The 2023 XFL season comes to an end tonight (May 13) with the league championship game between the Arlington Renegades and D.C. Defenders. The contest, which will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, will kick off at 8 pm. ET and air on ABC, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes.
The Renegades (5-6) had an up-and-down regular season, losing four of their last five games after starting the season 3-2. But the team, led by head coach Bob Stoops, did enough to reach the South Division Championship game and earned a spot in the XFL Championship by beating the Houston Roughnecks 26-11. Running the football has been the key to the Renegades’ success as running back De’Von Smith ranked fourth in the league in rushing yards (365) and tied for first in rushing touchdowns (seven). Defensive back Joe Powell has been a playmaker for the Renegades with four interceptions.
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The Defenders (10-1) have been the XFL’s best team all season. Their only loss of the year came against the Orlando Guardians in Week 7, and they have the league’s best offense, averaging 29.8 points per game. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu was named XFL Offensive Player of the Year, throwing for 1,894 yards and 14 touchdowns. Running back Abram Smith was named to the All-XFL team after rushing for 791 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensive lineman Davin Bellamy also was named to the All-XFL team after recording 5.5sacks and even tackles for loss this season. Head coach Reggie Barlow was named XFL Coach of the Year after leading the Defenders to the best record in the league.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a co-owner of the XFL with Dany Garcia (who is also the league president), spoke to ESPN about the future of the XFL and said the plan was to always have multiple seasons. “We’ve been doing business for quite some time, Dany and I, starting in the late ’90s,” Johnson said. “We went into this XFL season determined and committed to playing the long game. So as the numbers were coming in, they were what we expected. We didn’t expect to blow the roof off the place with incredible numbers. You want to see steady growth, you want to get feedback from the fans and the audience, you want to see how the game plays on TV and then play the long game.”
