Turnovers continue to plague SeaDragons, falling to Battlehawks in home opener

By Charles Hamaker 

Seattle, WA – In their 2023 home opener and the XFL’s first game back at Lumen field since 2020, the Seattle SeaDragons blew a lead late in a loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks. Seattle jumped out to an early and aggressive lead, weathered a storm by the Battlehawks to retake the lead in the dying minutes, but St. Louis marched down and kicked a game winning field goal as time expired from 44 yards out. It’s another story of frustration and heartbreak for Seattle, a team that was viewed heading into the season as one of the favorites to be atop the league. While it is only two weeks in, considering that the XFL season lasts only ten games, the SeaDragons must adjust fast.  

SeaDragons wideout Jordan Veasy caught a touchdown in the final minutes that looked like the game winner (Photos by Emma Ottosen)

Pearson pushes the pace 

Wideout Jahcour Pearson has been the brightest star on this SeaDragons offense through the first two weeks of the season, leading the team in reception yardage and establishing himself as a top target. While Josh Gordon is a fan favorite and will still command plenty of respect from secondaries, Pearson’s speed and playmaking ability have already made him dangerous and a favorite target of Seattle quarterback Ben DiNucci.  

Pearson’s touchdown, his first of the season, came on a 54-yarder chunk play. Pearson was left all alone on a corner route, seemingly beating the man coverage that the Battlehawks had called on the first and ten play. The Ole Miss alum turned on the afterburners to leave the Battlehawks secondary in ruins, and after Seattle’s three-point conversion to Josh Gordon, the SeaDragons had a 12-point lead shortly into the second quarter.  

Seattle wideout Jahcour Pearson is Seattle’s leading pass catcher through two weeks (Photo by Emma Ottosen)

Turnovers continue to tell the story 

The story of the SeaDragons season so far has been the turnover battle being lost. In back-to-back weeks, the SeaDragons have turned the ball over three times. Now evident in their first two games, Seattle has a problem holding on to the ball and it will hinder their ability to do much of anything if it isn’t fixed. In week one, Ben DiNucci struggled in the second half shortly after it looked like the momentum pendulum had swung in Seattle’s favor, as the former Cowboys quarterback threw two bad interceptions into coverage and fumbled away the win on a speed option at the goal line with time expiring.  

This week against St. Louis, like the road loss against the Defenders, all three turnovers came in the second half. The first took place early in the third quarter as Jahcour Pearson muffed a punt, the ball going through his hands and being recovered easily by the Battlehawks, who missed a field goal following the recovery. Seattle gave the ball right back as running back Morgan Ellison coughed it up on the second ball of the ensuing drive. The third and final turnover of the game came from DiNucci on a quarterback sneak, trying to move the chains on a third and one as the fourth quarter had just started. The SeaDragons quarterback was unable to handle the snap, and the Battlehawks snagged that ball too.  

Seattle scrambles to try to recover a St. Louis fumble (Photos by Emma Ottosen)

Early offensive momentum evaporates 

Touted as a roster laden with firepower in the offseason, Seattle has had its flashes of offensive explosion throughout the first two weeks of the season. At running back, Brenden Knox and Morgan Ellison have both been serviceable carrying the rock. The SeaDragons have nice weapons on the outside in Gordon and Pearson, and while you’d like to see Gordon utilized more, Blake Jackson does help round out the receiving corps. Despite all that praise, the SeaDragons have not been able to put together a complete effort due to multiple self-inflicted wounds.  

Failure to convert on third down, the obvious errors when it comes to the turnovers, and a lack of an established run game all held the SeaDragons back from being 2-0 on the season and fully clicking. The pieces of the puzzle are there, several of them seem to be forced into the wrong hole at the moment. And a few of those pieces are being fumbled around (literally and figuratively, those damn turnovers), so that needs to be fixed immediately as taking care of the football is a minimum.