The New York Guardians pulled off an upset win in Week 1, but facing what might be the best team in the XFL on the road in Week 2, Matt McGloin and the Guardians offense endured a nightmarish day at Audi Field in DC. The Defenders improved to 2-0 with a 27-0 shutout of the Guardians, and McGloin struggled mightily, with just 44 passing yards and 2 interceptions, good for a rating of 10.1.
McGloin had to do a live sideline interview after throwing his first pick of the day, and things got even more awkward during his halftime interview with ESPN’s Dianna Russini.
“We need to change the whole entire gameplan at halftime…. There’s just a lot going on right now, it’s embarrassing for us here as an offense.”
When informed of McGloin’s comments, Guardians coach Kevin Gilbride told Russini “I need to go talk to him and figure out what the problem is, because he needs to play better.”
McGloin’s performance never improved, though, and he was eventually pulled for backup Marquise Williams after throwing a second interception. In a wild scene you’ll only see in the XFL, McGloin did a third live interview after being benched, and the QB didn’t hold back.
“Listen, there’s a lot of stuff going on behind closed doors, I think we need to clean that up. Communication, especially, is one. And it showed today. At no point in time did I think we were comfortable out there. At no point in time did I think we were in a position to try to be successful.”
The XFL’s signature sideline interviews add a whole different dimension to the presentation of games – but they also give players an opportunity to potentially alienate coaches or teammates. The Guardians’ trip home to New York on Saturday is going to be a long one.
