Defeating the same team back-to-back in a period of a few weeks can be a difficult task in football. The D.C. Defenders learned this hard lesson Saturday night in the XFL championship, falling to the Arlington Renegades 35-26. Arlington is the first XFL champion since 2001 — the league’s first season in existence.
D.C. and Arlington last met in Week 9 — the second-to-last game of the regular season — and the Defenders walked away with a hard-fought 28-26 overtime win.
In Saturday’s XFL championship played in San Antonio, the Renegades jumped out to a 14-0 lead over D.C. and never looked back. Anytime the Defenders looked like they were about to mount a rally, Arlington responded with either a touchdown or a turnover. D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, the XFL’s offensive player of the year in 2023, completed 16 of 30 passing attempts for 245 yards and two touchdowns. However, it was his three interceptions that doomed the Defenders.
Meanwhile, his counterpart, Arlington’s Luis Perez, completed 26 of 36 attempts for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Perez was named the MVP of the championship game.
The #XFLChampionship MVP:
Luis Perez
pic.twitter.com/fjahmx0Q9y
— ESPN (@espn) May 14, 2023
Arlington finished the XFL season 6-6, while the Defenders lost only their second game and finished the year with a 10-2 record.
Overall, it was a successful season for the Defenders, who brought excitement back to the nation’s capital. Audi Field was the best atmosphere in the league, and it was praised by XFL co-owner Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on multiple occasions. Johnson and fellow owner, Dany Garcia, were in town to present the trophy to the Renegades.
Congrats to the Defenders on a fun and successful season and we look forward to 2024.