# 2024 Houston Roughnecks season

The 2024 Houston Roughnecks season was the third season of Houston Roughnecks (2024), an American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team's first season in the United Football League (UFL) after a merger in the offseason between the USFL and the XFL. Under the terms of the agreement, the team consists of the roster and coaching staff of the former USFL's two-season-old Houston Gamblers franchise, taking over the Roughnecks branding and home city previously used by the XFL team with the same name.
Renovations that began on the Roughnecks' home stadium in 2020 and 2023, TDECU Stadium, following the end of the 2023 University of Houston Cougars football season rendered that stadium unavailable for use for the 2024 season, while the Gamblers had never played in Houston, instead sharing stadiums with their rivals the Birmingham Stallions and Memphis Showboats under the USFL's hub model. The XFL stated that the Roughnecks would remain in Houston during the renovations, potentially at another stadium in the city. Rice Stadium, which hosted games in the USFL's predecessor The Spring League in 2021, and Shell Energy Stadium, home of the Houston Dynamo soccer team, were among the venues the league contacted about hosting the Roughnecks. On February 1, 2024, the league announced that home games would be hosted at Rice Stadium.

## Signees to the NFL

| Player | Position | XFL team | Date | NFL team | Ref. |
| C. J. Brewer | DT | Houston Roughnecks | May 15 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| Jack Heflin | DT | Houston Roughnecks | May 15 | New Orleans Saints | |

## Schedule

All times Central
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | TV | Opponent | Results | Results | Location | Attendance |
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | TV | Opponent | Score | Record | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | Sunday | March 31 | 2:00 p.m. | ESPN | Memphis Showboats | 12–18 | 0–1 | Rice Stadium | 9,157 |
| 2 | Sunday | April 7 | 3:00 p.m. | Fox | at DC Defenders | 18–23 | 0–2 | Audi Field | 15,052 |
| 3 | Sunday | April 14 | 11:00 a.m. | ABC | at Michigan Panthers | 20–34 | 0–3 | Ford Field | 6,952 |
| 4 | Sunday | April 21 | 1:00 p.m. | FS1 | Arlington Renegades | 17–9 | 1–3 | Rice Stadium | 7,179 |
| 5 | Saturday | April 27 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox | Birmingham Stallions | 9–32 | 1–4 | Rice Stadium | 6,285 |
| 6 | Saturday | May 4 | 2:00 p.m. | Fox | at St. Louis Battlehawks | 8–22 | 1–5 | The Dome at America's Center | 32,969 |
| 7 | Sunday | May 12 | 2:00 p.m. | ESPN | San Antonio Brahmas | 12–15 | 1–6 | Rice Stadium | 6,134 |
| 8 | Saturday | May 18 | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN2 | at Birmingham Stallions | 28–35 | 1–7 | Protective Stadium | 10,245 |
| 9 | Sunday | May 26 | 1:30 p.m. | Fox | Michigan Panthers | 22–26 | 1–8 | Rice Stadium | 6,527 |
| 10 | Sunday | June 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Fox | at Memphis Showboats | 12–19 | 1–9 | Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium | 6,039 |

## Game summaries
### Week 1: vs. Memphis Showboats

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Showboats | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Roughnecks | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
at Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
* Date: March 31
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Haze, 79 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 9,157
* Referee: Jeff Heaser
* TV announcers (ESPN): Lowell Galindo, Tom Luginbill, Harry Douglas and Kayla Burton
* Recap, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
MEM – Matt Coghlin 27-yard field goal, 4:31. Showboats 3–0. Drive: 16 plays, 56 yards, 10:29.
MEM – Christian McFarland 12-yard fumble return (one-point run failed), 3:42. Showboats 9–0.
Second quarter
MEM – Vinny Papale 11-yard pass from Case Cookus (one-point pass failed), 6:57. Showboats 15–0. Drive: 11 plays, 74 yards, 7:57.
HOU – J.J. Molson 55-yard field goal, 1:51. Showboats 15–3. Drive: 10 plays, 41 yards, 5:06.
Third quarter
No scoring plays
Fourth quarter
HOU – J.J. Molson 45-yard field goal, 13:46. Showboats 15–6. Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 3:12.
MEM – Matt Coghlin 51-yard field goal, 8:44. Showboats 18–6. Drive: 9 plays, 20 yards, 5:02.
HOU – Jarrett Guarantano 1-yard run (three-point pass failed), 5:29. Showboats 18–12. Drive: 3 plays, 17 yards, 1:09.
Top passers
MEM – Case Cookus – 23/40, 204 yards, TD, INT
HOU – Jarrett Guarantano – 16/21, 157 yards
Top rushers
MEM – Case Cookus – 4 rushes, 16 yards
HOU – Jarrett Guarantano – 2 rushes, 22 yards, TD
Top receivers
MEM – Jonathan Adams – 4 receptions, 49 yards
HOU – Kirk Merritt – 4 receptions, 33 yards :

## Standings

2024 UFL standingsvte :
| USFL Conference |||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | TD+/- | TD+ | TD- | DIV | PF | PA | DIFF | STK |
| (y) Birmingham Stallions | 9 | 1 | .900 | - | 11 | 31 | 20 | 6–0 | 265 | 180 | 85 | W1 |
| (x) Michigan Panthers | 7 | 3 | .700 | 2 | 5 | 27 | 22 | 4–2 | 228 | 189 | 39 | L1 |
| (e) Memphis Showboats | 2 | 8 | .200 | 7 | -19 | 20 | 39 | 2–4 | 188 | 290 | -102 | W1 |
| (e) Houston Roughnecks | 1 | 9 | .100 | 8 | -12 | 17 | 29 | 0–6 | 158 | 233 | -75 | L6 |
| XFL Conference |||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | TD+/- | TD+ | TD- | DIV | PF | PA | DIFF | STK |
| (y) St. Louis Battlehawks | 7 | 3 | .700 | - | 7 | 31 | 24 | 5–1 | 260 | 202 | 58 | W1 |
| (x) San Antonio Brahmas | 7 | 3 | .700 | - | 12 | 24 | 12 | 3–3 | 192 | 153 | 39 | L1 |
| (e) DC Defenders | 4 | 6 | .400 | 3 | -2 | 24 | 26 | 2–4 | 209 | 251 | -42 | L1 |
| (e) Arlington Renegades | 3 | 7 | .300 | 4 | -2 | 26 | 28 | 2–4 | 247 | 249 | -2 | W2 |
| (x)–clinched playoff berth; (y)–clinched division; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention |||||||||||||

## Staff

The 2024 coaching staff was announced on February 21, 2024.