2021 XFL Championship

The 2021 XFL Championship or **XFL Championship II** was an american football game to determine the Champion of the 2021 XFL Season. It was contested between the St Louis Battlehawks and Seattle Dragons. The game was played on July 10th 2021.

## Background

The 2021 XFL Season kicked off in April 2021. The playoffs begun on July 3 and then July 4 before the XFL Championship on July 10.

### XFL Playoffs

The Battlehawks defeated the Defenders 20-17 and the Dragons upset the Renegades 43-37.

## Scoring Summary

(millions)
 July 10 8:20pm ET

## Game Summary

### First Half

The Dragons won the toss and elected to defer. The Battlehawks first possession was a three and out and were forced to punt. The Dragons started their drive at their own 36 and made a massive play to the Battlehawks 38. On a 3rd & 8 they fumbled the ball but managed to pick it up and get it to the line of scrimmage. On 4th & 8 they tried a 53 yard field goal which went in. 3-0 Dragons. The Battlehawks had a 2nd & 9 after a 1 yard rush and threw in an interception. The Dragons returned it to the Battlehawks 8. However, they stalled out and had to kick another field goal. They tried from 25 yards but it was missed wide. The score remained 3-0 Dragons. The Battlehawks would finally make a move on a 3rd & 5 and made a 16 yard pass. They made plays down the field and would face a 3rd & 6 from the Dragons 14. They made a short pass but he made it to the endzone for a 14 yard passing TD. The Extra Point was good. 7-3 Battlehawks. The final play of the first quarter was a massive 26 yard pass by the Dragons to get them a first down, it was 4th & 2 and they went for it. So it gave them a lot of momentum for the Second Quarter. The Second Quarter started with short checkdowns until they made field goal range. They went 3 and out again and had to Kick another field goal. It was from 51 yards and was good. 7-6 Battlehawks. The Battlehawks made a massive kickoff return to the Dragons 40, the longest Kickoff return in XFL playoff history. They also made it worth it as they made a massive gain on the next play, making it to the redzone. They then made a 13 yard rushing TD and the Extra Point was good. 14-6 Battlehawks. The Dragons would then make progress up the field but would fall short of the first down on third down which made it 4th & 1 at the Battlehawks 21. They initially went for it but a delay of game penalty pushed them back 5 yards to the 26 and decided to kick a field goal. It was a 43 yard attempt and was good. 14-9 Battlehawks. Before the Half, the Battlehawks made a 74 yard drive and then scored a 1 yard passing TD, Extra Point is good. 21-9 Battlehawks. That was halftime with the Battlehawks having the lead 21-9.

### Second Half

The Second Half started with the Dragons throwing an Interception. The Battlehawks kicked a 34 yard field goal on a 4th & 1 to go up 24-9 a couple of plays after. The Dragons would then be forced to punt and the Battlehawks would make a 34 yard play on a 3rd & 16 in order to reach Dragons territory. They would stall out and it would be 4th & 3, they decided to be bold and go for it. However, the made a run and it was a 2 yard run so therefore the Dragons got the ball back. They would make plays and it would lead to a Philly Special on 4th & 3 and it would be successful and would make a couple more plays before making a 41 yard passing TD to make it 24-15 and would score the two point conversion to make it 24-17 Battlehawks. The Battlehawks would fumble the ball during a running play and the Dragons would recover. They made the redzone but they failed to get a 1st down so they had to kick a FG and it would be 24-20. The Battlehawks would spend the rest of the 4th Quarter trying to drain the clock. But they failed to get a first down on one of the plays. They therefore kicked a field goal with 1:06 left and made it 27-20 Battlehawks. The Dragons would make a 4th & 11 into a 1st & 10 at the 50 yard line. They had 0 time outs and had to spike the ball with 6 seconds left. They snapped the ball and after a couple of seconds, it was thrown and it was caught and the Extra Point was good, 27-27. The game would head to overtime.

### Overtime

This was the first time in XFL History that a playoff game went to overtime. Overtime in the Playoffs is different to the Regular Season. Each team had at least one possession from the 10 yard line to score a TD. They will have all 4 attempts and no field goals. The first one was the Battlehawks. It Failed as the Dragons held strong on 4th & Goal from the 2. The Dragons possession also failed as the Battlehawks made them stall out on all possessions. The Battlehawks failed again. On 3rd & Goal at the 6, the Dragons scored a 6 yard passing TD to win the game 33-27.

## Celebrations

The Dragons lifted the trophy after the game. The game was also very good due to the stadium conditions, which made people think if the XFL was to expand in the future, one of the cities should be San Antonio.

## References

1. ↑ 2021 XFL Championship: Battlehawks-Dragons on July 10 8:30pm ET on FOX
2. ↑ XFL Playoff Schedule for 2021
3. ↑ 2021 XFL Playoff Results: Battlehawks top Defenders and Dragons upset Renegades
4. ↑ 2021 XFL Championship to be behind closed doors
5. ↑ Devin Hester, Battlehawks Return Specialist, makes longest Kickoff return in XFL Playoff History
6. ↑ XFL 2021 Champions: Seattle Dragons