XFL 2023: Seattle Sea Dragons (1–2) Week 4 Preview/Prediction
In Week 4, the Sea Dragons return to Seattle for a matchup against the San Antonio Brahmas. Both teams currently have a 1–2 record, and each sits at 3rd place in their respective divisions. As early as it is, with only a 10-game season, the mid-way mark fast approaching, and both teams already playing catchup in their divisions, every win and loss will hold significant weight in securing a playoff spot moving forward.
San Antonio Brahmas (1–2) at Seattle Sea Dragons (1–2)
Kickoff: Saturday, March 11, at 7:00 pm PT
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
TV: FX, ESPN+, ESPN Xtra on Serius/XM
Broadcast Team: Lowell Galindo (Play-By-Play), Sam Acho (Analyst), Ian Fitzsimmons (Sideline Analyst), Taylor McGregor (Sideline Reporter)
Weather
Saturday evening’s forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with temperatures around 45 degrees, an 18% chance of rain, and winds around 6 mph.
Betting Odds Per DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread:
- San Antonio Brahmas: +4.5
- Seattle Sea Dragons: -4.5
Moneyline:
- San Antonio Brahmas: +180
- Seattle Sea Dragons: -210
Over/Under: 40.5
Depth Charts
Seattle Sea Dragons Week 4 Depth Chart
Offense123QBBen DiNucci — 6 (Captian)Stephen Montez — 12Harrison Frost — 14RBMorgan Ellison — 25T.J. Hammonds — 19Darius Bradwell — 23WRJosh Gordon — 0Damion Willis — 15WRJah’cour Pearson — 3T.J. Hammonds — 19Kelvin McKnight — 86WRBlake Jackson — 80McLane Mannix — 82WRJuwan Green — 4Jordan Veasy — 88TECharlie Tamoepeau — 89OTLiam Jimmons — 71Barry Wesley — 69OGMike Menet — 72Paul Gratten — 65OCJared Thomas — 73Tejan Koroma — 56OGChris Owens — 55Josh Seltzner — 70OTColin Kelly — 67Defense123DENiko Lalos — 97Daniel Joseph — 96Chris Smith — 42DNAntwuan Jackson — 52Sama Paama — 50DTAustin Faoliu — 58OLBElijah Ponder — 44Shareef Miller — 48ILBTre Walker — 8Emmanuel Smith — 43ILBJordan Evans — 26 (Captian)Clarence Hicks — 9OLBTuzar Skipper — 51CBChris Jones — 5Rojesterman Farris — 17Zafir Kelly — 36CBLinden Stephens — 21Shabari Davis — 24Mykael Wright — 16SBryce Thompson — 1Qwynnterrio Cole — 32SAntoine Brooks — 2Alijah Holder — 33Special Teams123KDominik Eberle — 11PCameron Nizialek — 10LSThomas Fletcher — 45KRMorgan Ellison — 25PRJah’cour Pearson — 3Kelvin McKnight — 86
San Antonio Brahmas Week 4 Depth Chart
Offense123QBJack Coan — 16Reid Sinnett — 17RBKalen Ballage — 11Jacques Patrick — 9Jon Hillman — 31WRJalen Tolliver — 80Travis Tolvonen — 81WRTravis Jonsen — 10T.J. Vasher -18WRDarece Roberson Jr. — 13Fred Brown — 6TEAlize Mack — 88Deon Yelder — 84OTNorman Price — 72Ja’Chai Baker — 73OGKohl Levao — 66Malcolm Bunche — 78OCLuke Juriga — 59Damien Mama — 51OGMaea Teuhema — 75Malcolm Bunche — 75OTRoubbens Joseph — 71Chidi Okeke — 77Defense123DEDa’Sean Downey — 55Dieontae Scott — 45Mike Scott — 44NGMatthew Gotel — 90Javier Edwards — 91DTKamilo Tongamoa — 95Kobe Smith — 50DEDrew Beesley — 33Mike Tverdov — 42SAM — LBBen Davis — 3MIKE — LBDrew Lewis — 25Riko Jeffers — 40WILL — LBJordan Williams — 15Drew Lewis — 25CBRyan Lewis — 24Kameron Kelly — 8CBTenny Adewusi — 5Divine Buckrham — 14Nickel — CBRanthony Texada — 22Terrell Bonds — 2SJack Koerner — 28Sean Williams — 21SLuq Barcoo — 1Kemah Siverand — 20 Special Teams123KParker Romo — 23PBrad Wing — 0LSRex Sunahara — 47KRFred Brown — 6Darece Roberson Jr. — 13PRDarece Roberson Jr. — 13Fred Brown — 6
Injury Report
Seattle Sea Dragons
- Antwuan Jackson — Thumb — Probable
- Bryce Thompson — Chest/Rib — Probable
- Morgan Ellison — Knee — Questionable
- Jordan Evans — Hip — Questionable
- Charlie Tamoeapeau — Calf — Questionable
- Alijah Holder — Knee — Probable
- Emmanuel Smith — Quad — Questionable
- Chris Payton-Jones — Hip — Questionable
San Antonio Brahmas
