XFL Week 2 Odds, Picks, and Predictions: Rougnecks' Offense Runs Deep

Ready for more football?

The XFL has four more games on tap for Week 2 after a successful opening weekend to kick things off. 

Play gets underway with Thursday night football between St. Louis and Seattle. Then, DC and Vegas will face off on Saturday, while Sunday features a two-gamer as San Antonio visits Orlando and Arlington makes the short trip to Houston.

We’ve got you covered with picks for all four games.

Check out our XFL Picks for Week 2.

XFL picks for Week 2

• Seattle -2.5
• DC-VEG Under 36.5
• San Antonio -3
• ARL-HOU Over 40

Picks made on February 22, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Week 2 XFL odds and predictions

St. Louis BattleHawks vs Seattle Sea Dragons

Thursday, 9:00 p.m. ET, FX

Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of February 22, 2023.

Thursday night football is back — in a way — as the 1-0 BattleHawks visit the 0-1 Sea Dragons. 

A win is a win, but St. Louis looked far from impressive for the majority of its opener against San Antonio. A.J. McCarron and the offense netted just three points on their first nine drives but came alive in thrilling fashion to score 15 straight points in the final 90 seconds of game time to pull off the 18-15 victory. 

The betting market has cooled on the BattleHawks, establishing them as +3 underdogs on the road in Seattle. Anthony Becht’s squad didn’t look like the favorite that many pegged them to be heading into the season. 

Seattle outgained DC 331-177 but ultimately lost by a score of 22-18. June Jones’ offense still has some work to do, as quarterback Ben DiNucci mustered just 5.2 yards per attempt on a whopping 54 passes. 

Josh Gordon (six receptions, 74 yards), Jahcour Pearson (12 receptions, 95 yards), and Blake Jackson (eight receptions, 51 yards) head what looks like one of the best receiving groups in the league, and DiNucci is still a promising name at quarterback. Jackson is considered questionable with a thumb injury after being limited in practice early in the week. 

Seattle turned the ball over four times in the opener and managed to lose a game that it really should have won. St. Louis, meanwhile, gained just 11 first downs compared to 24 for San Antonio, yet used some late magic to pull off a win. 

Despite the records indicating otherwise, I believe that Seattle is the superior side and will be picking it to cover this short spread at home. I also fancy the Over, as Seattle’s pass-happy ways should lead to some points in a league that has plenty of rules to incentivize scoring.

Pick: Seattle -2.5 (-120 at FanDuel)

DC Defenders vs Vegas Vipers

Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN/FX

Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of February 22, 2023.

DC pulled off a narrow win in the opener, but this team still has a lot of question marks. The offense mustered just 3.3 yards per play and quarterback Jordan Ta’amu was benched after completing just eight of his 19 attempts for 86 yards for no touchdowns and an interception. Former Houston and Miami star D’Eriq King rushed for a score and will push for more playing time. 

Reggie Barlow’s side will look to establish its running game with a strong stable of backs in Abram Smith and Ryquell Armstead. Both King and Ta’amu are threats with their legs, and this team will look to pound the rock whenever possible. 

The Vipers looked solid in the opener — until they didn’t. Vegas grabbed a 14-3 lead in the first half before ultimately collapsing in a 22-20 loss to Arlington. Quarterback Luis Perez threw two crippling pick-sixes as the Vipers found a way to lose a game in which their opponent failed to score an offensive touchdown. 

The current spread of Vegas -3 has me leaning toward taking the points with DC and eyeing the Under. The Defenders may be aptly named, as they look like a team that will be in low-scoring games as they attempt to play sound defense while taking the air out of the ball offensively. 

DC managed just 12 first downs in the opener and now faces a Vegas defense that did not allow an offensive touchdown despite facing what looks like a pretty good team in Arlington. It’s tough to stomach playing Unders so low in a league that has plenty of rules favoring scoring, but this handicap has me expecting a low-scoring game and that’s what I’ll be placing my money on for this matchup.

Pick: Under 36.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

San Antonio Brahmas vs Orlando Guardians

Sunday, 4:00 p.m. ET, ESPN

Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of February 22, 2023.

Hines Ward’s Brahmas squad looked decent in the opener. The offense gained 324 yards and 4.2 yards per play, while the defense was stout for most of the game before collapsing in humiliating fashion to hand the game to St. Louis. 

This handicap is more about Orlando for me, as the Guardians appeared to be the worst team in the league by a sizable margin in Week 1. It was blown out 33-12 by Houston and appears to have problems just about everywhere on the roster. 

I had the Guardians dead last in my initial power ranking of the league, and I see no reason to change that after the opener. The offense line is a train wreck, allowing seven sacks in the opener. Paxton Lynch was benched at quarterback and combined with Quenten Dormady to throw three interceptions on the day. 

Terrell Buckley’s squad is going to need to show me something for me to have any confidence in their ability to win games in this league. I’m not sure that I could name a strength for this roster if I tried right now, whereas the weaknesses are very apparent. 

San Antonio looked fine in the opener and the defense was playing with energy for most of the ball game, so this seems to be a relatively motivated squad under Ward. Jack Coan is a decent QB and the running back room is strong with Jalen Ballage and Jacques Patrick combining for 122 yards in the opener. 

I’ll take San Antonio to get in the win column

Pick: San Antonio -3 (-110 at bet365)

Arlington Renegades vs Houston Roughnecks

Sunday, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of February 22, 2023.

This is a matchup between two teams that appear to be among the league's best, and both are undefeated at 1-0 after just one game. That makes Sunday night’s Week 2 finale the most anticipated game on the board. 

Houston looked dominant in a 33-12 thrashing of Orlando in the opener. Was that more about the Roughnecks being so good or Orlando being so bad? Likely a bit of both. 

I noted in my XFL betting preview that Houston appeared to be an undervalued team. The Roughnecks have an experienced and well-respected head coach in Wade Phillips. I’m a fan of their offensive coordinator A.J. Smith, and his offense looked terrific in the opener.

The offensive line is solid, the quarterback room is deep and talented, Max Borghi may be the league’s best running back, and the receiving room is terrific. 

This team is no joke. 

I expect Smith’s offense to continue to score points in this league. Quarterback Brandon Silvers completed 26 of his 42 pass attempts for 272 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the opener. He has plenty of dangerous targets to throw to in Deontay Burnett (eight receptions, 90 yards, one touchdown), Jontre Kirklin (five receptions, 71 yards, one touchdown), and YAC-monster Travell Harris (five receptions, 48 yards).

Arlington’s offense flopped in the opener, but QB Drew Plitt (6.9 yards per attempt) didn’t look too bad and I expect co-offensive coordinators Chuck Long and Jon Hayes to get this unit back on track. 

Give me the Over. 

Pick: Over 40 (-110 at DraftKings)

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