IFL 2026 Week 16: What We Learned

Week 16 is in the books! We've got 5 out of the 8 playoff spots clinched, with some seeding still up in the air in both conferences. We've got a crowded middle of the Eastern Conference standings, a race for home field in the West and multiple banger games on the slate.

But what did we learn?

Fishers Freight @ Green Bay Blizzard

Result: 83-50 Green Bay

What We Learned: Green Bay is an absolute powerhouse & Fishers needs help to sneak into the playoffs

Fresh off a bye week, the Blizzard finished their 2026 home schedule by absolutely ROLLING over the Freight while scoring the most points of the Corey Roberson-era in Green Bay. RB Kairee Robinson was absolutely electric in this one, with 119 rushing yards & 5 TDs and a big explosive play nearly every single time he touched the ball. The Blizzard had 9 total rushing TDs on the day, with QBs Liam Thompson & Cole Stenstrom each tacking on two en route to one of the biggest ass-kickings we've seen in the IFL this season.

Combined with the Jacksonville loss (which we'll get to), Green Bay is firmly in first place in the Eastern Conference and it is likely the road to the IFL Championship will go through Wisconsin... which is a scary thought for the rest of the East. The Blizzard are 8-0 at home this year, where they are averaging 59.8 points per game and have been an unstoppable force, but they will have 3 straight road games to close out the season with a pair of games in the Sunshine State.

For Fishers, offensively they played a really strong game and were very impactful THROUGH THE AIR instead of their usual ground and pound philosophy that they embrace so often.

QB Felix Harper had an outstanding day going 21/24 for 216 yards & 5 TDs, finding WR CJ Windham (friend of the program) twice in the end zone and Josiah King, Isaiah Coulter & Jordan Davis once a piece as well.

Defensively, the Freight were in a very rough spot and just couldn't seem to get much going for them in a game that they needed to be able to steal badly for their sake of their playoff lives. They faced a fresh Green Bay offense and it seemed nearly impossible for them to get off the field with a stop.

Fishers now sits at 7-7 on the season, with games against Quad City & Orlando left on the docket. That game vs Orlando during the last week of the season could be veryyyyy interesting and potentially a winner-take-all for one of the final playoff spots in the East.

Tulsa Oilers @ Iowa Barnstormers

Result: 49-48 Tulsa

What We Learned: Tulsa had to dig in and earn their sixth straight win & Iowa had some FIGHT in them!

Tulsa came into this game as massive favorites and it seemed like they were gonna roll early on with a pretty quick 14-0 lead, but Iowa fought and clawed back in this one to make it an extremely competitive down-to-the-wire game.

The Barnstormers were able to snag 3 interceptions and set themselves up for really good field position many times to punch it into the end zone four times on the ground and twice through the air. QB Noah Bodden got the starting nod, but eventually exited the game due to injury, so we saw QB Dante Aviles-Santos yet again come in relief and deliver some pretty good numbers.

Everything went about as well as you would have hoped for Iowa in this game with all things considered, but they just fizzled at the end of the game and settled for a 50+ yard field goal attempt for the win which ultimately came up short.

It was great to see the fight from Iowa, but it was just gutting to see how much went their way and they still came up short.

For Tulsa, this game could have very easily been lost, but they found a way win. Not the best TJ Edwards game at QB, but the running game really broke through for them with RB Caleb Ramseur leading the way with 56 yards & 2 TDs on the ground.

LB Tre Harvey (friend of the program) had an outstanding missed field goal return for a touchdown to swing the pendulum of momentum in their favor and the defense as a whole stepped in the spots that they needed to.

This probably the best-worst case scenario for the Oilers at this point in the season, where they still got the in-conference win but also got the wake up call and coachable moments to tune up in the final couple games of the season.

This Tulsa team has won 6 straight and have positioned themselves VERY nicely for a clash with Jacksonville the week after next in a game that could ultimately decided the number two seed in the Eastern conference.

