The Dallas Renegades dropped their second straight game, 30-12 to the New York Guardians in Week 5.
The Dallas Renegades lost 30-12 to the New York Guardians in Week 5, dropping their record under .500 at 2-3.
The team is still looking for their first win at Globe Life Park, and their first non-Landry Jones led offensive touchdown. All their points in this one came via via K Austin MacGinnis, and RB Austin Waller’s 97-yard kickoff return.
Game Recap
Back at the QB helm for Dallas was Philip Nelson, who started the team’s Week 1 loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks. He finished with just 210 yards on 28-49 passing, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. The Renegades managed an uncharacteristic 56 rushing yards, reflecting just how much Dallas struggled to move the ball. With Jones out at least another week, Bob Stoops and Nelson will have to figure something out quick with just five regular season games remaining.
The game’s first touchdown didn’t come until the Guardians’ first drive of the second half. After trading field goals, New York backup QB Marquise Williams plunged into the end zone from a yard out to the Guardians up 12-6.
Dallas had chances to respond, especially after CB Josh Hawkins interception of Luis Perez in the third quarter. Ejections were made following the play’s extracurriculars.
Instead, it was the Guardians who kept their foot on the gas. Perez unleashed the dragon, connecting with WR Colby Pearson for an 80-yard score. The two-point conversion made it 20-6 New York.
Two plays into the Renegades next drive, New York LB Ryan Mueller made the play of the game, batting a Nelson pass into the air, catching it, and housing it for six. The play best summarized how the day went for the Renegades.
Waller’s return occurred on the ensuing kick, capping off a whirlwind of scoring plays and essentially deciding the game. New York would add on another field goal to complete the beatdown.
Odds and Ends
- Extending a warm welcome to his XFL counterparts was Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, who hooked up the Renegades with Beats by Dre headphones earlier in the week. Perhaps Prescott was feeling generous on the horizon of an incoming extension.
- A new XFL tradition was christened during the DC Defenders-St. Louis Battlehawks game: the Beer Snake. Empty cups were stacked inside one another, stretching over 14 rows long and spanning nearly an entire section.
The Beer Snake was even XFL-approved, as Commissioner Oliver Luck contributed a cup of his own cup to the impressive feature of fan ingenuity.
- One of the XFL’s differentiating features is its transparency, but league opened itself up to its first major officiating controversy during the closing seconds of the Houston Roughnecks-Seattle Dragons game. On the last official play of the game, Roughnecks QB PJ Walker took a knee on 4th and 23 from the Houston 26 yard line. However, two seconds remained on the clock when Walker’s knee hit the ground, which should’ve allowed the Dragons, down nine, one more opportunity to tie the game. The XFL acknowledged the gaffe, and reassigned the officiating supervisor working the game.
Houston remains unbeaten, but Dragons fans are surely rue the missed opportunity to at least send their Week 5 contest into overtime.
Other Week 5 results
Houston Roughnecks 32 – Seattle Dragons 23
DC Defenders 15 – St. Louis Battlehawks 6
Los Angeles Wildcats 41 – Tampa Bay Vipers 34
Week 6 schedule
Saturday, March 14
Houston Roughnecks (5-0) @ New York Guardians (3-2) | 2pm ET, ABC
St. Louis Battlehawks (3-2) @ Tampa Bay Vipers (1-4) | 5pm ET, FS2
Sunday, March 15
Dallas Renegades (2-3) @ DC Defenders (3-2) | 4pm ET, FS1
Los Angeles Wildcats (2-3) @ Seattle Dragons (1-4) | 7pm ET, ESPN2
