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Week 1 of the 2020 XFL season is officially a wrap, and we have our initial baseline of information about the eight teams. A lot will change over the rest of the ten-week schedule, but for the time being we can start to assess who might be good, who might be bad, and who is still a bit unclear.
The DC Defenders opened the season with a 31-19 win, scoring four touchdowns, including a pick six in the victory. They were slow out of the gate, with the Seattle Dragons leading most of the first half. However, the DC defense clamped down in the third quarter and Cardale Jones made some big plays to close out the win. They opened with the fifth best odds to win the XFL Championship, but a pair of upsets in the opening week has DC sitting atop the odds leaderboard.
The BattleHawks entered Sunday with the worst odds to win the XFL title, and were heavy underdogs to the Dallas Renegades. However, St. Louis won a gritty affair, stifling Dallas’ offense in a 15-9 win. They are knotted up with three other teams at +700, tied for the third best odds.
The Dallas Renegades and Tampa Bay Vipers both lost their openers, with the Vipers the only road favorite of Week 1. The Vipers were the biggest disappointment of Week 1, entering with the top odds for the title, but putting up the fewest points of the weekend.
The four 1-0 teams square off in Week 2 with DC hosting New York and Houston hosting St. Louis. Two weeks of a ten-game inaugural season is not exactly a huge sample size, but we might get a better handle on if St. Louis is for real, and whether or not DC can live up to some growing hype.
The big name to watch in Week 2 will be Houston quarterback P.J. Walker. He beat out Connor Cook for the starting job and had the best performance of Week 1. Philip Nelson threw for 209 yards against St. Louis, but it came on 42 attempts and he was unable to find the end zone. If Walker can build on his opening week performance, he’ll climb into MVP front-runner status.
2020 XFL Championship odds
| Team | Mar 10 odds | Mar 3 odds | Feb 24 odds | Feb 17 odds | Feb 10 odds | Feb 8 odds | Feb 3 Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Mar 10 odds | Mar 3 odds | Feb 24 odds | Feb 17 odds | Feb 10 odds | Feb 8 odds | Feb 3 Odds |
| Houston Roughnecks | +160 | +175 | +200 | +250 | +500 | +700 | +800 |
| St. Louis BattleHawks | +375 | +250 | +500 | +950 | +700 | +1200 | +900 |
| Dallas Renegades | +600 | +600 | +550 | +600 | +700 | +350 | +325 |
| DC Defenders | +650 | +700 | +350 | +200 | +300 | +500 | +600 |
| New York Guardians | +750 | +800 | +1200 | +950 | +400 | +450 | +400 |
| Los Angeles Wildcats | +750 | +1200 | +800 | +1400 | +1000 | +800 | +550 |
| Seattle Dragons | +2600 | +3300 | +2000 | +1400 | +1400 | +1200 | +1100 |
| Tampa Bay Vipers | +2900 | +2000 | +2000 | +1000 | +700 | +400 | +450 |
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