WASHINGTON — The Sea Dragons let a 10-point lead slip away Sunday night in their XFL season-opening road loss against the D.C. Defenders.
Despite Sea Dragons quarterback Ben DiNucci putting up more yards than the Defenders had total yards, two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and a late fumble cost the Sea Dragons in the 22-18 loss at Audi Field.
Trailing by four with 19 seconds remaining, the Sea Dragons needed a touchdown. But DiNucci fumbled the ball near the goal line, and the Defenders recovered to ice the affair.
If the final score were left off the stat sheet, the visitors would appear to be the winning team. Seattle ran more plays (75 to 54), had more yards (331-177), pass completions (36-9) and time of possession (35:30-24:30).
The Sea Dragons opened the game with three consecutive first downs. DiNucci capped the drive with a scramble where he channeled his inner-Patrick Mahomes. With two defenders barreling down on him, he flipped the ball to former NFL All-Pro Josh Gordon at the front end of the end zone for a 6-yard score.
DiNucci couldn’t recreate the magic as the team failed to convert on the three-point extra point. Per the new XFL rules, instead of kicking the traditional extra point after a touchdown, teams can run a play from the 2-yard line for one point, the 5 for two, or the 10 for three.
The Defenders struggled in the first quarter, holding the ball for under two minutes and punting after a forgettable three-and-out series, which saw the home team drop a pass, get flagged for a false-start penalty and run a pass play. It was the team’s only full possession in the quarter.
Needing a stop near the end of the first, the Defenders failed to hold the Sea Dragons on fourth-and-two as DiNucci found diminutive receiver Jahcour Pearson on a 10-yard pick play to get the first down. But the orange and white couldn’t punch it in from the 22-yard line and were forced to settle for a field goal.
Halfway through the second quarter, the home faithful finally had something to cheer about. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu waltzed to his left and into the end zone for the Defenders’ first score. The former Ole Miss flamethrower found Lucky Jackson on a speed option to the right side for the extra two points.
The Sea Dragons gave backup quarterback Steven Montez a chance to start the second, but the former Colorado standout failed to generate any momentum, and coach Jim Haslett, the NFL Coach of the Year in 2000 with the New Orleans Saints, went back to his starter. DiNucci led the team down the field, but kicker Dominick Eberle missed the field goal.
DiNucci, drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round out of James Madison in 2020, was signed by the Sea Dragons because of his ability to run the run-and-shoot offense, which gives receivers flexibility in route running to combat changing defensive looks. The high-octane offense is the preferred style of offensive coordinator June Jones, a former XFL head coach with the Houston Roughnecks in 2020, where he went 5-0 before the season was canceled because of the pandemic.
To kick off the third, the Sea Dragons scored on a 13-yard rush — running back Brenden Knox bounced off multiple tackles to sneak in — before DiNucci called for a three-point conversion. The Defenders jumped offside to give the Sea Dragons a three-point try from five yards out, and DiNucci tiptoed in for the score and an 18-8 advantage.
Cornerback Michael Joseph intercepted a languid DiNucci pass and ran it back 15 yards and flipped into the end zone for the first defensive score. The fans erupted once for the score and again when second-string quarterback D’Eriq King, who replaced Ta’amu, pushed his way in for an additional two points, bringing the deficit to just two points.
Another interception for Joseph set up a rushing touchdown for King, but the two-point try was unsuccessful, resulting in the final margin.