Bushland graduate Taylor Cornelius made his XFL debut for the Tampa Bay Vipers on Saturday. [Photo courtesy Tampa Bay Vipers Twitter account]
For a second straight week the Tampa Bay Vipers offense was inconsistent, and tough to watch.
That mixture lead to the Vipers second consecutive loss, this time on the road at the Seattle Dragons, 17-9, in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 30,000 at CenturyLink Field.
In eight quarters to start the year, the Vipers have yet to find the endzone on the offensive side of the ball. Tampa Bay’s lone TD Saturday came on a pick-six by cornerback Tarvarus McFadden in the third quarter.
With last week’s opening day starting quarterback Aaron Murray ruled inactive, head coach Marc Trestman turned to Bushland graduate and former Oklahoma State standout Taylor Cornelius to make his first start for the Vipers. It was Cornelius’ first start, along with his most meaningful snaps since beating his Cowboys team beat Missouri, 38-33, in the Liberty Bowl in 2018.
Cornelius definitely showed rust. Especially in the first half.
He missed his first two passes on his opening drive. On his second drive, Cornelius soured his first career professional completion when he was intercepted by Dragons defender Jeremy Clark after being hit while trying to make a pass down the sideline.
Trestman did go to backup and South Florida star Quinton Flowers for a spark, but never gave up on Cornelius.