Guardians vs Roughnecks Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for XFL Week 1 Game (Trust Wade Phillips' Defense on Saturday)

Guardians vs Roughnecks Week 1 Game Info

• 2023 XFL Regular Season Game
• Orlando Guardians (0-0) vs. Houston Roughnecks (0-0)
• Date: Saturday, February 18, 2023
• Time: 8:30 PM ET
• Venue: Camping World Stadium -- Orlando, FL
• Coverage: ESPN/FX

The XFL will kick off on Saturday following a three-year hiatus with four matchups, including a battle between the Orlando Guardians and Houston Roughnecks. Both teams will aim to start the campaign off with a victory and feature new head coaches leading the way in Terrell Buckley and Wade Phillips.

Guardians vs Roughnecks Odds & Spread

• All XFL betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: ORL: (+125) | HOU: (-150)
• Spread: ORL: +3 (-110) | HOU: -3 (-110)
• Total: 35.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Houston enters this contest as a small home favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 8:30 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 35.5 points, which ranks as the lowest of XFL's Week 1 projected totals.

Guardians vs Roughnecks Prediction & Pick

No one stands out on the Guardians' roster more than quarterback Paxton Lynch. The 29-year-old completed 79 of his 128 pass attempts (61.7%) for 792 yards and 4 touchdowns (4 interceptions) across four NFL starts. It'll be interesting to see if he can tap back into what made him a top prospect.

On the other side, the Roughnecks do not roster many players with NFL experience. They do feature a dangerous QB/WR duo that played together at Hawaii, though. Cole McDonald and Cedric Byrd connected 177 times for 2,067 yards and 19 touchdowns across two college football seasons.

Neither one of these teams are expected to compete for the XFL title, which makes Houston's edge at head coach the difference-maker here. Phillips is a Super Bowl Champion and was named AP Assistant Coach of the Year in 2015. His defensive knowledge should lead the Roughnecks to a win.

Final Score Prediction: Guardians: 14 | Roughnecks: 24

Guardians vs Roughnecks Best Bet

It's hard to go against the Roughnecks here as they were the only XFL team to post a perfect record back in 2020 (5-0). They brought something out of QB P.J. Walker that season and it's possible they can do the same for McDonald. He should be able to outplay anyone Orlando sends out to throw.

Bet: Houston Roughnecks -3 (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.