San Antonio Gunslingers @ Vegas Knight Hawks

Result: 43-42 Vegas

What We Learned: Vegas needed every second to pull off the walk off win & San Antonio might be turning the corner on offense, but might be too little to late

In one of the craziest game endings you'll ever see, Vegas got back in the win column despite holding out QB Jayden De Laura due to injury and giving the keys to the offense to rookie QB Quincey Crittendon. Things started off a little bumpy for the offense, but the re-introduction of RB Antonio Wimbush into the lineup (after Josh Tomas was placed on IR) was the guiding light for this team as he looked as sharp as ever and will slowly become an even bigger piece of the offense moving forward -- especially when De Laura gets back to 100%.

The Vegas defense had quite the shuffle, releasing some veterans and bringing in some new pieces in the secondary. While they had some apparent growing pains with introducing new pieces to the puzzle at this point of the season, it seems like its a situation similar to Tulsa: Get the win, but also find the motivation & coaching points to finish the season strong.

The Knight Hawks can still control their own destiny to the one seed in the West, but a big rematch with San Diego looms large in a couple of weeks.

For San Antonio, this felt like the moment to steal one in Nevada. No Jayden De Laura, no Josh Tomas, freshly shuffled defense.. and they nearly did!

The offense looked more balanced and intentional with Zach Calzada at QB again, with Deon Cook showing out in the passing game in a big way, but it wasn't just the offense that showed up and got on the scoreboard either.

Kendre Gant cashed in a massive Pick Six and DB Ravarius Rivers had an all-time great kick return TD that would've been the highlight of the game if the final play didn't happen.

Much like Vegas was in a similar spot to Tulsa, the same goes for San Antonio being in a similar spot to Iowa. Just about everything that needed to break San Antonio's way did break their way in this one, but they still end up losing.

This is a tough break and puts the pressure on San Antonio in a big way to finish the season strong to try to catch Tucson for the 4 seed in the West.

New Mexico Chupacabras @ Arizona Rattlers

Result: 60-23 Arizona

What We Learned: Max Meylor is looking great back at the helm for Arizona & New Mexico has to pull the trigger at the QB spot

As we discussed on Arena Football Weekly last week, the Rattlers offense has been struggling a bit for a multitude of reasons, including injuries to their offensive line and some unideal play at the quarterback position. Heading into this week, they made the change back to Max Meylor at QB and the offense popped and looked closer to the Rattlers we're accustomed to seeing. Behind a 6 TD day from Meylor (4 Pass, 2 Rush), the offense looked to be back on track and was put in some very fortunate positions by their defense that was just dominating the Chupacabras offense.

The Rattlers offense did stall out a bit in the 3rd quarter, but finished strong locked in their playoff spot. But home playoff games are the standard in Arizona and they have their work cut out for them in order to snag a top 2 seed. They are currently 2 games behind Vegas & 2.5 games behind San Diego with 3 games left to play.

Not impossible, but they need a lot of help to leapfrog either team and it all starts with a big showdown between the Rattlers & Strike Force next Monday night.

For the Chupacabras, you gotta do it. You simply have to make the change.

You know what QB Donovan Porterie is at this point and it seems like the offense is treading water at best when he's out there. Outside of the San Diego game about a month back, this offense has been lethargic and uninspired.

Since parting ways with QB Ja'rome Johnson in May, the Chups are averaging 24.1 PPG and that is abysmal by IFL standards. At this point in the season, you gotta toss the keys to rookie QB Avaun Rucker and let him spin it. The only production they are consistently getting is from RB La'james white in the ground game, but that is quickly overshadowed by a passing game that is a net negative far too often.

But at least they have a chance to bounce back and try to end on a positive note...

checks remaining schedule

Oh no.

Orlando Pirates @ Quad City Steamwheelers

Result: 45-26 Orlando

What We Learned: Pirates got a much needed road win to keep enhance their playoff aspirations & Quad City is just about out of juice with 3 games left in the season

Heading into this one, it seemed like this was the last gasp of air for this Quad City team to have any hope of backdooring a playoff spot after a disasterous start to the season. Then QB Daquan Neal was declared out for this game with a hamstring injury aaaaaaaaaaaaaand it was a wrap from there.

This offense really struggled to get going and QB Judd Roberts seemed to be holding to the ball for far too long. As pointed on the broadcast, he was seemingly waiting until he saw the openings to throw the ball instead of anticipating and trusting his guys to be where they needed to be. They eventually flipped to newly signed QB Ivan Corbin to try to ignite a spark, which he did on the ground, but the passing game could not get started. Once they fell behind and couldn't pass the ball, it was a foregone conclusion how the game was gonna end in the 3rd quarter.

