XFL Game of the Week: Battlehawks vs Defenders

Story posted March 3, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by Shiv Nagpaul

Two of the top XFL teams from the 2020 season, look to face off again in the second go-around of the XFL in the 2022 season. 

Both teams sit undefeated at 2-0 and look to continue their winning ways, handing the other team their first loss of the season. 

In addition, The XFL and DC Defenders are reviewing the beer snake ban, as Defenders fans pelted the field with lemons in protest of the beer snakes being confiscated by security. 

The Beer Snake: What’s the deal?

In the 2020 XFL season, Defenders fans made their presence known by creating the longest beer snake ever seen by mankind, spanning two sections of Audi field. 

For those that don’t know, the beer snake is a chain of cups, created by used beer cups that fans create.  In the Defenders 2023 season opener against the Seattle Sea Dragons, Defenders fans wanted to repeat the beer snake magic, however to everyone’s surprise and displeasure, security started confiscating the beer snakes, and in protest, fans threw lemons on the field. 

As a result, the XFL and Defenders are re-evaluating their beer snake policy and they might allow for the beer snake to avoid any further trouble.

What to watch for the game?

The Defenders and Battlehawks are two of the best teams in the XFL and both are looking to continue their undefeated seasons. 

Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta’amu will go up against his former team, the Battlehawks, in which he was one of the best quarterbacks in the XFL in the 2020 iteration of the league. 

Another fun fact about Ta’amu is that Taylor Heinicke was his backup in St. Louis in 2020 and then a year later, Ta’amu served as Heinicke’s backup in Washington. 

I expect Ta’amu to be the difference maker in this game, though he is rotating snaps with his teammate D’eriq King. 

Prediction: Defenders 17, Battlehawks 10

Expect the Defenders to use their old-school approach of pounding the ball on the ground and playing defense to dominate the game and win a relatively low-scoring affair.

Although the art of running the ball and relying on the defense is a dying art in today’s passing and the offensive era of football, the Defenders are keeping this approach alive, due to the fact that defense wins championships and games are won in the trenches. 

Shiv Nagpaul is a first-year student majoring in Broadcast Journalism, to contact him, email shivoynagpaul@psu.edu.

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