Choosing the Best Value Money Lines for XFL Week 2

• XFL week two is on track to kick off on Thursday night followed by one Saturday game and the final two Sunday matchups.
• Money lines for each team have been published and vary between +150 and -175.
• Using trends and initial ideas from week one, we can find the best value money lines in the slate.

SEATTLE – The St. Louis BattleHawks will travel to face the odds-on favorite Seattle Sea Dragons in the XFL’s first Thursday night game of the season. In Week 1 the Sea Dragons were narrowly edged out by the clutch defensive play of the DC Defenders, while the BattleHawks pulled off their own heroics to beat the San Antonio Brahmas.

With four matchups on the week, a look at how each team performed last week as well as who is on each roster will uncover the best money line values. Online gambling sites have set odds for each team to win outright, including some underdogs with very solid chances of winning.

Week 2 XFL Odds

Picking Winners for Each Matchup

St. Louis BattleHawks @ Seattle Sea Dragons

Starting off with the Thursday night matchup between the BattleHawks and Sea Dragons, it is somewhat of a headscratcher as to why St. Louis is the underdog here. In week one, the BattleHawks captained by A.J. McCarron came back from down 12 points in the final three minutes to beat the Brahmas. However, the Sea Dragons faltered in their matchup and ultimately spelled their own demise after three costly turnovers from QB Ben DiNucci.

The defenses will be the biggest difference makers here and the BattleHawks’ unit appeared much more impressive than that of the Sea Dragons. The Hawks managed two sacks, one interception, and a fumble recovered against the Brahmas while the Sea Dragons had no sacks, no INTs, and no fumbles forced/recovered vs the Defenders.

While both offenses seem impressive led by their respective former NFL QBs, the BattleHawks appear to be a more complete team and performed much better in their difficult clutch situation, making their +130 moneyline odds a phenomenal value.

DC Defenders @ Vegas Vipers

The Vegas Vipers come into the game as the favorite following their two-point loss to the Renegades while the DC Defenders won week one by four against the Sea Dragons.

The Vipers’ main advantage they hold is QB play, as starter Luis Perez threw for more touchdowns (3) than any other QB in week one, but did throw two back-breaking pick sixes that would cost them the game. The Vipers defense was also much more impressive than the box score would show as they only allowed nine points while on the field.

The aptly named Defenders in their week one game got saved by their defensive play that generated two interceptions on DiNucci and forced a fumble on the one-yard line to win the game. The offense overall played very poorly though, only mustering 177 total yards throughout the game. This all leads to the Vipers being the best pick in the game at their -145 moneyline.

San Antonio Brahmas @ Orlando Guardians

The Brahmas open the game as the heavy -160 odds favorite against the Guardians. This is for good reason too, as the Guardians got utterly destroyed in Week 1 33-12 and had to bench starter Paxton Lynch. While the Guardians did create three sacks and two INTs, they also threw three of their own along with a fumble.

The Brahmas played quite average overall but were able to get five sacks and nine tackles for loss. With an offense led by former NFL RB Kalen Ballage, this team is shaping up to be a ground-and-pound defensive squad. With comparatively few offensive mistakes, their safe yet powerful running back room should be able to churn their way to victory against the underwhelming Guardians.

This all makes their -160 odds a money line worth considering despite the high odds due to just how poorly the Guardians played this past Saturday.

Arlington Renegades @ Houston Roughnecks

Last but not least is the Renegades, who etched out a tight win against the Vipers with the immaculate play of their defense, who scored 12 out of their 22 total points. The offense did not match their defensive play though, as the zero to one touchdown to INT ratio was uninspiring. The lone bright spot was receiver Sal Cannella, who had seven receptions for 70 yards.

Conversely, the Roughnecks were extremely impressive both on offense and defense. On offense the team scored 33 points with four touchdowns while the lockdown defense forced three INTs, recovered a fumble and sacked the Guardians a whopping seven times. While the -175 odds given to them by XFL sportsbooks are very big and unlikely to yield a lot of profit, the Roughnecks simply cannot be bet against after the masterclass they put on in week one that cemented them as the team to beat so far.