XFL 2023: Updated Playoff Bracket After Saturday

The first two games of the 10th and final week of the 2023 XFL season were played Saturday, and they had a major impact on the XFL playoff picture.

In the opening game, the St. Louis Battlehawks defeated the Orlando Guardians 53-28 to improve to 7-3 and keep their playoff hopes alive depending on what the Seattle Sea Dragons do Sunday night against the Vegas Vipers.

The DC Defenders ended the San Antonio Brahmas' playoff hopes in the second game, as a missed field goal by San Antonio in the closing seconds gave DC a 29-28 win and a 9-1 record on the year.

Here is a look at the updated XFL playoff bracket following Saturday's games, as well as a recap of the Week 10 action thus far.

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XFL Week 10 Saturday Results

St. Louis Battlehawks def. Orlando Guardians, 53-28

DC Defenders def. San Antonio Brahmas, 29-28

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Updated XFL Playoff Bracket

XFL North Championship Game

(1) DC Defenders vs. (2) St. Louis Battlehawks OR Seattle Sea Dragons

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XFL South Championship Game

(1) Houston Roughnecks vs. (2) Arlington Renegades

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XFL Week 10 Saturday Recap

Battlehawks 53, Guardians 28

In what was a must-win situation, Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron turned in his best performance of the season to keep St. Louis' playoff chances alive and strengthen his own XFL MVP case in the process.

Knowing that points scored and allowed could come into play as a tiebreaker if both the Battlehawks and Sea Dragons win this week, St. Louis poured it on throughout Saturday's win over the 1-9 Guardians.

McCarron was the biggest reason for the Battlehawks' offensive success, as he went off for 420 passing yards and six touchdowns in the crucial victory.

The former NFL and University of Alabama signal-caller put together an impressive catalog of throws Saturday with perhaps none better than his 66-yard scoring strike to Hakeem Butler in the third quarter:

Like McCarron, Butler enjoyed his best game of the season in a hugely important spot, recording nine receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

Both McCarron and Butler received a ton of praise on social media for their play, including some talk that they should both be considered for an NFL return:

Now, the Battlehawks must sit and wait to see if they did enough to secure the No. 2 seed in the XFL North Division.

A Seattle loss to Vegas will ensure St. Louis reaches the playoffs, but a Seattle win would bring some complicated tiebreaker scenarios into play.

That is why the Battlehawks did all they could to score at will against the Guardians, and because of McCarron's play, they have a shot to play postseason football.

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Defenders 29, Brahmas 28

The Brahmas entered Saturday knowing they needed to win in order to still have a shot at the playoffs, but the Defenders dashed their dreams in heartbreaking fashion.

Despite already having the top seed in the XFL North locked up, DC played all of its starters and pushed until the final whistle, resulting in a 29-28 victory.

Had San Antonio won, the Arlington Renegades would have had to have beaten the Houston Roughnecks on Sunday, but with the Brahmas losing, the Renegades clinched a playoff spot.

The decisive play of the game came in the closing seconds when Brahmas kicker John Parker Romo missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt just barely to the right, marking only his second missed field goal of the season.

San Antonio took a six-point lead with 5:15 remaining on a two-yard touchdown run by Jacques Patrick, but the Defenders struck right back thanks largely to quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, who scored on a four-yard touchdown run and then converted a one-point try with his legs as well:

Ta'amu had another big game for the 9-1 Defenders, throwing for 271 yards, two touchdowns and one interceptions, while also rushing for 45 yards and a score.

As a result, Ta'amu got his proverbial flowers from many on Twitter during the latter stages of the game:

The DC offense is often predicated on a strong running back, but XFL leading rusher Abram Smith had only 44 yards, meaning the game was largely in Ta'amu's hands.

As has been the case throughout the season, Ta'amu was up to the task and helped the Defenders enter the playoffs on a high note.

DC will now wait to see whether it will face St. Louis or Seattle in the XFL North Championship Game, while the XFL South Championship Game is Houston vs. Arlington regardless of the result of their game Sunday.