The Seattle Sea Dragons play their home opener Thursday night against the St. Louis BattleHawks. Here’s what you should know.
St. Louis BattleHawks (1-0) at Seattle Sea Dragons (0-1)
When: Thursday, 6 p.m.
Where: Lumen Field
TV: FX
Keys to the game
Value the ball
The Sea Dragons were in control of Sunday’s game against D.C. until three turnovers — starting with a pick-six — helped the Defenders rally from 10 points down and win 22-18. Quarterback Ben DiNucci had a lot of fine moments in Sunday’s game for the Sea Dragons, but the turnovers ended up being the big story.
Protect the quarterback
DiNucci was under siege all game, as was Steven Montez during the one series that he played. It is hard to put an offensive line together in just five weeks of practice and the team is still trying to figure out its five starters from the eight-player unit. It’s a unit that needs to do better, both in protecting the quarterback and in run blocking.
Another big day for the defense
The Sea Dragons held D.C. to just 177 yards and forced six three-and-outs. Anything close to that should be good enough to send the home crowd home happy.
Prediction: The Sea Dragons lost a game they probably should have won last week, and the BattleHawks won a game they probably should have lost. Seattle 34, St. Louis 20