Sea Dragons clinch playoff berth with victory over Vipers and a little tiebreaker help
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – To conclude a wild regular season that saw the Seattle Sea Dragons lose their first two games and at one point seem highly unlikely to make the postseason, they’ve defied the odds. With their victory against the Vegas Vipers and the “fifth tiebreaker” in the XFL, Seattle moves over the St. Louis Battlehawks for second place in the North Division and they clinch the last remaining spot in the playoffs. Although the game began slow with no points whatsoever being scored in the first quarter, the Sea Dragons were able to settle in and get some highlight-reel plays to come out victorious over a Vipers team that struggled this season.
The Seattle Sea Dragons come out for warmups ahead of their game against the Vegas Vipers (Photos by Sam Hotaling)
Defense closes the regular season out right
I’ve mentioned it before during this 2023 season, but the Seattle defense has remained as a quiet contributor to the team's success and rise to a playoff spot, and today was no different. Vegas couldn’t get anything done on the ground game, and most of the team passing yards came on a big play that wouldn’t even count towards the Vipers points. Vegas quarterback Jalan McClendon found his receiver Matthew Sexton over the shoulder, and Sexton was able to break away for what looked like a breakaway touchdown. Sexton pulled a DeSean Jackson and celebrated his touchdown before he’d crossed the line, allowing Seattle defensive back Mykael Wright to hack at the ball and force a touchback. Even in the one time that they had beat the Sea Dragons, the Vipers couldn’t do that right.
The Seattle Sea Dragons defense throughout the game, in pictures (Photos by Sam Hotaling)
Offense takes a second to get started, eventually hits a groove
The talk of this team all season, Seattle’s offense got off to a “slow” start, as they only mustered a touchdown before the halftime whistle. The Sea Dragons were able to get into field goal position with their first drive of the day, but Dominik Eberle’s field goal attempt from 39-yards-out was no good as he sliced it to the left of the uprights. Seattle sputtered for their next few drives, going three and out twice before finally quarterback Ben DiNucci made a play himself on a 14-yard touchdown scramble with a little over a minute left in the half. The two-point conversion attempt to wideout Jordan Veasy was too high. Seattle did get one more shot at points before the half, but it was a stretch as Dominik Eberle’s 61-yard field goal attempt fell short. The Sea Dragons had to settle for the six-point lead going into the half.
Whatever adjustments were made at the half or however well the speech went over in the locker room, Seattle managed to turn it around offensively and remind themselves who they were while playing a bad Vegas team. The first drive out of the locker room saw DiNucci and the Sea Dragons offense settle in and complete numerous passes before a bomb downfield to Jahcour Pearson scored the teams second touchdown of the day. The remainder of the game served as a reminder of the weaponry that Seattle has own its depth chart, as Juwan Green and Jordan Veasy both tallied impressive touchdowns to grow the Sea Dragons lead. The Vipers secondary simple could not hang with Seattle’s wide receivers, essentially allowing the Sea Dragons offense to remain pass heavy.
The Seattle Sea Dragons’ offensive playmakers throughout the game (Photos by Sam Hotaling)
A feat that seemed improbable often becomes reality
Considering the ten-game season of the XFL, any loss played a big role in this team potentially missing the postseason. Beginning the year with a 0-2 record wasn’t great by any means but seeing that Seattle had shown their potential in those games and the fact that they were one score games gave hope towards what was possible for the Sea Dragons. With the amount of talent and experience on this roster, it seemed like a matter of time before the group found its groove and started to roll. Seattle was able to do just that with their five-game winning streak, before it ended with a one-point loss to the Defenders team they see next week.
That five-game winning streak and the statement victory over the Battlehawks in St. Louis showed the entire league what this team is capable of and what many expected to see when this roster was announced prior to the beginning of the regular season. The offensive firepower has been as advertised, while the turnover issue has been the biggest hinderance towards further success. The defense has played very well this season despite all the attention being placed on the offensive unit, creating a great team in Seattle that found its stride after those first two games. Limiting the turnovers will be key, and both sides of the ball need to play as they have for much of the season, but the Sea Dragons very well could take it to DC and beat them in their third contest this season.
Seattle Sea Dragons at Lumen Field (Photos by Sam Hotaling)
What’s next?
Thanks to their victory and the fifth tie breaker in effect of the XFL, the Sea Dragons season will continue as they clinched a playoff berth. Seattle will head to the North Division Championship to battle with the DC Defenders for a third time this season. While the Sea Dragons fell to the Defenders in the two regular season games that these two teams played in, Seattle was within one score in both and arguably should have won both. The Sea Dragons must be careful with their turnovers (as they should have been, all season) and their defense must find a way to get turnovers off DC quarterback Jordan Ta’amu and the Defenders. It’s a big battle, on Sunday April 30th with a kickoff time of 12PM PST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.