The throw spread across the internet before the game even ended, drawing comparisons to Patrick Mahomes and acknowledgement from the starting quarterback of Houston’s other professional football team. But when it comes to the people who really know XFL QB PJ Walker, the ones who texted him congratulations after his Roughnecks’ second win, reaction was relatively tame.



“To the people that I’m in contact with, it was just another throw, to be honest,” Walker said, underselling the side-armed touchdown he tossed in a win over the St. Louis Battlehawks, one of his league-leading seven scores through two games, which have helped Houston become one of two unbeaten teams.



Sure enough, at Roughnecks practice on Thursday, Walker side-armed another pass to a receiver running a slant. Then, when the next huddle formed, one of the XFL’s biggest stars through two weeks momentarily disappeared.



In a crowd of players, that occasionally...