| 2023 XFL Championship Game | |
| Type: | xflc |
| Visitor: | Arlington Renegades |
| Visitor Abbr: | ARL |
| Visitor Coach: | Bob Stoops |
| Visitor Record: | 4–6 |
| Home: | DC Defenders |
| Home Abbr: | DC |
| Home Coach: | Reggie Barlow |
| Home Record: | 9–1 |
| Visitor Qtr1: | 14 |
| Visitor Qtr2: | 6 |
| Visitor Qtr3: | 12 |
| Visitor Qtr4: | 3 |
| Home Qtr1: | 0 |
| Home Qtr2: | 6 |
| Home Qtr3: | 14 |
| Home Qtr4: | 6 |
| Date: | May 13, 2023 |
| Time: | 8:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-4) |
| Stadium: | Alamodome |
| City: | San Antonio, Texas |
| Referee: | Michael VanderVelde |
| Attendance: | 22,754[1] |
| Mvp: | Luis Perez, Arlington |
| Odds: | DC by 8.5 |
| Network: | ABC |
| Announcers: | Tom Hart, Greg McElroy, Cole Cubelic and Katie George |
| Rating: | 0.8 (1.40 million viewers) |
The 2023 XFL Championship Game was an American football game on May 13, 2023, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.[2] [3] 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.[4] The game began at 8:00 p.m. EDT and was aired on ABC.[5]
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]
On February 19, 2023, the Alamodome was selected as host for the first edition of the championship.[5] [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.
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.
See 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).[13] [14]
See 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.[15] [16]
| 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 |
| Renegades passing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Perez | 26–36 | 288 | 3–0 | ||
| Renegades rushing | |||||
| 15 | 54 | 0 | |||
| 9 | 32 | 1 | |||
| 4 | 15 | 0 | |||
| Luis Perez | 6 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Renegades receiving | |||||
| 8 | 83 | 1 | |||
| 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 | ||
| 1 | 8 | 0 | |||
| Defenders passing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16–30 | 245 | 2–3 | |||
| Defenders rushing | |||||
| 13 | 90 | 2 | |||
| Jordan Ta'amu | 4 | 25 | 0 | ||
| Defenders receiving | |||||
| 6 | 127 | 2 | |||
| Lucky Jackson | 2 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Chris Blair | 3 | 29 | 0 | ||
| Abram Smith | 2 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 17 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 11 | 0 | |||
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.[18]
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. [19] [20]