As the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Battlehawks reach the halfway point of the season, concern for the United Football League’s tiebreaker system is the last thing on anyone’s mind.
At least, not yet.
Of course, the same was true last year until the Battlehawks ended up 7-3 and bumped from the playoffs despite having a better record than the eventual champion. The complexities of the formula conspired against them.
“I’m a day-to-day guy in the first place,†quarterback A.J. McCarron said. “I couldn’t tell you one damn tiebreaker rule. I have no clue what this league is doing.â€
One thing that is known is that games inside their own conference are critical. And games such as Sunday’s road matchup with the D.C. Defenders (2-2) will go a long way toward determining postseason status.
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The Battlehawks (3-1) dropped both games to the Defenders in 2023, and those losses were critical in how the tiebreaker went down. They haven’t beat D.C. in three tries dating back to the team’s first season in 2020.
A win Sunday would keep ºüÀêÊÓƵ unbeaten in what is called the XFL Conference and provide a two-game lead over the Defenders. A loss would keep things tight heading into the second half of the season.
“I can tell that everybody is — not on edge, but there’s a little extra motivation,†safety Kameron Kelly said. “They’re the only (former XFL) team we haven’t beat. Every game is important, but there is definitely a little extra on the table.â€
Teams play their conference opponents home and away and those results can become important in a tiebreaker scenario. The Battlehawks lost to the Defenders 34-28 on the road and 28-20 at home in 2023.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ had a tough time stopping the running game. The Battlehawks’ surrendered four rushing touchdowns in their home meeting with two coming on runs of 62 and 70 yards.
Coach Anthony Becht talked about improving that area of the team’s defense in the offseason with much of his motivation being to better stack up with D.C. That speaks to the importance of the head-to-head games.
“We get a divisional opponent that is very good and coming off a loss,†Becht said. “Quite frankly it’s an opponent we didn’t fare well with last year. … How do you handle winning multiple games and not get complacent? With (D.C.), it takes away a lot of the possible complacency. This is what we built our team around and why we tried to improve in certain areas, so that when this game came up we were prepared to give our best.â€
The Battlehawks have won their last three games and only a last-second 64-yard field goal has kept them from being undefeated. The loss was to Michigan, which is in the opposite conference.
D.C. does not have all of the same personnel from last season, but the Defenders are running much the same offense with former Battlehawks quarterback Jordan Ta’amu at the helm.
Statistically speaking, ºüÀêÊÓƵ will have bigger challenges against other opponents’ running games. But the memory of last season’s D.C. encounters remains.
“We feel like we’re stronger in the interior and our front seven is stronger,†defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham said. “If we’re playing our technique properly, we can do a good job of stopping the run. If we don’t, we won’t.â€
There’s no question that last year’s tiebreaker has stuck with a lot of the returning Battlehawks. Over-emphasizing the importance of a single game might not be helpful, but when the result is determined it will hold considerable weight.
McCarron, though, refused to make it any bigger than the last game, even after losing twice.
“I have friends on that team and guys I’ve been teammates with and played against,†he said. “It’s a new year. We just want to go out and get a win.â€