Best of XFL Week 8: Two overtime thrillers, a fake punt and a playoff berth

Only two weeks remain in the regular season, and this week brought all the excitement.

The St. Louis Battlehawks and the Vegas Vipers faced off in the first overtime game of the 2023 XFL season, going wire-to-wire until the end.

The Saturday slate also ended two teams' postseason aspirations. The Vipers and Orlando Guardians were eliminated from playoff contention.

The Houston Roughnecks headed west to take on the San Antonio Brahmas looking to bounce back after last week's loss to the Battlehawks. The Roughnecks not only left Alamo City with an overtime victory, but they also left with their ticket punched to the 2023 playoffs. However, that win did not come without a fight.

The Seattle Sea Dragons are hosting the DC Defenders to close out this week's games at 7 p.m. ET.

All the best highlights from Week 8 are below.

Every XFL game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and are available on the ESPN family of networks (ABC, ESPN and FX).

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Recaps | Best Plays
Tweets | Quotes

This weekend's games

St. Louis Battlehawks 21, Vegas Vipers 17 (OT)

Saturday's overtime game didn't disappoint.

The Vipers struck first with running back John Lovetts' 5-yard touchdown and wide receiver Martavis Bryant's two-point conversion that gave Vegas the 8-0 lead. A back-and-forth defensive battle kept the game in Vegas' hands going into the second quarter.

After the Vipers added a field goal to their lead, St. Louis finally answered back with a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Tiano - starting in place of an injured AJ McCarron. He would go on to finish his first start of the season going 19-for-34 with 194 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. After a silent third quarter, both teams exchanged touchdowns in the fourth quarter to draw the score to 17-14. The best play of the day came in the Battlehawks' answering touchdown. Take a look at this play:

Unlucky for the Vipers' who had looked to be on upset alert, St. Louis refused to back down. The Battlehawks tied the game with a 34-yard field with 15 seconds left to bring the game to the XFL's first overtime. Overtime consists of alternating attempts from the opponent's 5-yard line. Each team will have three attempts -- or until the winner is decided -- to score two points per score. The Battlehawks kept the momentum going, scoring twice to defeat the Vipers. Vegas was eliminated from postseason contention with the loss.

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Arlington Renegades 18, Orlando Guardians 16

The Renegades snapped their two-game losing streak with the victory, while the Guardians were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.

Arlington got on the board first with a field goal. Taking note, the Guardians responded with one, too, to make the game 6-6. The night's first touchdown was brought to you by De'Vante Bausby's 48-yard fumble return, which marked the team's third defensive touchdown this season, tied with the Defenders for the league lead.

After adding another field goal to the score, the Guardians' first touchdown came just before halftime. Quarterback Quinten Dormady powered through Arlington's defensive line for a 2-yard rushing touchdown to close out the first half.

The next two quarters were all about the defense, as both offenses posted only two scores for the rest of the game. After the Renegades' late-third-quarter touchdown that brought their lead to 18-9, it looked like the Guardians were out of the match. But if you watched last week's showdown, you should know that Orlando never gives up.

The Guardians pulled close with Dormady taking the offense downfield again, ending the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eli Rogers with just over two minutes remaining. However, a costly fumble after getting the ball back by Dormady with 41 seconds left sealed the game for the Renegades.

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Houston Roughnecks 17, San Antonio Brahmas 15 (OT)

This weekend brought not one but two exciting overtime games.

After losing to the Roughnecks in Week 3, the Brahmas sought revenge on their home field and almost completed the upset. Houston grabbed the early lead with quarterback Brandon Silvers' 3-yard touchdown to wide receiver Deontay Burnett to close out the 12-play, 70-yard drive. The Brahmas followed the score with a 26-yard field goal by kicker John "Mr. Automatic" Romo, bringing the score to 6-3.

The second quarter was a quiet field goal battle, with Romo tying up the game with another field goal for 42 yards. Houston kicker Austin Jones made a 41-yard field goal to give the Roughnecks the halftime lead.

After Roughneck's defensive lineman Trevon Mason grabbed an interception in the first drive, Houston added another touchdown to its lead. The game seemed over with no scores from either team through the rest of the third and most of the fourth quarter. However, something ignited the Brahmas late in the game. San Antonio scored a touchdown and field goal within the last minute to tie the game and bring on the second overtime of the weekend. However, Houston hung on for the win and bragging rights.

Best plays

Hill for the win

Battlehawks running back and St. Louis native Brian Hill scored the game-sealing touchdown in overtime.

THE HOMETOWN KID FOR THE WIN pic.twitter.com/W5QjileJvB

— St. Louis Battlehawks (@XFLBattlehawks) April 8, 2023

Not on Powell's watch

Renegades safety Joe Powell snatches this interception.

POWELL WITH THE INTERCEPTION 😤 pic.twitter.com/bUjsxT7DUv

— Arlington Renegades (@XFLRenegades) April 8, 2023

Did you see that?

Vipers cornerback Marwin Evans picks off the Battlehawks in the endzone.

Marwin Evans said "I'll take that." 👀 @XFLVipers | #XFL pic.twitter.com/qBnSDvXXdF

— XFL (@XFL2023) April 8, 2023

Mr. Automatic is his nickname for a reason.

With this kick, Brahmas kicker Parker Romo moved to 9-of-9 on field goal attempts since Week 1.

After another automatic FG by @Romo_HKA, score is 6-6! We're tied baby! #XFL2023 | #HornsForward pic.twitter.com/RXdVcVYsVP

— San Antonio Brahmas (@XFLBrahmas) April 9, 2023

Top tweets

You heard the Battlehawks

The St. Louis Battlehawks have now brought out the three biggest crowds in XFL history.

🗣️ ST. LOUIS IS A FOOTBALL TOWN https://t.co/BIq5tY53ve

— St. Louis Battlehawks (@XFLBattlehawks) April 9, 2023

The Battlehawks take to Twitter to troll the Viper

Wait, that shape is kind of familiar...

Finally figured it out! Thanks for the insight, dangle fangles. https://t.co/pECNHeTih8 pic.twitter.com/4pKcbPwhcE

— St. Louis Battlehawks (@XFLBattlehawks) April 8, 2023

It was a party in San Antonio

Kameron Kelly was feeling all the post-interception vibes.

— San Antonio Brahmas (@XFLBrahmas) April 9, 2023

Quotes

"We'll take a 'W' when its a 'W'."

Listen in on coach Anthony Becht's postgame speech following the Battlehawks dub.

We played for each other and we found a way to win. pic.twitter.com/RSZZLBhI7J

— St. Louis Battlehawks (@XFLBattlehawks) April 8, 2023