Blown lead, late pick doom Vipers

by Gary Shelton on March 9, 2020

in general

Cornelius suffered a late interception./STEVEN MUNCIE

Monday, 4 a.m.

Halfway through the season, it's time for a recap.

The Tampa Bay football team is in last place.

The Tampa Bay football team has a quarterback who has a problem with interceptions.

The Tampa Bay football team keeps losing close games.

Sound familiar?

This time, the subject is the new Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL, who lost their fourth game in five outings Sunday night. They lost a 24-6 lead, and then went on to lose 41-34 to the Los Angeles Wildcats.




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Once again, the Vipers were close. They drove inside the Los Angeles 10 in the final minute, but lost when quarterback Taylor Cornelius threw an interception to Jack Tocho on third-and-four at the Wildcats' seven.

It was the third time in four starts that Cornelius' final throw of the game was intercepted with the Vipers trailing by eight points or less. Cornelius had two interceptions on the night and had a fumble returned for a touchdown.

Cornelius did throw for 300 yards on the night.

Former Bucs' quarterback Josh Johnson owned the night, however. He threw for four touchdowns and 288 yards. The Wildcats became the first XFL team to break the 40-point barrier.

The Vipers are home Saturday against St. Louis. The game begins at 5 p.m.

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