J.J. Watt, NFL stars react to XFL opening weekend
The DC Defenders scored their first victory during the debut of the 2020 XFL season, and plenty of NFL stars took to Twitter to react.
On Saturday, the XFL returned to the spotlight for the first time since its brief stint in 2001. Football fans across the nation were naturally unsure of what to expect after the Vince McMahon-owned league previously folded after one season.
However, when McMahon announced in 2018 that he would reveal a completely reimagined XFL, all anyone could do was wait.
It turned out that the 31-19 win for the DC Defenders over the Seattle Dragons came with several highlights, with both current and former NFL stars taking to Twitter to react.
Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice and Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt offered commentary during the game.
https://twitter.com/DhaSickest/status/1226235837953839112
Just turned on the XFL.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 8, 2020
Kicker missed a field goal and they immediately interviewed him on the sideline asking what happened haha.
That’s tough.
Jeff Allen, currently a free agent that most recently played for the Kansas City Chiefs last season, weighed in on the fan vs. player perspective.
The XFL is going to last this time. From a fan’s perspective I love being able to hear the coaches call the plays. Sucks as a player and coach as far as game planning, the opponent literally knows all your calls lol
— The Cookie Expert (@JeffAllen71) February 8, 2020
This is an interesting point that ties back into the lineage of the league itself.
Though the XFL reboot does not crossover with WWE as the original did, the league is still owned by the entertainment company’s CEO and chairman. McMahon has been vocal about a “fans above all” mentality.
George Foster, a former tackle for the Indianapolis Colts amongst other teams, continued the conversation on the sideline interviews — which were another major talking point of the matchup.
When the sideline reporter swim-moved by 4 players to get to the kicker that just missed a field goal >>> https://t.co/FH2pKqpiLG
— Daniel Long (@DanLong1298) February 8, 2020
Quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, Robert Griffin III, zeroed in on the rules that the XFL has adopted for the new season:
XFL is fun to watch and some of these rules are interesting
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) February 8, 2020
Some of the rules surround pace-of-play, even though the Defenders-Dragons game lasted over three hours. There are also kickoff rules that are more return-friendly, with no kicking plays allowed after touchdowns.
The 2020 season of the newly designed XFL is just getting started, with plenty more games to dissect this weekend after Saturday night’s games. On Sunday, the Tampa Bay Vipers take on the New York Guardians at 2 p.m. EST and the St. Louis BattleHawks go up against the Dallas Renegades at 5 p.m. EST.