Roughnecks 34, Vipers 27

5 Take Aways From The Roughnecks 1st Road Win

Holly Seymour
Feb 22, 2020, 4:57 pm


QB Talk: PJ Walker will forever be the first name to start off any Roughnecks XFL article. The Houston MVP is a master at escaping pressure with ease and airing the ball all over. A play gone wrong late in the second quarter was turned into a TD by Walker.

On the flip side, Taylor Cornelius is really BAD. I'm pretty sure him and Jameis Winston not only stink it up for Tampa QB reps, but they also share the same eyesight. Accuracy is rare. The Vipers finally decided it was time to put Flowers in. I mean… at least he throws to an actual target, right? The back and forth QB switch up did manage to throw off the Roughnecks D though, I'll give them that.

Defense: Well, Houston officially gave the Tampa Bay Vipers their first TD of the season. Unfortunately, that wasn't their first or worst mistake. The Roughnecks defense looked shaky the entire first half. Okay, that was me being nice. They looked like sh—. Penalties were an issue along with the huge concern when it comes to stopping the run. Quentin Flowers ran all over them. The outside also got burned by the blind QB1/2? A gain of 24 on a 4th down set the Vipers back up for another TD to finish off the third quarter and ice the cake on this defensive performance from Houston.

Lookout: The run game. This has been a struggle for June Jones and the Roughnecks offense all season. There was concern the first quarter but it finally took off. I expected a lot from James Butler this week and that's exactly what we got. I look forward to seeing a lot more of Butler as the season progresses.

Road Games: I don't think traveling on the road was a disadvantage to this team. If anything it was motivation. Going into Tampa against a team that started the season 0-2 was a plot twist. Even for me. We all knew the Vipers would come out playing their best game if they wanted to stay alive at all, we just didn't know they would put on such a good show. This is exactly why the XFL is so fun.

If you're looking for my fifth take away from this game, its simple. Uniforms. Let's take a moment of silence for the disgusting Tampa Bay uni's. Come on.

Your Houston Roughnecks are on the road again next Sunday against the Dallas Renegades at 4pm. We all know how much Houston loves Dallas.

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Houston's celebration has to wait

Rangers get walk-off win over Astros who continue to wait for playoff berth

Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

After the big offensive showing to take the opener on Thursday, the Astros entered Friday's game at Globe Life Field against the Rangers just one win or Angels loss away from securing their spot in the playoffs. Here is how the game unfolded:

Final Score (10 innings): Rangers 5, Astros 4.

Record: 29-29, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Brett Martin (1-1, 1.98 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Enoli Paredes (3-3, 3.05 ERA).

Urquidy goes seven while allowing two

The Rangers would strike first in Friday's game, getting a two-out solo home run against Jose Urquidy in the bottom of the second to grab the early 1-0 lead. Urquidy did relatively well on the night, though he would allow another solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. Those were the only two runs he allowed, working in and out of some trouble throughout the game on his way to finishing seven innings. His final line: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 98 P.

Houston grabs their first lead late

Unlike their hot night at the plate the night prior, it took the Astros until the fifth inning to get on the board. It came after Carlos Correa hit a leadoff single, then came all the way around to score on an RBI-triple by George Springer, making it a 1-1 tie at the time.

After the Rangers went back in front 2-1 in the bottom of the inning on their second solo homer of the night, Alex Bregman would tie it up again with a solo home run of his own, making it 2-2. Houston would get their first lead of the night in the top of the eighth, with Altuve working a leadoff walk before scoring later in the inning on an RBI-single by Yuli Gurriel.

Rangers get the walk-off to keep Houston waiting for playoff bid

After Urquidy, Blake Taylor would take over on the mound in the bottom of the eighth, retiring the Rangers in order for a scoreless inning to hold the one-run lead. Still 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Houston turned to their closer, Ryan Pressly. After two quick outs, he would allow a game-tying solo home run, making it 3-3 to postpone Houston's celebration at least another inning as the game headed to extras.

In the top of the tenth, Jose Altuve was placed on second as the free runner. He advanced to third on a groundout to start the inning, then scored on a sac fly by Alex Bregman, making it a 4-3 lead for Houston. Enoli Paredes would load the bases before Texas would tie the game on a sac fly in the bottom of the inning, keeping runners on second and third. Houston made the change to Brooks Raley to try and extend the game another inning, but instead, the Rangers would get the walk-off win, spoiling Houston's chance to clinch their playoff spot themselves with a win.

Up Next: The third game of this four-game set will get underway at 6:05 PM Central on Saturday. On the mound for Texas will be Kyle Gibson (2-6, 5.87 ERA), and, as of now, the Astros still have Lance McCullers Jr. (3-3, 4.24 ERA) listed as their starter.

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