After AJ McCarron missed last week’s game with a shoulder injury, the St. Louis Battlehawks got their quarterback back for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Sea Dragons.

But after making a game-time decision to put the XFL’s leader in touchdown passes on the field, the Battlehawks lost to the Seattle Sea Dragons 30-12 to throw the playoff race into disarray with one weekend remaining in the regular season.

In the XFL’s other Week 9 games:

· After falling behind by 12 points, the Houston Roughnecks returned two fumble recoveries for touchdowns to wipe out the deficit on the way to a 28-21 victory over the Vegas Vipers on Saturday.

· San Antonio stopped a 2-point conversion pass with 3:55 to play, then ran out the clock with a pair of third-down conversions for a 25-23 victory over the Orlando Guardians on Saturday night. Brahmas quarterback Jack Coan threw for 302 yards and one touchdown, with Nick Holley gaining 105 yards on four receptions.

· Arlington scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, including a field goal on the final snap of the period, then couldn’t get into the end zone on three overtime attempts as the D.C. Defenders defeated the Renegades 28-26 on Sunday. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu and wide receiver Josh Hammond connected on D.C.’s second overtime try, then the Defenders stopped two attempts by Arlington. The Renegades lost even though they outgained D.C. 434 yards to 314, with Arlington QB Luis Perez passing for 335 yards.

The Battlehawks would have secured a postseason position if they had won on Sunday.

Instead, Seattle’s victory left the Sea Dragons and St. Louis tied in the North Division standings with 6-3 records. One of the teams will join the D.C. Defenders in the North title game on April 30 to decide the division’s representative in the XFL championship contest on May 13 in San Antonio.

The first tie-breaker is head-to-head, and St. Louis won the first meeting between the teams 20-18 on Feb. 23.

The second tie-breaker is division record. St. Louis is 3-3 against the North. Seattle is 2-3 and closes the regular season against division opponent Vegas on April 23. The Battlehawks’ final regular-season game is against the Orlando Guardians from the South Division on April 22.

If both teams win their Week 10 games, the third tiebreaker – strength of victory – will be useless since each would have played the same schedule and achieved the same record with two losses apiece to D.C. and one to the other tied team.

That would bring in the fourth tiebreaker, which is best combined ranking among division teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.

Seattle is going to finish second to D.C. in points scored among the North Division teams and currently has given up the fewest points in the division. St. Louis stands third in points scored and second in points allowed.

That puts Seattle in front on that tiebreaker.

But if Vegas scores more than six points against the Sea Dragons, the Battlehawks would move up to No. 1 in points allowed and, as long as the Vipers score fewer than 22 points, stay in third for points scored.

That would leave Seattle and St. Louis with an average position of second in the division stats, still tied if they both win their regular-season finales.

The fifth tiebreaker is best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed, and if it gets this far, all four games next weekend could help decide the North’s second playoff team. On Sunday, Seattle kicked a field goal on the final play of the game even though the outcome was decided.

In the South, Houston will be play in the XFL semifinals, and Arlington will, too, if the Renegades beat the Roughnecks or the San Antonio Brahmas lose to the Defenders.

If the opposite happens, San Antonio would get the playoff spot on the third tiebreaker – strength of victory.

In the Seattle-St. Louis game on Sunday, Sea Dragons quarterback Ben DiNucci completed 21-of-31 passes for 260 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and ran for 38 yards and one touchdown on seven carries. Seattle wide receiver Jahcour Pearson had 115 yards on seven receptions, including a 68-yard touchdown catch.

Houston Roughnecks 28, Vegas Vipers 21

· Roughnecks offensive lineman Ja’Chai Baker (South Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive. Baker joined Houston as a waiver claim from the San Antonio Brahmas last week.

· Vipers offensive tackle Quinterrius Eatmon (Vigor) did not record any stats.

· Brandon Silvers (Gulf Shores, Troy) started at quarterback for the Roughnecks. Silvers completed 16-of-27 passes for 105 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions and ran once for 6 yards. He also completed a 1-point conversion pass.

· Maurice Smith (Alabama) started at safety for the Vipers. Smith made six tackles, recorded two tackles for loss and forced a fumble. Vegas recovered the fumble forced by Smith at the Houston 41-yard line and turned the field position into a touchdown for a 12-0 lead in the second quarter.

· Vipers defensive back Stephen Roberts (Auburn) did not record any stats.

· Offensive tackle John Yarbrough (Homewood) started at left guard for the Roughnecks.

San Antonio Brahmas 25, Orlando Guardians 23

· Guardians defensive lineman Nick Coe (Auburn) made three tackles.

· Brahmas linebacker Ben Davis (Gordo, Alabama) made two tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Brahmas cornerback Marco Domio (Auburn) was designated as a game-day inactive. Domio signed with San Antonio last week.

· Trevon Sanders (Troy) started at nose tackle for the Guardians. Sanders made three tackles.

· Guardians linebacker Erroll Thompson (Florence) made two tackles.

· Guardians cornerback Dee Virgin (West Alabama) is on the injured list and not eligible to play.

D.C. Defenders 28, Arlington Renegades 26

· T.J. Barnes (Enterprise) started at defensive end for the Renegades. Barnes made two tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and forced a fumble.

· Defenders long snapper/tight end Trae Barry (Spanish Fort, Jacksonville State) handled the snaps for two punts.

· Defenders linebacker Jamal Brooks (Bessemer City, South Alabama) made one tackle.

· Sal Cannella (Auburn) started at tight end for the Renegades. Cannella caught seven passes for 92 yards.

· Cornerback Javaris Davis (Auburn) did not record any stats.

· Defenders offensive lineman Antonio Garcia (Troy) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Mike Horton (Auburn) started at right guard for the Renegades.

· Davonte Lambert (Auburn) started at defensive end for the Renegades.

· Defenders defensive tackle Gabe Wright (Auburn) made one tackle.

Seattle Sea Dragons 30, St. Louis Battlehawks 12

· Sea Dragons long snapper Thomas Fletcher (Alabama) handled the snaps on three punts and two field-goal attempts.

· AJ McCarron (St. Paul’s Episcopal, Alabama) started at quarterback for the Battlehawks. McCarron completed 18-of-32 passes for 186 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and ran for 1 yard on one carry. McCarron threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darius Shepherd as St. Louis took a 9-8 lead with 9:51 left in the first half.

· Chris Owens (Alabama) started at left guard for the Sea Dragons.

· Sea Dragons wide receiver Kelvin McKnight (Samford) had an 18-yard reception, 29 yards on four punt returns and 77 yards on four kickoff returns.

· Sea Dragons wide receiver Jordan Veasy (Gadsden City) caught two passes for 9 yards and one touchdown. Veasy scored on 2-yard reception as Seattle took a 14-9 lead with 3:09 left in the first half. Veasy had a 62-yard touchdown reception nullified by an offensive-holding penalty.

· Battlehawks running back Kareem Walker (South Alabama) had a 3-yard run and a 1-yard reception.

· Battlehawks offensive lineman Dallas Warmack (Alabama) did not record any stats.

· Damion Willis (Troy) started at wide receiver for the Sea Dragons. Willis caught a 5-yard pass.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.