XFL Week 1: Highlights, game recaps, top players, news

Football season continued this weekend, as the XFL debuted with Saturday's game between the Vegas Vipers and Arlington Renegades at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This is the third iteration of the XFL, following the original season in 2001 and a reboot in 2020 that was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

XFL 2023 started off fast: The Renegades defeated the Vipers 22-20, rallying from a 14-3 halftime deficit with 19 straight points before holding off Vegas' tying 2-point conversion attempt with eight seconds left. The Houston Roughnecks rolled over the Orlando Guardians in the late game, scoring on four straight possessions in the first half to overcome an early deficit in a 33-12 victory.

Sunday will see the St. Louis BattleHawks travel to play the San Antonio Brahmas, who are coached by Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward, at 3 p.m. ET. Week 1 concludes at 8 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C., as the D.C. Defenders host the Seattle Sea Dragons.

All XFL games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and are available on the ESPN family of networks (ABC, ESPN and FX).

Jump to:LV-ARL | ORL-HOU

Houston's defense dominated Orlando, as the Roughnecks registered seven sacks on Guardians quarterbacks Paxton Lynch and Quinten Dormady and overcame an early touchdown to set the tone. The Guardians (0-1) scored first when receiver Cody Latimer — who played with Lynch on the Denver Broncos — outfought a Roughnecks defensive back for a 27-yard touchdown reception on the first series of the game.

Paxton Lynch connects with Cody Latimer, who upon review is rewarded with the Guardians' first touchdown.

But the Roughnecks (1-0) dominated from there, thanks to four sacks from linebacker Trent Harris and two from defensive end Tim Ward. That allowed