The XFL heads into Week 4 with some big separation taking place at the quarterback position. We finally have two of the preseason’s top quarterbacks healthy again, while we also had a meltdown game for one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
The XFL’s popularity hinges on a lot of factors, but quarterback play might be the biggest. As we’ve seen through three weeks, the absence of a competent quarterback completely derails teams and turns the games into, at best, the 2019 Steelers and at worst, an unwatchable blob slowly consuming your television and then your soul.
The return of a healthy Landry Jones and Josh Johnson was a big plus this week, as both played well enough to lead their teams to victories and put up 20+ points, but once again, P.J. Walker stole the show as he led the Roughnecks over the Vipers 34-27.
Walker completed 24-of-36 passes for a 67 percent completion rate, his highest so far. He threw for 306 yards and a 8.5 yards per attempt rate, which was also his best on the season and put up three touchdowns and no interceptions for a 120.8 rating. Overall, this was easily his best game statistically and he has been putting up great stats so far this season. Walker continues to show flashes as a runner, rushing four times for 34 yards, but he’s been so productive as a passer that running the ball hasn’t been needed.
Cardale Jones came into Week 3 riding high with two wins and a 102 rating through two games, but that all came crumbling down in L.A., as Jones threw four interceptions to zero touchdowns. And it wasn’t like the interceptions were unlucky, they were just bad throws over and over again. His overall QB rating dropped all the way to a not-nice 69.9 in the process.
But, seemingly to make up for Jones awful play, Josh Johnson was on-target all game for the Wildcats, as he completed 18-of-25 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns. The team scored six touchdowns, as they got three rushing scores and Tre McBride also dropped a perfectly thrown bomb that would have been a touchdown, so his day could have been even better statistically. He was so on-target, that I quickly moved him up next to Walker in my internal QB power rankings.
XFL QB Stats through Week 3
NAME | TEAM | CMP | ATT | % | YARDS | Y/A | TD | INT | DRP | RTG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NAME | TEAM | CMP | ATT | % | YARDS | Y/A | TD | INT | DRP | RTG |
Phillip Walker | HOU | 67 | 105 | 63.8 | 748 | 7.1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 112.7 |
Brandon Silvers | SEA | 49 | 91 | 53.8 | 512 | 5.6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 74.1 |
Cardale Jones | DC | 53 | 91 | 58.2 | 602 | 6.6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 69.9 |
Jordan Ta'amu | ST L | 62 | 82 | 75.6 | 612 | 7.5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 102.3 |
Landry Jones | DAL | 58 | 81 | 71.6 | 579 | 7.1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 87.4 |
Matt McGloin | NY | 31 | 59 | 52.5 | 310 | 5.3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 52.2 |
Josh Johnson | LA | 36 | 59 | 61 | 463 | 7.8 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 113.9 |
Taylor Cornelius | TB | 32 | 58 | 55.2 | 347 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 57.2 |
Philip Nelson | DAL | 34 | 43 | 79.1 | 218 | 5.1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 78.1 |
Charles Kanoff | LA | 21 | 39 | 53.8 | 214 | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 67.7 |
Aaron Murray | TB | 16 | 34 | 47.1 | 231 | 6.8 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 45.1 |
Marquise Williams | NY | 10 | 23 | 43.5 | 135 | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 62.8 |
Quinton Flowers | TB | 8 | 15 | 53.3 | 106 | 7.1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 48.2 |
Luis Perez | NY | 5 | 6 | 83.3 | 49 | 8.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 140.3 |
Jalan McClendon | LA | 1 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Tyree Jackson | DC | 1 | 2 | 50 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56.3 |
Eric Dungey | DAL | 1 | 1 | 100 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 |
B.J. Daniels | SEA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |