24.02.2023

San Antonio Brahmas vs. Orlando Guardians Game Preview and Pick

Week two of the XFL season is here, and while the teams are still trying to feel it out and get settled, it gives fans who prefer betting on football a good opportunity to keep doing so. The game we’ll be looking at today features two teams who lost in week one, so we’ll preview the game before going over which team I think is going to win and cover the spread.

Game Preview

The Orlando Guardians were the first team to get blown out in the XFL this season as they dropped their opening game 33-12. It’s never ideal to have to bench a starting quarterback, but it is especially not ideal during the first week of the season, and the Guardians had to do just that. Paxton Lynch was replaced by Quentin Dormady during the game; however, neither of them performed well.

Dormady came off the bench and ended up throwing one touchdown and two interceptions on 18 attempts. It didn’t help that Orlando could only muster up 78 rushing yards in the game as well, as leading running back Jah-Maine Martin had just nine carries for 41 yards.

Defensively, the Guardians allowed the most points in the league, despite being able to come up with two interceptions. The Guardians' opponent, the Houston Roughnecks, was able to put up 353 total yards in the game, which is likely music to the Brahmas' ears since they only managed to score one touchdown last weekend.

San Antonio had the first fourth-quarter collapse of the XFL season in their first game, as they allowed 15 points in the fourth quarter alone, including a touchdown with just 16 seconds left in the game. The Brahmas controlled the game up until the last two minutes of the game, and even in the loss, ended up only allowing 253 total yards.

Offensively, they may have only found the endzone once, but they moved the ball down the field efficiently quite a few times in the game. Running the ball looks to be the primary strength of the offense, as they ended the game with 133 rushing yards. Kalen Ballage led the way with 24 carries and 84 yards, helping take some pressure away from quarterback Jack Coan.

Pick for the Game

The San Antonio Brahmas are currently favored by -3.5 points, and I’ll be backing them for my play in this one. Even though they collapsed in the fourth quarter, the Brahmas' defense still showed they have potential and even ended the game with five total sacks. With the Guardians' inability to establish an offense of any kind, facing immense pressure up front could make it difficult for them to establish a run game again.

Advantages on the line are always huge, but they are especially big when a team is still trying to figure out how to work with each other and what type of team they are. Orlando allowed seven sacks in week one, so no matter who they have at quarterback this weekend, they will likely not be able to get settled in the game right away.

San Antonio and Kalen Ballage should be able to find a lot of success on the ground against the Guardians since Orlando allowed two rushing touchdowns and an average of 5.2 yards per play. The Brahmas were able to control the game clock all game in week one, and that could greatly affect a Guardians team who is struggling to score as it is.