XFL XVIIIJanuary 20th, 2036
Dallas Stadium
70°
80,000 attendance
Buffalo has made the XFL Title game in 5 of the last 7 seasons and was 2-2 going into this game against Saint Paul who was making their 1st Title game appearance after losing 4 previous Conference Championship games.
Saint Paul got the ball 1st and moved the ball into Buffalo territory on a 7 play 34 yard drive which stalled at the Buffalo 41 yard line and they sent out K Steve Garver who nailed a 58 yard fieldgoal, an XFL Title game record, to give them a 3-0 lead with 10:56 left in the 1st quarter.
Buffalo started on their own 25 and after QB Ricardo Dodds hit 2 quick passes of 27 and 12 yards, Smirt's Smurfs (WR Samuel Baker/WR Demaryius Thomas/WR Martin Adams) started running the ball. The trio of 198 lb speedy WRs ran the ball a combined 6 straight times, capped by a 13 yard Samuel Baker TD run to take a 7-3 lead with 5:57 left in the 1st quarter.
Saint Paul would answer back with a 9 play 41 yard drive led by QB Kenneth Powers passes of 8,11 & 10 yards before the drive stalled at the Buffalo 34 yard line. K Steve Garver jogged out and nailed a 51 yards to cut the lead to 7-6 with 2:24 left in the 1st quarter.
Buffalo would respond with a 11 play 75 yard touchdown drive which started with 4 straight runs by Smirt's Smurfs before QB Ricardo Dodds threw 5 straight completions before finally 2 additional runs hit paydirt to make the lead 14-6 with 11:54 left in the 1st half.
The next Saint Paul drive was a quick 3 and out and they were forced to punt the ball away.
Buffalo took over on their own 25 yard line and put together an 11 play 75 yard touchdown drive featuring 8 runs and 3 passes capped off by a WR Samuel Baker 9 yard touchdown run to make the score 21-6 with 3:34 left in the 1st half.
Saint Paul took over on their 19 yard line and after 3 plays was left with a 4th and 1 from thier own 28 at the 2 minute warning. They were forced to punt the ball to Buffalo.
Buffalo started at their own 21 yard line and decided to run the ball 3 times running the clock down to 0:26 before they took a few shots via pass but ended up coming short and were forced to punt with just 0:21 left in the half before Saint Paul ran the ball to end the half at 21-6 Buffalo.
Buffalo had the ball 1st to start the 2nd half and started on their 25 yard line after a touchback. They came out chucking the ball 5 straight times getting into Saint Paul's territory. After a couple runs, they threw the ball another 5 straight passes hitting a 2 yard TD pass to WR Joseph Ishmael to extend the lead to 28-6 with 9:34 left in the 3rd quarter.
Saint Paul needed to answer on this drive and they went on a 9 play/69 yard drive but after QB Kenneth Powers hit RB Bradley Pickett on a 27 yard pass setting up 1st and goal from the 7, they failed to punch the ball into the endzone and settled on a 23 yard fieldgoal to make the score 28-9 with 6:01 left in the 3rd quarter.
Buffalo took the air out of the football on thier next drive, running the ball 6 straight times before punting at 2:39 left in the 3rd quarter.
Saint Paul took over with 1st and 10 from their 20 yard line down 19 with just over a quarter remaining and they needed points on this possession to make this a game. 2 passes of 18 and 17 yards put them in Buffalo territory at the 45 but after a dropped pass followed by 2 knockdowns, Saint Paul decided to punt from the Buffalo 45 with 1:01 left in the 3rd quarter.
Buffalo started this drive on their own 8 yard line and the Saint Paul defense did their job forcing a 3 and out when on 3rd and 1, pressure forced QB Ricardo Dodds to throw the ball away forcing a punt.
Saint Paul would start on their 35 yard line with 14:48 left in the game and they drove the ball into Buffalo territory before they found themselves in a 4th and 4 from the Buffalo 34 yardline with 11:22 left in the game down 19 and they elected to kick another fieldgoal. K Steve Garver hit a 54 yard fieldgoal, his 3rd +50 yard fieldgoal of the game tied a postseason record held by K Christopher Smith (BRO) who accomplished the feat in 2025 against Vegas in the Wildcard round and set a record in XFL Title Games. This made the score 28-12 with 11:22 left in the game.
Buffalo took over on thier own 12 yard line and went on a 13 play drive featuring 11 runs which took 9:02 off the clock and culminated with a K Thomas Old 41 yard fieldgoal making the score 31-12 making the lead 19 once again with just 2:19 left in the game.
This essentially ended any hope and the game finished with the final score 31-12. Saint Paul's inability to score touchdowns instead of fieldgoals was the difference in the game along with the production of Smirt's Smurfs.
