Week 8 of the 2023 XFL season saw the first overtime game and the debut of the league’s unconventional new rules. On Saturday, the St. Louis Battlehawks overcame a double-digit deficit to beat the Vegas Vipers in the extra period. The following day, the Houston Roughnecks also won in OT, stopping their three-game skid after a 4-0 start. On Sunday night, the D.C. Defenders cooled off the Seattle Sea Dragons in a wild shootout, 34-33.
The XFL’s new overtime rules give each team three alternating attempts to convert two-point conversions from their opponent’s 5-yard line to decide a winner. In Sunday’s D.C. vs Seattle game, it was a clash between two of the league’s hottest teams, and it lived up to the billing. D.C.’s Jordan Ta’amu battle through a shoulder injury to put up gaudy numbers while Seattle’s Ben DiNucci combined for 301 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
In the Roughnecks clinch playoff berth with OT victory game, the Roughnecks led 15-6 with 3 minutes left in the game when a Brandon Silvers interception opened the door for the Brahmas. San Antonio’s John Parker Romo hit a 49-yard field goal with :01 left to force the XFL’s second overtime in 24 hours. With each team getting three alternating attempts to convert two-point conversions from their opponent’s 5, neither could convert on their first two. With one attempt left, Houston finally broke through, as Cole McDonald hit Deontay Burnett for the game-winner, followed by a critical defensive stop.
In the Battlehawks win XFL’s first OT game as wild new rules debut game, the Battlehawks overcame a double-digit deficit to beat the Vegas Vipers in the extra period. With each team getting three alternating attempts to convert two-point conversions from their opponent’s 5, the Battlehawks prevailed in the OT, 2-0. St. Louis’ Brian Hill rushed into the end zone on the team’s second attempt to secure the victory, and players celebrated by leaping into the stands, where there were a reported 35,000-plus fans in attendance.
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