It was a victory that almost moved St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron to tears.

In the Battlehawks’ season-opener in the XFL’s comeback campaign, the former Alabama All-American rallied St. Louis to an 18-15 victory over the San Antonio Brahmas on Sunday by throwing two touchdown passes in the final 85 seconds and taking full advantage of the league’s rulebook.

But it was when McCarron was asked about playing in front of his family as two of his three sons ran down to hug their dad that the personal weight of the victory seemed to affect the quarterback. Before the season, McCarron said one of his reasons for joining the XFL was the opportunity to play again with his family watching.

“It’s awesome,” McCarron said, adding after a pause, “It means a lot.”

The Battlehawks had a hard time getting their offense going, with 61 yards to show for the first three quarters. The game had been tied 3-3 at halftime, but the Brahmas ended their first three second-half possessions with a field goal, a touchdown and a field goal to hold a 15-3 lead with 3:02 to play.

McCarron completed his next 11 passes, including an 18-yard touchdown to wide receiver Hakeem Butler with 1:25 to play, a 3-point conversion toss from the 10-yard line to wide receiver Austin Proehl and a 22-yard throw to Proehl on a fourth-and-15 snap in lieu of an onside kick.

The XFL does not kick extra points. Teams snap from scrimmage at the 2-yard line for a 1-point conversion, the 5-yard line for a 2-point conversion and the 10-yard line for a 3-point conversion.

After the Battlehawks cut San Antonio’s lead to 15-12 on the touchdown plus 3-point conversion, St. Louis coach Anthony Becht chose to take a fourth-and-15 snap at his team’s 25-yard line instead of attempting an onside kick or kicking off.

When McCarron connected with Proehl for 22 yards, the Battlehawks kept the football. It then looked as though McCarron’s streak of consecutive passes had ended at eight, but a roughing-the-passer penalty on the play moved St. Louis into San Antonio territory.

Three more completions moved the Battlehawks to the Brahmas 14-yard line when an attempt to connect with wide receiver Marcell Ateman ended the completion streak.

But on the next snap, McCarron hit Proehl in the end zone with 16 seconds to play to complete St. Louis’ comeback.

Sunday’s game was the first for McCarron since he sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a preseason game with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons on Aug. 21, 2021.

The touchdown passes were the first for McCarron in a regular-season or playoff game since Jan. 9, 2016, when he was the quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals in an 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC postseason.

Against San Antonio, McCarron completed 18-of-26 passes for 190 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and ran four times for 12 yards. The Brahmas sacked McCarron five times.

The Battlehawks return to the field at 8 p.m. CST Thursday, when they visit the Seattle Sea Dragons. FX will televise the game.

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