Cardale Jones benched in first quarter of XFL game; Coach says it was planned all along
WASHINGTON — Cardale Jones had spent the final moments of the D.C. Defenders' past two games on the bench, pulled at the end of lopsided losses.
This time, he was benched in the first quarter.
After throwing an interception on his second drive of the game against the St. Louis BattleHawks on Sunday afternoon, Jones was benched in favor of backup Tyree Jackson, who promptly led the Defenders to a touchdown upon entering the game.
The Buffalo product went on to complete 9 of 14 passes for 39 yards en route to a 15-6 victory.
In a strange twist, however, Defenders coach Pep Hamilton said after the game that Jones' benching had been planned. He said he knew, entering the game, that Jackson would take over on the third offensive series — and it was purely coincidental that the move came after Jones threw his sixth interception in two-plus games.
"That was Cardale just trying to make a play. I don't fault him for that," Hamilton added. "That was a heck of a play by the safety or whoever it was that picked the ball off."
According to Hamilton, Jones will remain the Defenders' starter moving forward — even after a rocky start Sunday, and two poor performances before that.
Jones entered the spring as one of the startup league's most recognizable names, a man who memorably led Ohio State to a national championship in spot duty and has more than 1.6 million followers on Twitter. In a league that desperately needs both strong quarterback play and star power to survive, Jones was seen as someone who could provide both.
And, for two weeks anyways, that was the case. Jones threw for at least 235 yards and two scores in a pair of wins at home, ripping off some impressive individual plays in the process. But then, he threw four interceptions in a Week 3 shellacking against the Los Angeles Wildcats — and mustered just 72 passing yards and another pick in a loss to the Tampa Bay Vipers last weekend.
All told, Jones had completed 54% of his passes on the season with four touchdowns and seven interceptions before being removed from Sunday's game.
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Jackson, for his part, acknowledged that he expected to play Sunday. When asked if he had expected to play the entire game, he said only that he's "very comfortable with whatever Coach Pep does."
"He's been around the game a long time, and whatever he thinks we need to do to win, then I trust him," Jackson said.
Hamilton said he played both quarterbacks because they offer "specific skill sets." Jones, he said, is a more traditional dropback passer while Jackson is more mobile, in part because of his size.
"We know that (Jones) can do anything that we ask him to do," Hamilton said. "Tyree, on the other hand, is 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds and is really more of a dynamic runner. ... If he just falls forward, that's five yards. His body's like eight yards long."
Jones is listed at 6-5, 264 pounds.
D.C.'s quarterbacks have now thrown for a combined 221 yards in their past three games, with only one touchdown to six interceptions. But Hamilton said he's not concerned about production at the position.
"It's good to have two very capable quarterbacks that we feel like we can put in in any situation and they give us a chance to win," he said.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.