Arlington Renegades at Houston Roughnecks 4/29/23 - XFL Picks & Predictions
Last Updated: 04/24/2023 at 12:01 PM ET
On Saturday, the Arlington Renegades visit the Houston Roughnecks in the South division championship of the XFL with the winner moving on to the XFL championship game. Arlington finished the regular season 4-6, but was second in the division. The Renegades were defeated by Houston on Sunday 25-9, but had already clinched a playoff spot after the San Antonio Brahmas were defeated on Saturday by the DC Defenders.
During the regular season, Arlington quarterback Luis Perez passed for 1,636 yards with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. The leading rusher for Arlington was De’Veon Smith with 365 yards and seven touchdowns, while the leading receiver was Sal Cannella with 41 receptions for 393 yards. Arlington finished the regular season third in points allowed at 19.4 points per game and third in yards allowed at 277.6 yards per game.
Houston finished the regular season as the South Division champion at 6-0, while the Roughnecks were 7-3 overall. Houston swept its two-game series against Arlington during the regular season and looks for its third consecutive victory over the Renegades on Saturday. In Sunday's victory over Arlington, Houston's Jeremy Cox rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown.
During the regular season, Houston quarterback Brandon Silvers passed for 1,551 yards with 13 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. The leading rusher for Houston was Max Borghi with 310 yards and six touchdowns, while the leading receiver was Cedric Byrd with 38 receptions for 281 yards and one touchdown. Houston's defense finished second in points allowed at 18.2 points per game and was first in total yards allowed at 271.4 yards per game.
Houston defeated Arlington by nine points in their first meeting and this past Sunday in the final game of the regular season won by 16 points. Houston finished second in points allowed during the regular season at 18.2 points per game which was 1.2 points less per game than Arlington allowed. This will be a defensive struggle from the start, but Houston finished the regular season averaging 96.9 yards rushing per game and 194.8 yards per game passing, which will be enough to defeat Arlington as the Roughnecks defense will shut down the Renegades offense. Final Score Prediction, Houston Roughnecks win and cover ATS 26-17.