Flags, field position doom Battlehawks

ST. LOUIS — Two underrated aspects of football paint the picture of the St. Louis Battlehawks’ second loss of the season, and they both start with the letter "F".

Flags and field position.

The Battlehawks committed 10 penalties during Saturday’s 28-20 loss to the undefeated DC Defenders at the Dome at America’s Center.

“We have to be smarter,” Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said. “When you get holding penalties, false starts, to me, those are controlled things. Those are poor techniques. If you get a hold, it’s not being focused on the snap count and being aware of what's going on, and we practice that a lot during the week. So that's disappointing when we jump offsides.”

The Battlehawks committed eight of their 10 penalties in the second quarter alone, most notably a holding call that negated a touchdown and forced the Battlehawks to settle for a field goal by Donnie Hageman for a 3-0 lead. St. Louis found themselves down 14-3 at halftime.

“We had a lot of penalties that kind of hurt ourselves and put us behind the sticks a lot,” Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron said. “We were third and short, third and medium and then getting penalties of bringing us back and third and long, so just can't do those things and beat a good team.”

Coming from behind has been St. Louis' calling card earlier in the season. The Battlehawks were down 15-3 to San Antonio in Week 1 before winning 18-15. They were also down 18-17 with 1:21 left in the fourth quarter in Week 2 before marching down to field goal range and kicking the game-winning field goal at Seattle.

But every comeback is preceded by a sluggish start.

“We got to start fast,” Battlehawks linebacker Carson Wells said. “We got to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we got to change to be able to start fast and put together a full game. I don't feel like we put together a full game yet. Deep in the season, we need to be putting together full games.”

The Battlehawks almost came back from a 20-6 deficit against the Defenders. A pair of passing touchdowns by quarterback AJ McCarron, including a 50-yard throw to Steven Mitchell, had them within a score.

A defensive stop gave them a chance to drive back down the field and score a touchdown with a 2-point conversion to tie the game. A 47-yard punt by Dan Whelan had them start at their 15-yard line. McCarron led the drive to the 41-yard line before his pass was intercepted by Michael Joseph, and the game was sealed.

"That last drive, I feel good about what we were doing," Becht said. "AJ took a shot down the sidelines and then Joseph did a nice job not going for the cheese there and making the interception."

Field position was not on St. Louis' side. The Battlehawks had 11 offensive drives during the game. Each of their first four drives started behind their 30-yard line, three of which were behind the 15-yard line.

Four of Whelan's five punts went inside the 20-yard line, including his last one that went for 47 yards.

"We talked about hidden yardage. I think the hidden yard is really important when you refer to these games where it's close," Battlehawks linebacker Ben DeLuca said. "Special teams is so important just because field position is everything."

The Battlehawks (3-2) travel to Las Vegas to take on the Vipers on Saturday, March 25, at 6 p.m., on FX and ESPN+. Both of their losses came against the Defenders, so they will have to keep the Vipers and Seattle Sea Dragons (3-2) at bay to secure the XFL North Division's second playoff spot.