Two teams in the XFL North division clash as the Houston Roughnecks visit the San Antonio Brahmas. It is time to continue our XFL odds series with a Defenders-Sea Dragons prediction, pick, and how to watch.

The Defenders come into the game off their first loss of the season. As time expired, McCrane attempted a 63-yard field goal for the Defenders, but it missed, and they fell 37-36 to the Orlando Guardians. Jordan Ta'amu still played great, but the defense was a letdown, allowing Quinten Dormady to score six times on them in the loss. The Sea Dragons sit just one game behind the Defenders in the XFL North division. The Sea Dragons are now on a five-game winning streak. This is a huge game for playoff implications. If the Defenders win, they will be up two games on the Sea Dragons, with only two left to play, and have the season sweep on them, therefore clinching a playoff spot.

Here are the Defenders-Sea Dragons XFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NFL Odds: Defenders-Sea Dragons Odds

Washington DC Defenders: +1.5 (+100)

Seattle Sea Dragons: -1.5 (-120)

Over: 46.5 (-105)

Under: 46.5 (-115)

How To Watch Defenders vs. Sea Dragons

TV: ESPN 2

Stream: ESPN+

Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT

*Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Defenders Could Cover The Spread

Jordan Ta'amu. He will be one of the primary reasons that the Defenders cover this spread and win the game. Early in the season, the Defenders focused heavily on their run game. Ta'amu did not pass for over 200 yards in any of the first five games and was under 110 yards in three of them. He only passed for one touchdown and threw one interception. He did play the duel threat role though, rushing for over 200 yards in those five games while scoring two touchdowns. Ta'amu is still doing that some, with 23 rushing yards against Orlando, but his arm has taken off. He has thrown for 530 yards in his last two games with five touchdown passes. All of a sudden, Ta'amu is a threat to go deep on you. Going into the last two games, he had six passes over 20 yards. He had seven in the last two.

The run game is still very good. Abram Smith still leads the XFL in rushing by a wide margin. He has 654 yards on the ground this year, almost 300 more yards than second on the list. Smith has a touchdown in each of his last two games as well, with eight carriers over ten yards, and ten first down in the last two. He did have a very costly fumble against Orlando though, his second fumble of the year.

The Defenders need to be better on defense though. They let Quinten Dormady torch them through the air, as he threw three touchdowns, and then he added three more on the ground. In the game against Orlando, they allowed 10 of 14 third downs to be converted and added 91 penalty yards to the bad day. The defense has played well at times, and with this newfound arm of Ta'amu, Washington will be hard to beat.

Why The Sea Dragons Could Cover The Spread

The Sea Dragons have silently won five in a row. It's silent because they sit behind the best team in the XFL in their division, and are behind the Battlehawks as well, due to their early season loss to them. Their two losses on the season are to the Defenders and Battlehawks. They get a chance to avenge the first one this week and will have a chance to avenge the second next week. The two losses were close as well. They lost by four to DC in the first week of the season, and just by two to the Battlehawks.

Since then Seattle has won five straight by an average margin of 7.2 points per game. Seattle was an early season title favorite in the XFL, but those odds fell after their 0-2 start. They are climbing once again after their five-game winning streak. Passing has been the key to their winning. Ben DiNucci leads the XFL in passing. His 1,771 passing yards on the season is over 200 more than AJ McCarron, and his 12 touchdowns sit him second in the XFL behind McCarron. He has to be careful of turnovers though. DiNucci leads the XFL in interceptions thrown and has thrown at least one in six of seven games.

Last time out against the DC Defenders, DiNucci threw two interceptions, and on the other side of the ball is Michael Joseph, who leads the XFL in picks. He will have a chance to throw it away from him though. If the XFL's top receiver, Jahcour Pearson is being covered by him, DiNucci can look to the league's fourth-leading receiver, Blake Jackson. He also has Josh Gordon to throw to, who has 23 receptions on the season. If DiNucci limits the turnovers, the Sea Dragons can get a win.

Final Defenders-Sea Dragons Prediction & Pick

This is going to be a great quarterback battle, with two of the XFLs best going head to head. This will come down to two key factors. The first is turnovers. DC can force them and DiNucci can throw them, but the defense for the Defenders looked awful against Orlando. If they play like that again, DiNucci will throw all over them. Second is the run game. If the Defenders control the game through the run, they can keep DiNucci off the field and capitalize in this game. The Defenders will do just that, and clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Final Defenders-Sea Dragons Prediction & Pick: Defenders +1.5 (+100)