XFL betting tips for St. Louis BattleHawks at Houston Roughnecks

Perhaps the XFL's two best performances in Week 1 belonged to the St. Louis BattleHawks and Houston Roughnecks. Are they as good as they showed? Maybe this is a preview of what to expect in the playoffs; maybe it isn't. They'll go at it on Sunday at 6 PM ET at TDECU Stadium in Houston.

The game will be televised live on Fox Sports 1. And BetAnySports customers will get to watch the game and place wagers on it in real time, through the mechanism of Sports Betting Ultra.

Houston is using the Run 'n Shoot offense that has been practiced for years by head coach June Jones, who learned from the master (Mouse Davis). Things were going a little slow last week against the Los Angeles Wildcats, as the Roughnecks trailed 14-6 at the half. But then PJ Walker, the former Temple star who had beaten out Connor Cook for the starting quarterback position, led a furious rally in the second half, as the Renegades scored 31 of the 34 points and came away 37-17 victors.

Jones and Walker figured out the L.A. defense to such an extent that the Wildcats fired D-coordinator Pepper Johnson. Still, if you look at the numbers, they only had 315 total offensive yards. And they did not have a running game, with just 50 yards.

Houston defended very well. But they were facing a quarterback (L.A.'s Chad Kanoff) who often looked like a deer in the headlights. It was indeed impressive that they had ten QB hots. But they'll be facing someone of a much higher level of mobility this week.

In the XFL betting odds that have been posted on this game, the Roughnecks are the solid favorites:

Houston Roughnecks   -8 (-108)
St. Louis BattleHawks +8 (-102)

Over 48 points -105
Under 48 points -105

Those numbers are infused with reduced juice, which allows BetAnySports customers a price lower than the standard -110 they are used to laying on football. Check it out!

The XFL rules have been designed to make the game wide-open and inviting for offense. Obviously, that suggests passing. But if there is one team in the new league that is pointing toward some "old school" values, it is the BattleHawks, who ran the ball 61% of the time against Dallas last week.

As far as the 1-2 punch in the backfield was concerned, there were mixed results. Christine Michael (one total yard) seems still stuck in the mud. But Matt Jones, formerly with the Redskins, had 85 yards. All told, St. Louis had 191 yards on the ground. And there was a critical element to the offense that can't go unmentioned.

Out of the young quarterbacks in the rebooted league who are trying to get to the NFL, the one with the most potential might be Jordan Ta'Amu. What makes his situation intriguing is that he only had one full season as a starter in college, which offers a sense of mystery as to what his ceiling might be. But the fact that he finished second to Tua Tagovailoa in SEC passing yards at Ole Miss gives you an indication of what he could be capable of.

Ta'Amu is a ball carrier Houston has to be wary of. He had 77 yards on the ground last weekend and showed some explosiveness with a 37-yard scamper late in the game. And only DC's Cardale Jones had a higher passer rating than Ta'Amu last week.

St. Louis is a team that, defensively speaking, got ready for opposing XFL offenses by stocking up in the secondary. That will turn out to be a wise personnel move. We're not sure they're going to get overwhelmed by the Roughnecks' attack. And they're going to let Houston prove they can stop them on the ground.

To put it mildly, St. Louis looks like a rather attractive underdog.

Go big with the XFL at BetAnySports. When you access reduced juice, you're going to get a better price, and more value saves you more money....... And during the game itself, you can place wagers in real-time through Sports Betting Ultra......... Opening up an account is a snap - use your debit or credit card, person-to-person transfers or the virtual currency of Bitcoin, which is fast and easy with their automated system, and NEVER incurs a transaction fee!