ST. LOUIS — After playing on the road for the first two weeks of the season, the BattleHawks are finally coming back to St. Louis to show fans what the XFL brand of football is all about.
The BattleHawks play their home opener against the New York Guardians on Sunday at 2 p.m. It will be a highly anticipated home opener for the fans of St. Louis, who will welcome professional football back to the city for the first time since 2015.
With the highest TV ratings and most merchandise sold, the BattleHawks have St. Louis hyped. And head coach Jonathan Hayes has been recognizing the fans for their support. He also wants the fans to be the team's 12th man on Sunday when his guys are on the field at The Dome.
"I'm hoping it's going to be chaotic," Hayes said.
Dual threat quarterback, Jordan Ta'amu, appreciates all the love he has gotten from the fans so far.
We know the atmosphere will be rocking, but let's take a look at the actual football on the field.
The BattleHawks are coming off a tough loss to Houston in week two, and coach Hayes knows they need to come out of the gate swinging this week.
"Get a good start early...we can't convert on our two point conversions, that's what killed us," Hayes said.
Entering into this week's game, the BattleHawks are a favorite to win for the first time this season. They have covered the points spread in both of their contests so far, though.
Let's take a look at the match up.
On offense, St. Louis averages more pass yards, rush yards, yards gained per play and points scored than New York. Judging the defense however, both teams average the same amount of sacks with an average of 2.5. The Guardians lead in the other defensive categories averaging 1.5 interceptions, 0.5 fumbles and only allowing 15 points per game.
The winner in this upcoming game will be in at least second place in the XFL East, depending on what the D.C. Defenders do on Sunday.
The BattleHawks should look to rely on Ta'amu if they hope to get back on the winning track. Ta'amu is second in the league in passing yards with (493) and third in rushing yards (109). Running back Matt Jones has been impressive in the ground game as well with a league-high 129 rushing yards.
It's been more than 1,000 days since professional football has been played at The Dome. They've been prepping and getting everything in order this week, for what no doubt will be a raucous crowd come Sunday.
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