Vipers lose again, finish 1st XFL season 2-8

There was no dramatic last stand, or even much of a fight.

Instead, the Vipers’ inaugural XFL season came to an unceremonious end Sunday with a 28-9 loss to the Seattle Sea Dragons at Lumen Field.

The Vipers offense, which had started to find a rhythm in the past few games after Jalan McClendon took over at quarterback, struggled as the team finished the season 2-8.

McClendon’s unit managed just eight first downs, two of which came by penalty. Seattle picked up 25 first downs en route to a 7-3 finish and playoff berth.

The box score could have looked even worse for the Vipers. McClendon hit Mathew Sexton on an 84-yard completion to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Shai Mckenzie in the closing minutes.

McClendon finished 6-for-21 passing for 201 yards, as the Vipers managed just 237 total yards.

Still, they hung around early. The Sea Dragons didn’t score until quarterback Ben DiNucci’s touchdown run late in the second quarter gave them a 6-0 halftime lead.

The game turned into a rout in the third quarter, with two touchdown drives giving the Sea Dragons a 20-3 lead.

“We played decent football (in the first half), but it was what it’s been like all year long where we have that one quarter that hasn’t gone our way,” Vipers coach Rod Woodson said. “For three quarters, we played pretty good football. In the third, we didn’t have that passion and fight.”

DiNucci completed 26 of 41 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Josh Gordon had nine catches for 115 yards.

“We have a good group of players and coaches,” Woodson said. “We’ve already started looking into what to do next year in practices and camp. We have a good plan moving forward. I’m excited for the guys I get to keep, and there will be some who go on with their life work.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.