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XFL Week 5 Saturday Game Previews


Graphic Courtesy of Pat Pryor @patpryorgraphic

All betting outlooks and insights are provided by our Director of Betting, Jeremy Dennis. You can find him on Twitter @menace524. Also, all of the DFS Fantasy Player insights are provided by Nikunj Patel. You can find him on Twitter @NickOfTimeDFS.


Seattle Dragons (1-3) at Houston Roughnecks (4-0)


Where to Watch: Saturday, March 7th, 2:00 pm ET on ABC


Preview


The Roughnecks remain the league's only unbeaten team. They are fresh off their 27-20 win over the Renegades thanks to a great defensive performance and a pair of PJ Walker touchdowns. No doubt the best team in the league they will look to keep the momentum going against the Dragons. Seattle comes into this match up having lost their last 2 and struggled to get things going offensively last week in their loss against St. Louis. Things obviously don’t get much easier for the Dragons as they will look to hand the Roughnecks their first loss of the season and to do so they will need a better performance offensively.


Players to watch


BJ Daniels showed off his versatility last week with 184 yards passing and running combined and one touchdown. Austin Proehl leads the team with 3 touchdowns on the season. Pasoni Tasini is coming off a good performance with 1 sack, 2 QBs hits and 3 tackles for loss.


PJ Walker no doubt has been the best player in the XFL and is the heart and soul of this unbeaten Roughnecks team. With every star QB comes a star WR and Cam Philips has been the go to guy for Walker when he is not running through defenses. The entire Roughnecks defense deserves a mention for their stellar play last week and will look to keep the momentum going.


Keys to the game


Seattle Dragons

  • Get the offense going and score more than 20 points

  • Contain PJ Walker

  • Take Cam Philips out the game plan

Houston Roughnecks

  • Defense needs to take advantage of this low scoring offense.

  • Walker and Phillips have a field day

  • Attack on the ground


NickOfTime Top 5 DFS Plays

  • PJ Walker remains the top player in the league and is a threat to score any time on the ground and through the air.

  • Cam Philips wasn’t much of a factor last week but still a definite starter as he leads the team with 7 receiving touchdowns, and has seen 8 or more targets in 3 of the first 4 games.

  • Roughnecks defense is one to start coming off a game in which they forced 4 turnovers and a defensive touchdown. The Dragons offense has yet to eclipse the 20 point mark this season.

  • Nick Holley is coming off his best performance of the season with 8 receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. He has seen 5 or more targets in 3 of the first 4 games and has averaged over 10 yards per reception in 3 of the first 4 games.

  • Austin Proehl is the only player on the Dragons I would take a chance on. He is averaging 13 yards per reception while seeing close to 7 targets per game.


Degenerate Menace Betting Outlook


Line: Houston (-13) Over/Under: 45.5


Houston is clearly the best team in the league. Seattle is clearly one of the worst teams in the league. Houston has also covered three of the four match-ups that they played this season. Therefore, it is hard to go against the Roughnecks. Another prevailing theory is that if you look at a like opponent, such as Dallas: Seattle lost by 12 to them at home and Houston beat them by seven on the road. However, -13 is a big number for any team. Thus far, most teams have failed at covering a double-digit spread and Houston’s defense isn’t great, primarily due to their quick-strike offense. This game should only be interesting from a betting standpoint

Prediction: Houston 31 - Seattle 19


Prediction


Houston takes the gold here as they possess a better team all around. The Dragons offense has yet to score 20 points in a game this season and the Roughnecks defense is coming off their best performance of the season. Look for the defense and PJ Walker to keep it rolling.


Final Score: Roughnecks 31, Dragons 13


Written by: Ali Jawad


NY Guardians (2-2) at Dallas Renegades (2-2)


Where to Watch: Saturday, March 7th, 5:00 pm ET on FOX


Preview


After a bumping two weeks, the New York Guardians were able to get back a win against the heavily favorite Los Angeles Wildcats in Week 4 and look to head into Arlington, Texas to take on the Renegades. The Renegades are coming a hard fought loss against the Houston in the #TexasThrowdown where they lost their starting QB, Landry Jones for likely the entire season. They will need to turn to their backup once more. Both teams now sit at 2-2, and need to be above .500 to stay in the playoff picture. This week 5 matchup has a lot at stake for New York and Dallas.


Players to watch


New York Guardians


Darius Victor, Running Back


The New York Guardians still have not announced whether McGloin will take back his starting spot or will the roll out Luis Perez again. With turmoil at the quarterback position that will likely extend itself into the game, the Guardians will need to rely on their running game to stabilize the offense. Victor had a pretty good week 4 rushing for 82 yards in 18 carries. He will need to carry that success into Week 5.


Jarrell Owens, Defensive End


With Landry Jones out, the Renegades will be forced to roll out Philip Nelson. If the Guardians can rattle him early, it could make for an easier day at the office. This former Oklahoma State standout will get another opportunity to use his hustle around the edge to make a major impact in week 5.


Dallas Renegades


Cameron Artis-Payne, Running Back


The Renegades have boasted one of the best Running games in the XFL and they will need to rely upon it again to keep pressure off their backup QB. Both Artis-Payne and Lance Dunbar have been excellent weapons for the Renegades on the ground and as receivers out of the back field. They will be vital to holding the Guardian pass rush at bay.


Austin MacGinnis, Kicker


Austin has been perfect through the first 4 weeks of the XFL season. It will be essential for Dallas to come away with points even if the drives stall out. Macginmis will be called upon to be a heavy contributor to the Renegades score.


Keys to the game


New York Guardians

  • Make Philip Nelson uncomfortable

  • Contain the Renegades RBs

  • Get their QB situation straightened out early

Dallas Renegades

  • Keep Nelson upright

  • Win the turnover battle.

  • Force Perez or McGloin to throw the ball


NickOfTime Top 5 DFS Plays


  • Lance Dunbar, RB, DAL

  • Darius Victor, RB, DAL

  • Donald Parham, TE, DAL

  • Jeff Badet, WR, DAL

  • Colby Pearson, WR, NY


Degenerate Menace Betting Outlook


Line: Dallas (-8) Over/Under: 37


Talk about your quarterback turd sandwich in this match-up. Landry Jones is out for the Renegades after an injury last week and the New York situation took a turn for the worst when the Guardian decision-makers decided that Matt McGloin needed to split snaps with Luis Perez who showed his leadership in a 17-14 win against L.A. last week. So, good luck trying to figure that out. Best analysis here is that New York’s defense is still better than the Renegades’ and eight is an awfully big number to cover with a back-up quarterback.


Prediction: New York 17 - Dallas 14


Prediction


I expect a low scoring affair as both teams try to grind the game out on the ground. With both QB situations looking bleak at best, I give the nod to the Renegades who have a much more impressive Running Back tandem to notch out a close victory.


Final Score: Dallas 16 , New York 13


Written by: David Connors @DConBlitz

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