Super Bowl LIV is over, but that doesn't mean football has to end. The XFL's inaugural season has kicked off, rebooting from its previously failed venture from almost 20 years ago.
Vince McMahon, billionaire maestro of the WWE and creator of the XFL, hopes joining forces with XFL commissioner and league CEO Oliver Luck will help to avoid the pitfalls that doomed the developmental pro league nearly two decades ago. They successfully executed their draft in late October that featured nearly 800 players tossing their name into the pool. The XFL will average two games per day -- playing on both Saturdays and Sundays -- with the playoffs set to begin in mid-April.
Here's a look at the complete schedule, as well as scores of games that have been played, dates and times for the playoffs and XFL Championship.
Week 1
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
D.C. Defenders 31, Seattle Dragons 19 | Feb. 8 |
Houston Roughnecks 37, Los Angeles Wildcats 17 | Feb. 8 |
New York Guardians 23, Tampa Bay Vipers 3 | Feb. 9 |
St. Louis BattleHawks 15, Dallas Renegades 9 | Feb. 9 |
Week 2
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Defenders 27, Guardians 0 | Feb. 15 |
Dragons 17, Vipers 9 | Feb. 15 |
Renegades 25, Wildcats 18 | Feb. 16 |
Roughnecks 28, BattleHawks 24 | Feb. 16 |
Week 3
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Roughnecks 34, Vipers 27 | Feb. 22 |
Renegades 24, Dragons 12 | Feb. 22 |
BattleHawks 29, Guardians 9 | Feb. 23 |
Wildcats 39, Defenders 9 | Feb. 23 |
Week 4
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Guardians 17, Wildcats 14 | Feb. 29 |
BattleHawks 23, Dragons 16 | Feb. 29 |
Roughnecks 27, Renegades 20 | March 1 |
Vipers 25, Defenders 0 | March 1 |
Week 5
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Roughnecks 32, Dragons 23 | March 7 |
Guardians 30, Renegades 12 | March 7 |
Defenders 15, BattleHawks 6 | March 8 |
Wildcats 41, Vipers 34 | March 8 |
Week 6
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Roughnecks at Guardians | Saturday, March 14 (2 p.m. ET) |
BattleHawks at Vipers | Saturday, March 14 (5 p.m. ET) |
Renegades at Defenders | Sunday, March 15 (4 p.m. ET) |
Wildcats at Dragons | Sunday, March 15 (7 p.m. ET) |
Week 7
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Renegades at Vipers | Saturday, March 21 (2 p.m. ET) |
Wildcats at BattleHawks | Saturday, March 21 (5 p.m. ET) |
Guardians at Dragons | Sunday, March 22 (3 p.m. ET) |
Defenders at Roughnecks | Sunday, March 22 (6 p.m. ET) |
Week 8
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Vipers at Defenders | Saturday, March 28 (2 p.m. ET) |
BattleHawks at Guardians | Saturday, March 28 (5 p.m. ET) |
Roughnecks at Wildcats | Sunday, March 29 (3 p.m. ET) |
Dragons at Renegades | Sunday, March 29 (6 p.m. ET) |
Week 9
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Renegades at Roughnecks | Thursday, April 2 (8 p.m. ET) |
Defenders at Guardians | Saturday, April 4 (2 p.m. ET) |
Vipers at BattleHawks | Sunday, April 5 (12 p.m. ET) |
Dragons at Wildcats | Sunday, April 5 (6 p.m. ET) |
Week 10
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
Wildcats at Renegades | Thursday, April 9 (8 p.m. ET) |
Roughnecks at Dragons | Saturday, April 11 (2 p.m. ET) |
Defenders at BattleHawks | Sunday, April 12 (3 p.m. ET)* |
Guardians at Vipers | Sunday, April 12 (6 p.m. ET)* |
Playoffs
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
East No. 2 at East No. 1 | Saturday, April 18 (3 p.m. ET) |
West No. 2 at West No. 1 | Sunday, April 19 (3 p.m. ET) |
Championship
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
East vs. West, in Houston | Sunday, April 26 (3 p.m. ET) |
It's key to note times for the Week 10 battles on Sunday are subject to change.
As you can see, the XFL consists of eight teams who'll duke it out on weekend afternoons for the right to be the last one standing on April 26. The more astute eye will notice the season begins immediately following Super Bowl 54, which affirms their unwillingness to go head-to-head with the juggernaut that is the NFL. There will be a one-week bye between the playoff games and the championship, and that also coincidentally (or not so much) prevents a clash with the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas -- set to run from April 23-25.
The XFL Championship game will be held one day after the NFL Draft closes, and it'll be interesting to see how player performance from the former affects the decisions of scouts and general managers regarding the latter. If there are standout veteran players from the XFL, it could make some NFL teams think twice about the value they place on certain players or positions in the collegiate prospect pool; and this could be especially true in the later rounds and undrafted free agency.
That is, of course, if the XFL can successfully complete the season without suffering the same fate as the AAF.
To their credit, although they lasted only one season in 2001, they did play it to its conclusion, but are hoping this time around their stay won't be so short-lived. And so it goes, the XFL is "back for the first time" on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Football has no offseason in 2020.
