what they did in the first game. When these two teams met in week 2, Jack Coan was able to play well enough to win. The run game was able to get going in the second half, and they capitalized on numerous Orlando mistakes and miscues, and their defense harassed now Brahma Paxton Lynch. To win this game they must copy this formula and keep the score low. A high-scoring game tends to favor the Guardians, who have shown in the last few weeks that they can put up points in bunches.

Betting Lines

According to fan duel, San Antonio is currently sitting as a 1.5-point favorite. San Antonio needs this game to stand any chance of getting into the playoffs, and that is enough for me to pick them. The Over-Under for this game is 39.5, which for this game seems a little high. As good as San Antonio’s defense has played all season, I see this being a low-scoring affair. I’m taking the under here.

Final Predictions

San Antonio 27-10

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