2023 XFL Championship Game

The 2023 XFL Championship Game was an American football game on May 13, 2023, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.^[2][3][4] The contest determined the champion of the 2023 XFL season and was played between the South Division title winners Arlington Renegades and the North Division title winners DC Defenders.^[5] The game began at 8:00 p.m. EDT and was aired on ABC.^[2]

2023 XFL Championship Game

Alamodome during the game
Arlington Renegades (4–6) DC Defenders (9–1) 35 26 Head coach: Bob Stoops Head coach: Reggie Barlow
1 2 3 4 Total ARL 14 6 12 3 35 DC 0 6 14 6 26
Date	May 13, 2023
Kickoff time	8:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-4)
Stadium	Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
MVP	Luis Perez, Arlington
Favorite	DC by 8.5
Referee	Michael VanderVelde
Attendance	22,754^[1]
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Tom Hart, Greg McElroy, Cole Cubelic and Katie George
Nielsen ratings	0.8 (1.44 million viewers)

Background

The game was the first and only championship game of the second stint of the XFL as a standalone league. In the first stint of the XFL, there was only one championship game held, the Million Dollar Game in 2001. The league folded shortly after the game was played. A championship game was scheduled for the end of the 2020 XFL season but was forbidden from taking place due to stay-at-home orders and gathering restrictions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the premature end of the 2020 season after five weeks of play.^[6][7]

Host selection

On February 19, 2023, the Alamodome was selected as host for the first edition of the championship.^[2][8] The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat venue in the southeastern fringe of Downtown San Antonio. Opened in May 1993, the stadium is home to one of the XFL's own teams, San Antonio Brahmas. The stadium is also known as the home stadium for the UTSA Roadrunners football program and the annual Alamo Bowl.

XFL playoffs

The four teams competing in the Playoff clinched their spot during their regular season during different times of the overall season of the league. The top two placed teams in each division would face against each other for the division title. Whichever division title game team won, would then face the other champion from the other division in the XFL Championship Game. Both DC Defenders and Houston Roughnecks clinched their spot after Week 8.^[9] Lastly, both Arlington Renegades and Seattle Sea Dragons clinched their spot after Seattle won their last regular season game and San Antonio lost their last regular season game. ^[10] Controversy began as St. Louis Battlehawks were eliminated from the playoffs at the end of the season and had a higher overall record than Arlington Renegades (yet being in two separate divisions), the Battlehawks placed third in the North division after failing the tie-breakers against the Seattle Sea Dragons.^[11][12]

The Division Finals were played on April 29 and April 30, 2023. In the South Division Final title game, Arlington Renegades upset Houston Roughnecks as 6.5 point underdogs, 26–11. In the North Division Final title game, DC Defenders defeated Seattle Sea Dragons 37–21.^[13][14]

Bracket

	Division Finals April 29–30, 2023					XFL Championship May 13, 2023
	N1	DC Defenders	37
	N2	Seattle Sea Dragons	21
						N1	DC Defenders	26
						S2	Arlington Renegades	35
	S1	Houston Roughnecks	11
	S2	Arlington Renegades	26

This bracket:

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Teams

Arlington Renegades

Main article: 2023 Arlington Renegades season

Arlington Renegades finished their second overall season under head coach Bob Stoops, going 4–6 and advancing to their first playoff berth to the division title game against Houston Roughnecks (South Division leaders).^[15][16]

DC Defenders

Main article: 2023 DC Defenders season

DC Defenders finished their second overall season under head coach Reggie Barlow, going 9–1 and advancing to their first playoff berth to the division title game against Seattle Sea Dragons.^[17][18]

Game summary

Scoring summary

2023 XFL Championship Game

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Arlington Renegades	14	6	12	3	35
DC Defenders	0	6	14	6	26

at Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas

• Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 76 °F (24 °C)
• Game attendance: 22,754
• Referee: Michael VanderVelde
• TV announcers (ABC): Tom Hart, Greg McElroy, Cole Cubelic and Katie George

Game information

First quarter ARL – Sal Cannella 41-yard pass from Luis Perez (2-pt Conversion No Good), 11:00. Renegades 6–0. Drive: 2 Plays, 59 Yards, 4:02. ARL – Tyler Vaughns 9-yard pass from Luis Perez (2-pt Conversion Good De'Veon Smith), 0:29. Renegades 14–0. Drive: 16 Plays, 88 Yards, 8:45. Second quarter ARL – Taylor Russolino 29-yard field goal, 4:54. Renegades 17–0. Drive: 13 Plays, 54 Yards, 6:50. DC – Abram Smith 2-yard rush (2-pt Conversion No Good), 0:32. Renegades 17–6. Drive: 10 Plays, 45 Yards, 4:22. ARL – Taylor Russolino 51-yard field goal, 0:02. Renegades 20–6. Drive: 3 Plays, 12 Yards, 0:30. Third quarter DC – Abram Smith 52-yard rush (2-pt Conversion No Good), 11:42. Renegades 20–12. Drive: 7 Plays, 71 Yards, 3:27. ARL – Leddie Brown 7-yard rush (1-pt Conversion No Good), 4:44. Renegades 26–12. Drive: 12 Plays, 71 Yards, 6:49. DC – Josh Hammond 72-yard pass from Jordan Ta'amu (2-pt Conversion Good by Abram Smith), 0:06. Renegades 26–20. Drive: 2 Plays, 70 Yards, 0:42. ARL – Leddie Brown 30-yard pass from Luis Perez (1-pt Conversion No Good), 0:00. Renegades 32–20. Drive: 1 Play, 30 Yards, 0:06. Fourth quarter ARL – Taylor Russolino 33-yard field goal, 9:56. Renegades 35–20. Drive: 7 Plays, 8 Yards, 3:40. DC – Josh Hammond 24-yard pass from Jordan Ta'amu (2-pt Conversion No Good), 1:17. Renegades 35–26. Drive: 7 Plays, 78 Yards, 0:45. Top passers ARL – Luis Perez – 26/36, 288 yards, 3 TD DC – Jordan Ta'amu – 16/30, 245 yards, 2 TD Top rushers ARL – De'Veon Smith – 15 rushes, 54 yards DC – Abram Smith – 13 rushes, 90 yards Top receivers ARL – Tyler Vaughns – 8 receptions, 83 yards DC – Josh Hammond – 6 receptions, 127 yards

