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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Bryan Manning

XFL’s D.C. Defenders improve 3-0 on the season

Audi Field in Washington, D.C., was the site of Sunday’s XFL battle between a pair of unbeaten teams, the D.C. Defenders and St. Louis Battlehawks.

The game didn’t disappoint.

In addition to the highest-scoring game of the XFL’s young season, we saw a fight, and somewhere, XFL founder Vince McMahon smiled. Yet, through it all, the Defenders held on to beat the Battlehawks, 34-28, and improve to 3-0 on the season.

The Defenders jumped on the scoreboard early as quarterback Jordan Ta’amu found tight Ethan Wolf for a seven-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The pair also successfully converted the two-point conversion, giving D.C. an early 8-0.

The Defenders struck again when cornerback Michael Joseph picked off his third pass of the season and took it to the house to extend D.C.’s lead to 14-0. It was Joseph’s third interception of the season.

St. Louis quarterback A.J. McCarron rebounded, leading the Battlehawks on a 73-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Brian Hill to trim the lead to 14-8.

McCarron led another long St. Louis drive, capping it off with a touchdown pass to Hakeem Butler.

The two teams went back and forth in the second half before the Defenders took a 34-28 lead late in the fourth quarter, and things broke down. The Battlehawks, facing a fourth-and-15, saw their hopes evaporate when McCarron was sacked, effectively ending the game with 16 seconds remaining, and this happened:

The scuffle led to three players being ejected — two for D.C. and one for St. Louis.

Here’s another view:

These two teams meet again in 13 days from St. Louis.

Ta’amu completed 11 of 20 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a touchdown.

McCarron had another excellent performance in defeat, passing for 262 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Defenders are 2-0 from Audi Field this season and remain undefeated in their home venue since 2020. D.C. hosts the Vegas Vipers next week in a rematch from Week 2; the Defenders won 18-6.

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