Defenders vs. Wildcats Prediction
The D.C. Defenders will put their perfect record on the line Sunday evening in Los Angeles where they’ll visit the Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. ET. Is it a smart bet to lay the nine points with the Defenders or will the Wildcats come through with a cover?
Game Snapshot
423 DC Defenders (-9) at 424 Los Angeles Wildcats (+9); o/u 44
6:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, February 23, 2020
TV: FS1
Betting Odds
The Defenders are laying nine points on the road tonight while the over/under sits at 44 points. D.C. is also -375 on the money line to beat the Wildcats, who are +315 to pull off the outright upset at home.
DC Defenders
The Defenders are now 2-0 on the young XFL season after beating the New York Guardians 27-0 last week. Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones completed 23-of-37 passes for 264 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the win. Former San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey also rushed for 52 yards on 12 carries while Rashad Ross caught four-of-five targets for 95 yards.
Los Angeles Wildcats
Following their 37-17 loss to the Houston Roughnecks in Week, the Wildcats made their home debut last week and were beaten 25-18 by the Dallas Renegades. In the loss, quarterback Josh Johnson completed 18-of-34 pass attempts for 185 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The defense also forced two interceptions of Dallas signal-caller Landry Jones but it wasn’t enough, as the offense generated just 4.4 yards per play.
Prediction
I don’t see how this game gets over the total. The Defenders shut out the Guardians last week and this L.A. offense did not look explosive in either of its games. Wildcats coach Winston Moss appears to be like most defensive head coaches: Run-first and play good defense. When most coaches adopt that philosophy, they usually approach each game with the mentality that they’d rather win 17-16 than 34-31. That’s fine, because it plays to the under today. The Defenders have one of the better offenses in the XFL through two weeks but they’re also playing on the road, which could limit their scoring potential (especially if the Wildcats limit their possessions with their run-first approach).
XFL Week 3 Prediction: Defenders/Wildcats UNDER 44