Statistics

Team statistical comparison Statistic Arlington DC First downs 26 17 First downs rushing 9 6 First downs passing 16 11 First downs penalty 1 0 Third down efficiency 11–15 4–8 Fourth down efficiency 0–0 1–2 Total plays–net yards 71–396 49–356 Rushing attempts–net yards 34–111 17–115 Yards per rush 3.3 6.8 Yards passing 285 241 Pass completions–attempts 26–36 16–30 Interceptions thrown 0 3 Punt returns–total yards 3–14 1–6 Kickoff returns–total yards – – Punts–average yardage 1–54 3–52 Fumbles–lost 1–1 0–0 Penalties–yards 4–34 4–50 Time of possession 39:36 20:24

Arlington statistics Renegades passing C–A Yds TD–INT Luis Perez 26–36 288 3–0 Renegades rushing Car Yds TD De'Veon Smith 15 54 0 Leddie Brown 9 32 1 Kelly Bryant 4 15 0 Luis Perez 6 10 0 Renegades receiving Rec Yds TD Tyler Vaughns 8 83 1 Sal Cannella 4 71 1 Leddie Brown 2 43 1 Brandon Arconado 4 25 0 Caleb Vander Esch 3 21 0 JaVonta Payton 2 21 0 LuJuan Winningham 2 16 0 Victor Bolden Jr. 1 8 0

DC statistics Defenders passing C–A Yds TD–INT Jordan Ta'amu 16–30 245 2–3 Defenders rushing Car Yds TD Abram Smith 13 90 2 Jordan Ta'amu 4 25 0 Defenders receiving Rec Yds TD Josh Hammond 6 127 2 Lucky Jackson 2 33 0 Chris Blair 3 29 0 Abram Smith 2 28 0 Alex Ellis 2 17 0 Briley Moore 1 11 0

Aftermath

 

The Arlington Renegades celebrate on the field after winning the 2023 XFL Championship.

Renegades quarterback Luis Perez, previously named to the all-XFL team, was named the game's Most Valuable Player. In accordance with the XFL's incentive-based pay structure, Perez and the rest of the Renegades roster won $12,500 per player for their victory.^[19]

After the game, ABC has officially announced that the league would return in February 2024, featuring the same eight teams that competed during the 2023 season. On December 31, 2023, the XFL merged with a competing league, the United States Football League, to form the United Football League, thereby contracting four of the teams from each league but keeping each entity alive as separate conferences; on February 5, 2024, the league announced along with its schedule that separate USFL and XFL Championship Games would continue to be held as part of its playoff structure, with the winners of each moving on to the 2024 UFL Championship. ^[20][21]

References

1. "XFL 2023 Season Attendance Numbers". from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
2. Benjamin, Cody (19 February 2023). "XFL 2023 championship game: San Antonio's Alamodome will host league's title game in May". CBS Sports. from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
3. "2023 XFL Championship Game to Be Held at San Antonio's Alamodome on May 13". Bleacher Report. from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
4. "San Antonio to host inaugural XFL Championship Game". XFL.com. February 19, 2023. from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
5. Smith, Michael Dave (May 1, 2023). "D.C. Defenders to face Arlington Renegades in XFL championship". Yahoo Sports. from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
6. Florio, Mike (13 March 2020). "XFL will release to NFL or CFL players with a "credible contractual offer" - ProFootballTalk". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
7. "XFL suspends all operations, lays off employees". ESPN. April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
8. Karlis, Michael (20 February 2023). "San Antonio's Alamodome to host first ever XFL Championship game in May". San Antonio Current. from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
9. Inabinett, Mark (9 April 2023). "XFL Week 8 roundup: D.C., Houston clinch playoff spots". AL.com. from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
10. Inabinett, Mark (23 April 2023). "XFL Week 10 roundup: Fifth tiebreaker goes to Seattle". AL.com. from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
11. Hebel, Alli (24 April 2023). "St. Louis Battlehawks eliminated from playoff contention after tiebreakers". KSDK. from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
12. Palermo, Gregg (24 April 2023). "St. Louis misses out on XFL playoffs due to tiebreaker rules". Spectrum News. from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
13. Josh Lewin. "XFL Rewind: Week 11 Blog (Division Championship Games)". XFL. from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
14. ESPN Staff (April 30, 2023). "XFL semifinals: Highlights, game recaps, top players, news". ESPN. from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
15. Marrion, Jack (April 29, 2023). "Renegades take down Roughnecks for XFL South title". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
16. "Arlington Renegades advance to XFL championship game". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. April 29, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
17. "DC Defenders Earn Spot in First-Ever XFL Championship". WRC-TV. April 30, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
18. "DC Defenders head to XFL championship game". WUSA (TV). May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
19. Mitchell, Mike (2024-01-05). "D.C. Defenders: Jordan Ta'amu Fate, Changes, Dispersal Draft Options". Sports Illustrated UFL on FanNation News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
20. "UFL unveils 43-game inaugural season schedule". ESPN.com. 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
21. Stansell, Jake (2024-02-09). "Stallions hold social event at Protective Stadium ahead of upcoming UFL season". WBRC. Retrieved 2024-02-10.