- Delontae Scott — Head — Out
- Mike Scott — Hamstring — Out
- T.J. Vasher — Shoulder — Out
- Chidi Okeke — Ankle — Out
- Kobe Smith — Personal — Out
- Jalen Tolliver — Groin — Probable
Seattle Sea Dragons — San Antonio Brahmas Prediction
Seattle and San Antonio come into Week 4 with a 1–2 record, each in 3rd place in their respective divisions. Seattle’s coming off their first win of the year, which came against the Vegas Vipers, while San Antonio is fresh off a tough loss to the undefeated Houston Roughnecks.
While the turnover issues did continue for Seattle, quarterback Ben DiNucci looked the best he had all season against Vegas in 30 mph winds and still leads the league in passing. Additionally, wide receivers Jahcour Pearson and Josh Gordon currently lead the league in receiving yards, with Gordon tied for most touchdown receptions (3). Morgan Ellison also had a breakout game in week 3, becoming the first running back in the XFL to run for 100 yards in a single game. Ellison climbed the rushing leaderboards and currently ranks 1st in the league in rushing.
Ellison did suffer a knee injury against the Vipers, which limited him in practice this week, but he is officially listed as questionable ahead of Saturday’s matchup. Hopefully, the Sea Dragons will have their violent runner this weekend, as he added the piece that was missing from this offense over the first two games, and their running back room is growing thin with Brenden Knox already on the reserve list.
In regards to Seattle’s defense, they’ve had their moments over the first 3 weeks, but they’ll need to tighten things up if they want to beat the better teams in the XFL. This week’s addition of former NFL defensive end Chris Smith should help out a bit, as he’ll be active on game day this Saturday. However, others on the defense will need to step up, make plays, and completely eliminate simple mistakes like not touching players down.
While San Antonio’s only win of the season came against the struggling Orlando Guardians, Brahmas quarterback Jack Coan is playing smart and efficient football, and the running back tandem of Kalen Ballage and Jacquez Patrick has been a problem for opposing defenses. While Seattle’s running back, Morgan Ellison, leads the league in rushing as an individual player, the San Antonio Brahmas offense is second in the league in rushing collectively. Additionally, Brahmas tight end Alize Mack has become one of the bigger receiving threats in the league over recent weeks.
Defensively, the Brahmas have played well this season, ranking near the middle of the pack overall. However, they currently total the 3rd most sacks in the league (9), lead the XFL in tackles for loss (23), and held the undefeated Houston Roughnecks without a score in the second half of their Week 3 matchup. It’ll be interesting to see what this unit can do against what appears to be the best-receiving core in the league in Seattle.
Overall, this should be another fun matchup; Seattle’s first three games have all been decided by 4 points or less. The Sea Dragons’ defense won’t have an easy day between trying to stop San Antonio’s dangerous running back duo and keeping quarterback Jack Coan in check, who’s currently ranked 4th in the league in passing. That said, Seattle’s quarterback Ben DiNucci seems to be getting comfortable in Seattle’s offense, injuries are starting to pile up for the Brahmas, and San Antonio’s defensive backs may have a tough time keeping up with the Sea Dragons’ stacked receiving core.
If Seattle can keep some momentum from last week and continues to clean things up in regard to turnovers and questionable game management ahead of halftime, this should be a pretty winnable game.
Prediction: Seattle Sea Dragons 26 — San Antonio Brahmas 22
