The third reboot of the XFL begins in earnest this weekend with four games lined up for the pleasure of football bettors around the world looking to sink their teeth into more pigskin with the 2022-23 NFL betting season wrapping up last Sunday. The opening weeks of secondary professional football leagues are also tough to get a handle on not knowing a majority of the players or what the respective coaching staffs will look to do right out of the chute. With that, nothing more than beer money investments should be made at the online sportsbook until we have more of a grasp of how each team shakes out. But they pay me the big bucks to relay my opinions, so here’s a play on each game to throw into your Week 1 parlay cards.
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Vegas Vipers vs. Arlington Renegades
Date and Time: Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 3 PM EST
Location: Choctaw Stadium, Arlington, TX
TV Coverage: ABC
Riddle me this Batman. Why is an Arlington Renegades squad predicted to be one of the better teams in the league laying less than a field goal to a team predicted to finish in the back end of the standings come the XFL betting season’s conclusion? While Arlington sports some nice pieces on the offensive side of the ball in TE Sal Cannella and RB Keith Ford, I’m not at all sold on the QB room said to be spearheaded by Drew Plitt. I think the Vegas Vipers are being sold short entering the opening weekend! Though Rod Woodson has nowhere near the coaching resume of Bob Stoops, I feel he has the more NFL laden roster littered with a bunch of guys looking to showcase their skills. Look no further than Vic Beasley, Rod Smith, Martavis Bryant, and Geronimo Allison! It’s way too early and we know absolutely nothing about these teams, but I think Vegas is much better than many think and it wins this game outright!
Vegas Vipers +2.5
Orlando Guardians vs. Houston Roughnecks
Date and Time: Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 8:30 PM EST
Location: TDECU Stadium, Houston, TX
TV Coverage: ESPN/FX
The total for this XFL South matchup between the Guardians and Roughnecks hit the board at 36.5. The under immediately caught my eye due to both of these teams having questionable QB rooms at best. But once heavy -120 juice hit the over, I decided to sit back and see if there would be any movement north before firing on the under. Unfortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the number to beat fell to 36. Bottom line, I’d be shocked if these teams were able to combine for 27 points let alone 37 with the amount of question marks both offenses have entering the regular season. Add to the mix the defensive mindsets Terrell Buckley and Wade Phillips bring to the table, it’s obvious to me that both offenses will be well behind the defenses out of the chute. I’ll pay up to see if Paxton Lynch or Cole McDonald can consistently run effective offensive attacks. Likely not!
Orlando/Houston Under 36
St. Louis Battlehawks vs. San Antonio Brahmas
Date and Time: Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 4 PM EST
Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
TV Coverage: ABC
The Battlehawks enter the season the odds-on +350 favorite to win the XFL title, and I think they’re extremely underpriced in the season opener against the Jack Coan led Brahmas. The dude was nothing if not impotent leading the offense of the Wisconsin Badgers, and didn’t do much else to move the needle after transferring to Notre Dame. As big a fan I am of Hines Ward from his days of coming up with big plays for the Steelers, he’s up against it in his head coaching debut. San Antonio’s strength defensively comes in the secondary. That’s something A.J. McCarron will be forced to deal with when his running game isn’t making minced meat of SA on the ground. Seriously, the Brahmas will have no answers for Brian Hill and the Battlehawks rushing attack. Lay the short number in the Alamodome!
St. Louis Battlehawks -2.5
Seattle Sea Dragons vs. DC Defenders
Date and Time: Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 8 PM EST
Location: Audi Field, Washington, D.C.
TV Coverage: ESPN
For the life of me I have no clue why oddsmakers opened the Defenders 1.5-point favorites to win this game when it has what I believe to be the lesser of the two rosters. That being said, DC is better than oddsmakers predict and I think their +650 odds of winning the title is way underpriced. Regardless, Jim Haslett and his all-star coaching staff will devise a plan that puts Ben Dinucci and Co. in a position to win this game in hostile territory. Josh Gordon will be the best player on the field should he give a darn, and the Sea Dragons will have a leg up on all opposition out of the gate with June Jones unleashing his Run N’ Shoot attack. Should it excel, it will force DC to abandon the run which would suck as dominant I think Abram Smith can be in this league. I’ll gladly take the points with what I deem to be the better team being overlooked by the more experienced coaching staff.
Seattle Sea Dragons +1.5
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