After an exciting regular season, the XFL postseason has arrived, and The Game Day has your XFL Playoffs Best Bets.
There’s some sentiment this North Division Championship showdown may actually be the equivalent of the XFL Championship Game, considering the quality of the two teams involved.
Read on for our top Defenders vs Sea Dragons picks.
Defenders vs Sea Dragons Odds
XFL odds used for D.C. vs Seattle were found at DraftKings Sportsbook and are current as of Wednesday, April 26. at 3:30 pm ET.
- Moneyline: Defenders (-170) • Sea Dragons (+145)
- Spread: Defenders -3 (-110) • Sea Dragons +3 (-110)
- Total Points Scored: Over 48.5 (-115) • Under 48.5 (-105)
Defenders vs Sea Dragons Prediction
Sea Dragons 29, Defenders 26
Audi Field will be sold out and undoubtedly rocking for this elimination game, and the Defenders defense has already proven highly capable of wreaking havoc in any environment.
Nevertheless, an upset could well be in the offing here. Seattle proved a tricky matchup for D.C. in both regular-season games. The Sea Dragons lost by a 22-18 score in Week 1 in the nation’s capital due to a Ben DiNucci fumble on the shadow of the goal line with 19 seconds remaining.
- Click to read about the other XFL Division Championship with our Roughnecks vs Renegades best bets.
Seattle then fell by a single point, 34-33, in a Week 8 matchup where DiNucci threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns. The Defenders seemingly played with fire all throughout the campaign. Despite a dominant-on-the-surface 9-1 record, their point differential was a modest +58.
That was largely due to a surprisingly porous pass defense that finished the regular season ranked last with 266.1 passing yards per game allowed.
Meanwhile, the strength of the Sea Dragons was undoubtedly their air attack — DiNucci finished with 2,671 passing yards and 20 touchdowns and added 305 rushing yards and three scores on the ground for good measure. Two of his wideouts — Jahcour Pearson and Josh Gordon — finished in the top 10 in receiving yards, with Pearson setting the pace in that category (670) and in receptions (60).
Given DiNucci also has the luxury of an effective two-headed ground attack helmed by Phillip Lindsay and T.J. Hammonds and a slew of effective complementary receivers such as Blake Jackson, Juwan Green, and Jordan Veasy, I see the strength of the Sea Dragons’ offense getting the best of the weakest spot of the Defenders defense.
Defenders vs Sea Dragons Best Bets
Over 48.5 Total Points (-115) at DraftKings Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
As just outlined, I envision the Sea Dragons and their well-balanced offense putting up their fair share of points, just as they were able to do in Week 8.
However, the Defenders offense certainly isn’t going to be kept down completely. Jordan Ta’amu put together a spectacular season that saw him throw for 1,878 yards and generate a 14:3 TD:INT while adding 301 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
He boasts a stellar top trio of wideouts in Lucky Jackson, Chris Blair, and Josh Hammond, as well as the benefit of handing off to XFL rushing champion Abram Smith (791 rushing yards, 5.0 yards per carry). Tight end Alex Ellis also proved to be a very viable red-zone threat in the latter portion of the season with four receiving touchdowns.
Given the firepower on each side and the fact both Seattle (24.3 PPG) and D.C. (league-high 29.8 PPG) put up plenty of points during the regular season, I like the chances of the Over hitting for this XFL pick of the day.
Sea Dragons ML (+145) at DraftKings Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
Given what was explained in the game prediction, I like the possibility of Seattle emerging with a razor-thin win on the road after coming up just short against the Defenders in two previous tries.
The +3 spread would perhaps be the safer pick overall, but as my final score prediction corroborates, I see a good chance of a push at best on that line. Consequently, I’ll roll with the plus-money price on the straight-up win.
