XFL Championship Game 2023 score: Huge underdog Renegades stun D.C. behind MVP Luis Perez, coach Bob Stoops

The Arlington Renegades are the XFL champions, completing one of the most improbable playoff runs in football. Just 4-6 entering the postseason and going through multiple quarterback changes throughout the season, the Renegades — led by quarterback Luis Perez — beat the heavily favored D.C. Defenders 35-26 for the XFL title. 

The Renegades, who entered the game as 8.5-point underdogs via Caesars Sportsbook, are the XFL first champion since the Los Angeles Xtreme won the title in 2001 (the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19).

Perez, who started the season with the Las Vegas Vipers, was traded to Arlington in Week 7 as the Renegades had an outside shot at the postseason — due to playing in a subpar division. He completed 26 of 36 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s championship game as the Renegades scored more than 30 points for the first time all season en route to the title. 

Arlington scored on all five first half possessions and led wire to wire. Head coach Bob Stoops captured his fifth championship between the college and professional ranks, while Perez took home game MVP honors. 

Here are our takeaways from the game (keep scrolling down to relive all the action in our live blog below). 

Why the Renegades won

Luis Perez played his best game of the season in just his sixth start for the Renegades, completing 26 of 36 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns — capping a postseason in which he finished with six touchdown passes in two games. The Renegades’ scores on their first five possessions of the game against the league’s top defense, as Perez threw two touchdown passes during the stretch to give Arlington a 26-12 lead over D.C.

Perez was able to beat Defenders defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ blitzes throughout the night, which led to the Renegades surpassing 26 points for the first time this season. 

Why the Defenders lost

The Defenders defense just couldn’t get off the field on third down, as the Renegades started the contest 10 of 12 on third down conversions that led to the team scoring 35 points. Plenty of those conversions were on third-and-long situations in the first half, leading to the Renegades chewing up game clock and handing the Defenders a 14-point deficit — their largest of the season. 

D.C. quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, the league’s Offensive Player of the Year, got off to a slow start because the Defenders offense wasn’t on the field much (only three plays in the first quarter). The defense just couldn’t get a key stop in order to get back in the game. 

Turning point

After the Defenders scored before the end of the third quarter to make the score 26-20, Perez had the Renegades responded in a massive way before the end of the third quarter. On the final play of the quarter, Perez found Leddie Brown for a 30-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 32-20.

Brown found himself open in the flat and maneuvered his way into the end zone to extend the lead. He became the first player to score both a rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown in an XFL game this year — scoring both in the third quarter. 

A poor kickoff after a Defenders 72-yard touchdown pass gave the Renegades excellent field position. Thanks to Perez and Brown, Arlington made sure the lead wasn’t in doubt. 

Play of the game

Perez found Sal Cannella on a third-and-12 pass for a 41-yard touchdown to give Arlington a 6-0 lead to start the game. The Renegades quarterback beat the Defenders blitz, just stood and the pocket, and fired to Canella on the crossing route for the score.

That play was the sign Perez was going to have a big night throwing the football. 

The quote

“We really turned our season around at the right time. I’d say the big turning point was getting Luis Perez.” — Arlington head coach Bob Stoops when he received the XFL Championship Trophy. 

When asked if he’d ever coached a team that had a turnaround like this before, Stoops said “Not like this.”

Defenders’ demise

The Defenders had lost only once game all season entering the XFL Championship Game — amazingly, it came against the Orlando Guardians, who finished with the league’s worst record at 1-9 as it was their only win. D.C. was our top team all season — we actually had the Defenders and Renegades as our top two teams prior to Week 1 — but they struggled against Arlington both times they faced them, needing overtime in Week 9 to beat them, 28-26.

Renegades’ championship road

The Renegades are the league’s second champion, finishing the year with a 6-6 record. The Renegades lost their last two games to finish 4-6 in the regular season, making the playoffs by one game over the 3-7 San Antonio Brahmas. 

Thanks to the XFL taking the top two teams in each division for playoff berths, the Renegades had the chance to compete for a championship.