The 2023 Houston Roughnecks season was the second season for the Houston Roughnecks as a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

franchise. They played as charter members of the XFL, one of eight teams to compete in the league for the 2023 season. The Roughnecks played their home games at the TDECU Stadium and were led by head coach

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is a former American football coach. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Roughnecks and San Antonio Brahmas. He has also served as interim head coa ...

. Earning their first playoff berth and clinching first place in the South Division, the Roughnecks were eliminated by the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The Renegades compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMah ...

in the South Division title game in the playoffs. This was the last season before the XFL merged with the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

to form United Football League (UFL). As part of the merger agreement leading up to the 2024 season, the XFL's Roughnecks would disband and the USFL's

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducin ...

would take over the Roughnecks name.

Final Roster

Schedule

''All times Central''

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Orlando Guardians

Week 2: vs. Arlington Renegades

Week 3: vs. San Antonio Brahmas

Week 4: at Orlando Guardians

Week 5: at Seattle Sea Dragons

Week 6: at DC Defenders

Week 7: vs. St. Louis BattleHawks

Week 8: at San Antonio Brahmas

Week 9: vs. Vegas Vipers

Week 10: at Arlington Renegades

Standings

Postseason

Schedule

Game summaries

XFL South Division Finals: vs. (2) Arlington Renegades

Staff

References

{{2023 XFL season

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Houston Roughnecks Houston Roughnecks seasons