Former Raiders QB Matt McGloin shines in XFL debut
Former Raiders quarterback Matt McGloin made his XFL debut with the New York Guardians and was a key player in a win over the Tampa Bay Vipers.
Two former Raiders quarterbacks were set to make their XFL debut in the league’s inaugural weekend in Connor Cook and Matt McGloin but only the man known as The Red Rifle actually saw the field. McGloin was signed to the New York Guardians in the allocation process ahead of the XFL Draft because he is considered a Tier-1 QB by the upstart league.
Having only made six NFL starts you would not typically think of him as Tier-1 type of guy but that is more than the rest of his Tier-1 peers combined.
The XFL’s assessment of McGloin’s abilities were not far off as he lead the Guardians on a number of scoring drives against a Vipers team that came in to New York’s home as a 2.5 point favorite. His numbers were not eye-popping but it was the sort of efficient performance that Raider fans came to expect as he went 15-29 for 182 yards and touchdown, adding a rushing TD on a QB sneak to open the game and notch the first touchdown in Guardians history.
The accuracy left a little bit to be desired but many of those incompletions were on deep shots where the chemistry will certainly improve and a couple of flat out drops from the NY receivers.
His touchdown to Colby Pearson in the second quarter was the highlight of the game as he evaded pressure and dropped it in the bucket to push the NY lead to two scores and start the eventual rout.
Free Agency Primer: Safeties. dark. Next
Though he was never seen as a long term solution, McGloin was a fan favorite for his short stint with the Raiders as a starter because of his remarkable underdog story as a walk-on at Penn State and the grit he always showed in Silver and Black. If this weekend was any indication and if he improves his level of play than the Guardians fans will love him just as much in Silver, Black, and a little bit of Red.