Cleveland Browns: XFL prospects from week 3 of the league

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ST. LOUIS, MO – FEBRUARY 23: Jordan Ta’amu #10 of the St. Louis BattleHawks passes the ball during the XFL game against the New York Guardians at The Dome at America’s Center on February 23, 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/XFL via Getty Images) /

New York Guardians vs. St. Louis BattleHawks

The BattleHawks were supposed to win this week but the Guardians defense actually kept MVP candidate Jordan Ta’amu in check, keeping him to under 120 yards for the first time this season. Despite Matt McGloin not playing badly, the team sat him down and Guardians head coach Kevin Gilbride even told backup quarterback Marquise Williams that he may need to step up and be a leader. So it appears as though McGloin is done as the starter in New York. The BattleHawks cruised to an easy win because of New York’s on and off-field turmoil.

Guardians – LB Ben Heeney

Ben Heeney again stepped up for the Guardians, giving the team a solid defensive outing, keeping the BattleHawks high powered offense to only two touchdowns, both of which were in the first half. Had the Guardians played better special teams or actually played well enough offensively, then this could have been a different game entirely. The Guardians’ defense is good, it just needs help. Heeney proved this with six total tackles, with two for a loss.

BattleHawks – SF Dexter McCoil

The BattleHawks safety Dexter McCoil may be one of the front runners for defensive player of the year. He’s constantly a disrupter in the secondary and can rack up tackles with the best of them. He had nine total tackles this week and helped hold the struggling Guardians offense to one touchdown late into the fourth quarter.

BattleHawks – RB Matt Jones

With Ta’amu struggling to get it going against the strong Guardians defense, the BattleHawks had to rely on running back Matt Jones, who showed up in a big way. He had 95 yards rushing on 15 carries, for 6.3 yards a carry and one touchdown. They had some more help from fellow running back Christine Michael, who scored a second touchdown but it was Jones who powered the offense in week three.

Notes: Bunmi Rotimi needs to make a bigger impact in the passing game, with only one sack and one QB hit through three weeks. Matt McGloin might be on his way out of New York after Gilbride verbally threw him under the bus in the fourth quarter. Jordan Ta’amu can’t afford many games like this if the BattleHawks are going to compete for the title. On a lighter note, it was fantastic to see the city of St. Louis welcome pro football back to the city.

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