Tampa Bay Vipers are Set for Home Opener

The Tampa Bay Vipers head into week three with their home game of the regular season. The team enters the week 0-2 after their losses against the New York Guardians and Seattle Dragons.

Viper Season Recap

The Vipers opened their XFL season at Metlife Stadium facing the Guardians. New York won the game 23-3. The biggest challenge Tampa faced in their matchup was Quarterback Aaron Murray’s performance on the field. He went 16/34 with 231 yards, and two INTs but no TDs. Quarterback Quinton Flowers’ made some advances for his team offensively as he rushed five times for 34 yards.

https://twitter.com/xfl2020/status/1226611703011586048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1226611703011586048&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tampabay.com%2Fsports%2Fvipers%2F2020%2F02%2F10%2Ftakeaways-from-tampa-bay-vipers-xfl-season-opener-in-new-york%2F

The 0-1 Vipers played their next game against the Seattle Dragons, another 0-1 team at the time. Quarterback Aaron Murray sat out with a foot injury, leaving fans to believe that Flowers would start in Murray’s place.

The #Vipers' quarterback conundrum is compounded by injury to starter Aaron Murray. #TampaBay also wants to get the most of Quinton Flowers' skill set, & that likely doesn't include him playing QB exclusively.@TB_Times story: https://t.co/2hdtVVm7Tw#TBVipers #XFL #XFLVipers

— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) February 12, 2020

Instead, former Oklahoma State Quarterback Taylor Cornelius took the reigns. However, he had some problems adjusting to his newfound leadership on the field. He went 16/27  with 154 yards and two INTs. It resulted in the 17-9 loss against the Dragons and Seattle’s first win.

Viper Home Opener

Tampa is heading to their home turf to take on their undefeated rival, the Houston Roughnecks. While the Vipers are determined for their first win of the 2020 season, the Roughnecks are looking to continue their winning streak.

They currently are leading the West Divison over teams like the Dallas Renegades and Seattle Dragons, who are both 1-1.

The Quarterback dilemma is the main concern for the Vipers heading into this matchup. The original plan explained by Head Coach Marc Trestman was to have Murray for the main starter, with Flowers coming in on specific plays and games.

That plan was crushed after Murray’s injury in New York. The major issue is the inconsistency of these players. Three quarterbacks have rotated in and it’s only week three.

The game is at Raymond James Stadium with kickoff at 2 pm. The Vipers stay home to face the DC Defenders next week.