The Las Vegas Vipers’ first season is over and can only be described as a disaster. The Vipers managed just two victories and weren’t against great teams. They also got blown out by double digits multiple times, making the games challenging to watch.
Now, the team did have a few high points. Some moments made it feel like the growing organization could be something special. So, let’s talk about the good, bad, and ugly from the Las Vegas Vipers’ 2023 XFL season.
The Good: The Las Vegas Vipers came close to winning many times
The Las Vegas Vipers might not have the record, but they came close to winning quite a few games in 2023. The first occurred in week one against the Arlington Renegades, where they lost 22-20. Despite the outcome, the Vipers were competitive and really took the team to their limit.
Another example is their week three matchup against the Seattle Seadragons. The Vipers lost again 30-26, but take notice of how close the game was. Also, take notice that the SeaDragons are second in their division and one of the better teams. That means the Vipers came close to beating a playoff-caliber team.
Finally, there is their week nine matchup against the Houston Rouhnecks. This is probably the best opponent the Vipers faced all season and a true test of their abilities. The Vipers lost this game 28-21 but gave the Roughnecks a hell of a battle in the meantime.
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The Bad: The Las Vegas Vipers were often destroyed
While the Las Vegas Vipers can be competitive, they tend to get derailed rather quickly. For example, they failed to score once in their week two loss against the DC Defenders. Brett Hundley and Luiz Perez split quarterback duty, making things even worse.
They combined for 12 of 23 for 103 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and four sacks for 12 yards. The Vipers’ defense did hold the Defenders to zero points in the first three quarters but allowed 15 in the fourth. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Vipers were up by six heading into the final portion of the game.
Another prime example is their week six games against the St. Louis BattleHawks. The Vipers were destroyed 29-6 in a failure on both sides of the ball. Las Vegas did score in the final quarter, which did little besides putting points on the board.
The defense, on the other hand, gave up 328 yards. The team did hold the BattleHawks scoreless in the first quarter of the game but then gave up 17 unanswered points in the second quarter. This trend continued in the third quarter, where St. Louis packed on another six unanswered points.
In the end, watching these kinds of games isn’t going to sell the Las Vegas audience on this team. The fact that they keep getting blown out by quality opponents shows the Vipers are bottom-tier. Now, that doesn’t mean they don’t have the pieces in place to succeed. They just don’t know how to use them yet. Unfortunately, this trial and error process resulted in a lot of losses.
The Ugly: The Las Vegas Vipers have no momentum
The sad truth is that if the Las Vegas Vipers never played another down, no one except the players’ moms would care. The organization only scored two wins in 2023, and both were against bottom-of-the-barrier teams. They were also continuously roughed up by the league’s heavyweights, making watching things difficult.
There isn’t going to be much interest in a team that loses this much. It just creates a bad energy and is not fun to see. The Vipers need to do some serious work this off-season. Otherwise, they risk becoming the worst team in Las Vegas.
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