Houston now favored to win 2020 XFL Championship

We are now through three weeks of the 2020 XFL season, and only one unbeaten team remains, the Houston Roughnecks. That fact, along with their stellar offense, has led them to be the new favorite to finish the season as the champion of the new XFL.  

It's the third consecutive week a new favorite emerged. As the odds are constantly changing, one thing is very clear—there is money to be made on this wager.

Let's look at Houston’s chance to win it all, and which teams you should be looking at for the best value.

Killer offense

Through three weeks the Roughnecks offense is averaging 33 points per game and leads the XFL with 13 touchdowns.

Quarterback P.J. Walker leads the league in passing yards and wide receiver Cam Phillips leads in receiving yards. They have also received a solid contributions from running back James Butler.

Even when things go wrong, they go right, like this play last week. 

In Week 2 this offense went up against what is likely the best defense in the league—the St. Louis BattleHawks. Walker was held to 170 passing yards, but he still managed three touchdowns, with a QB rating of 111. They also had a rushing touchdown by Butler. That is four of the five touchdowns the BattleHawks have allowed in all three games combined.

Defensive questions

The Tampa Bay Vipers came into their Week 3 game with the Roughnecks with only 12 points scored in their first two games. The Vipers managed to put up 27 points against the Houston defense. Houston struggled mightily to stop wide receiver Jalen Tolliver, who came down with eight receptions for 104 yards.

The biggest issue the Houston defense has is its lack of ability to contain quarterbacks. In Week 1 it allowed 21 yards and a touchdown to a quarterback who had 28 rushing attempts in his entire college career. In Week 2 Jordan Ta’amu ran for 32 yards and a touchdown. Last week the Roughnecks they allowed two quarterbacks to combine for 62 yards and two touchdowns.

No team has allowed more touchdowns than the Roughnecks (although three teams have allowed the same number). The biggest test will be this weekend, when they travel to face the league's preseason favorite, the Dallas Renegades.

Other contenders

The DC Defenders went from the favorite at +200 to +350 after one bad week. This team is still legit and has a balanced squad that is capable to win it all. The Defenders are about to face off with the only winless team in the league, and an impressive showing could push their odds back up.

The BattleHawks were my dark horse last week, and I loved their odds at +800. After dismantling the New York Guardians, however, they have moved to +400. I want better odds than +400 at this point.

The most talented team in the league and preseason favorites is now sitting as the fourth choice at +500. The Renegades may not have any flashy, impressive wins yet, but they are about to get a shot against Houston. Quarterback Landry Jones is averaging 289.5 passing yards per game (two games) and could feast on Houston's shaky defense. Grab them now, before they get back to being the rightful favorite.

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