2020 Tampa Bay Vipers season
The 2020 Tampa Bay Vipers season was the first season for the Tampa Bay Vipers as a professional American football franchise. They played as charter members of the XFL, one of eight teams to compete in the league for the 2020 season. The Vipers played their home games at Raymond James Stadium and were led by head coach Marc Trestman.
2020 Tampa Bay Vipers season | |
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Head coach | Marc Trestman |
General manager | Marc Trestman |
Owner | Alpha Entertainment, LLC |
Home field | Raymond James Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 1–4 |
League place | 4th, East |
Their inaugural season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the XFL officially suspended operations for the remainder of the season on March 20, 2020.[1]
Standings
2020 XFL standings | |||||||||||||
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East Division[2] | |||||||||||||
Team | W–L | PCT | TD+/- | TD+ | TD- | DIV | PF | PA | DIFF | STK | |||
DC Defenders | 3–2 | .600 | -3 | 9 | 12 | 2–1 | 82 | 89 | -7 | W1 | |||
St. Louis BattleHawks | 3–2 | .600 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 1–1 | 97 | 77 | 20 | L1 | |||
New York Guardians | 3–2 | .600 | -1 | 8 | 9 | 1–2 | 79 | 85 | -6 | W2 | |||
Tampa Bay Vipers | 1–4 | .200 | -4 | 11 | 15 | 1–1 | 98 | 115 | -17 | L1 | |||
West Division[2] | |||||||||||||
Team | W–L | PCT | TD+/- | TD+ | TD- | DIV | PF | PA | DIFF | STK | |||
Houston Roughnecks | 5–0 | 1.000 | 7 | 21 | 14 | 3–0 | 158 | 111 | 47 | W5 | |||
Dallas Renegades | 2–3 | .400 | -3 | 9 | 12 | 2–1 | 90 | 102 | -12 | L2 | |||
Los Angeles Wildcats | 2–3 | .400 | 4 | 18 | 14 | 0–2 | 129 | 122 | 7 | W1 | |||
Seattle Dragons | 1–4 | .200 | -3 | 12 | 15 | 0–2 | 87 | 119 | -32 | L3 |
Schedule
All times Eastern
Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | TV | Opponent | Results | Location | |
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Score | Record | |||||||
1 | Sunday | February 9 | 2:00 p.m. | Fox | at New York Guardians | L 3–23 | 0–1 | MetLife Stadium |
2 | Saturday | February 15 | 5:00 p.m. | Fox | at Seattle Dragons | L 9–17 | 0–2 | CenturyLink Field |
3 | Saturday | February 22 | 2:00 p.m. | ABC | Houston Roughnecks | L 27–34 | 0–3 | Raymond James Stadium |
4 | Sunday | March 1 | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN2 | DC Defenders | W 25–0 | 1–3 | Raymond James Stadium |
5 | Sunday | March 8 | 9:00 p.m. | ESPN | at Los Angeles Wildcats | L 34–41 | 1–4 | Dignity Health Sports Park |
6 | Saturday | March 14 | 5:00 p.m. | FS2 | St. Louis BattleHawks | Not played | Raymond James Stadium | |
7 | Saturday | March 21 | 2:00 p.m. | ABC | Dallas Renegades | Raymond James Stadium | ||
8 | Saturday | March 28 | 2:00 p.m. | ABC | at DC Defenders | Audi Field | ||
9 | Sunday | April 5 | 12:00 p.m. | ESPN | at St. Louis BattleHawks | The Dome at America's Center | ||
10 | Sunday | April 12 | TBA | New York Guardians | Raymond James Stadium |
Final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
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Season summary
In the first week of the season, the Vipers took a loss to the New York Guardians, only scoring a field goal in the 3rd quarter. They then lost to the Seattle Dragons in the second week of the season, losing 17-9 in Seattle. Even after the two losses, they put up a fight against the then 2-0 Houston Roughnecks, only losing by a mere 7 points at home. They got their first win of the XFL season against the DC Defenders, shutting them out 25-0 to advance to 1-3. In week 5, they blew an 18 point lead and lost to the Los Angeles Wildcats on the road 41-34.
Game summaries
Week 1: at New York Guardians
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Vipers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Guardians | 7 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Date: Sunday, February 9
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 42 °F (6 °C) • Wind: E 6 mph
- Game attendance: 17,634
- Referee: Jeff Heaser[4]
- TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Jenny Taft (sideline)
Game information | ||
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Tampa Bay entered the game as a 3½ point favorite,[5] but went on to suffer a 20-point blowout loss on the road. The Vipers suffered 4 turnovers and gave up 3 touchdowns while only getting 1 field goal, despite getting inside the 5-yard line multiple times.
Week 2: at Seattle Dragons
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Vipers | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
Dragons | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
- Date: Saturday, February 15
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 46 °F (8 °C) • Wind: S 12 mph
- Game attendance: 29,172
- Referee: Tra Blake[6]
- TV announcers (Fox): Curt Menefee (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst)
Game information | ||
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Week 3: Houston Roughnecks
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Roughnecks | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 34 |
Vipers | 3 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 27 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
- Date: Saturday, February 22
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 69 °F (21 °C) • Wind: ENE 13 mph
- Game attendance: 18,117
- Referee: James Carter[7]
- TV announcers (ABC): Steve Levy (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), Tom Luginbill and Dianna Russini (sideline)
Game information | ||
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Week 4: DC Defenders
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Defenders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vipers | 7 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 25 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
- Date: Sunday, March 1
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Mostly cloudy • Temperature: 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind: NNE 3 mph
- Referee: Jeff Heaser[8]
- TV announcers (ESPN2): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Joey Galloway (analyst), Pat McAfee (sideline)
Game information | ||
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Week 5: at Los Angeles Wildcats
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Vipers | 10 | - | - | - | 10 |
Wildcats | 0 | - | - | - | 0 |
at Dignity Health Sports Park, Los Angeles, California
- Date: Sunday, March 8
- Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST / 6:00 p.m. PST
- Referee: Reggie Smith[9]
- TV announcers (ESPN): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Joey Galloway (analyst), Pat McAfee (sideline)
Game information | ||
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References
- "A THANK YOU TO OUR FANS". Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- "XFL Standings". XFL.com. February 9, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
- "XFL 2020 Schedule Released, First Game Dragons @ Defenders". Retrieved October 22, 2019.
- Filipe, Cameron (6 February 2020). "XFL Week 1 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- "Tampa Bay Vipers at New York Guardians XFL odds, picks and best bets". Sportsbook Wire.
- Filipe, Cameron (13 February 2020). "XFL Week 2 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- Filipe, Cameron (20 February 2020). "XFL Week 3 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
- Filipe, Cameron (27 February 2020). "XFL Week 4 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
- Filipe, Cameron (5 March 2020). "XFL Week 5 referee assignments". Football Zebras. Retrieved March 7, 2020.