The Steamwheelers defense did a pretty good job all things considered keeping this one as close as it was until the 3rd quarter, but the barring a historic collapse and a sudden meteoric rise by this QC offense, their season is over.

For the Pirates, this was a much needed road win. They are undefeated at home but have struggled outside of the 407 area code and initially the offense was encountering the same issues at the beginning of this one. But despite the sluggish start, the Pirates kept pounding and ended up blowing by the Steamwheelers in the second half. QB Paxton DeLaurent had a strong finish to the game with 3 second half passing TDs, with Pooka Williams getting active on the ground and through the air for 98 total yards & 2 TDs.

The Pirates defense also continued to look impressive, with Devonte O'Malley & Mike Mason continuing to be a nuisance to opposing O-lines and essentially icing the game with their second half safety. This Pirates looked good in this one, but not great.

They'll need to absolutely show out against the Blizzard this weekend in their home finale to maintain pace in the Eastern conference playoff race.

Tucson Sugar Skulls @ Northern Arizona Wranglers

Result: 51-49 Northern Arizona

What We Learned: NAZ continues the winning streak of teams fresh off a head coaching change & Tucson quite literally threw this game away

Northern Arizona came into this game with an interim head coach after letting go of Ron James (friend of the program) and teams that parted with their head coaches improved to 3-0 in the first games after in 2026 (Orlando, New Mexico, now Norther Arizona).

NAZ QB Anthony Garrett had a solid game but a great 4th quarter to comeback from 15 points down to get the win and lead a game winning TD drive with less than a minute to go in the game.

WR Marlon Cook Jr hauled in 3 TDs & WR Stephen Lewis tacked on another 2 and this offense had a spark to it that we haven't see for most of this season. Mix in a couple of Manny Higuera deuces and this was one of the best all-around performances we've seen from the Wranglers in a couple of seasons.

Although there was a 2-pt conversion attempt that I didn't fully agree with, it didn't matter because they ultimately won! Congrats to NAZ and Coach Hendrix, let's see how they do from here to finish strong.

For Tucson, they had this game in the bag in the 4th quarter. This would've been their fifth straight win and essentially would have put them at a +90% chance of getting the 4 seed in the playoffs (idk the exact math but that's how it seemed in my brain).

But what makes QB Ja'rome Johnson so dynamic for the Sugar Skulls is also what can hurt them. We've talked about it time and time again, the ceiling for Ja'Rome is so high with his playmaking ability but ultimately the floor is also lower than you would hope... and this game is a prime example of that.

Four interceptions, including two in the 4th quarter, absolutely crippled the Sugar Skulls in this game and stomped out the winning streak they were on. They were able to get some great production on the ground with RB Brandon Mackey getting 84 yards & TD Ayo-Durojaiye scoring 3 TDs, but the turnovers were the story of the game.

The Sugar Skulls should still be able to snag the final playoff spot in the West, but they are going to have to find a cure for the turnover bug in order to have a fighting chance against the top 3 come playoff time.

San Diego Strike Force @ Jacksonville Sharks

Result: 62-55 San Diego

What We Learned: San Diego absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage and the Sharks defense & the Sharks are suddenly peaking behind their backs in the race for playoff seeding

Sunday night football delivered YET AGAIN with a great matchup between two playoff teams and the San Diego Strike Force had another statement win to add to their resume. Leading into game against Vegas, it was "they haven't beat a team with a winning record". checks the box

Leading into last week against Jacksonville, it was "they haven't beat a team with a winning record on the road". checks the box again

This team is looking very dangerous and truly didn't have to reinvent the wheel. They got RB Ed Vander a TON of touches and he was very impactful and consistent when he had the ball in his hands. (#FEEDVANDER)

QB Nate Davis showed his veteran experience and was the ultimate field general in this one, and backup QB Kiael Kelly got involved with a Rushing, Passing and Kick Return (!!) TD. Mix in some special teams shenanigans and this Strike Force team was in the driver's seat for the entirety of this game.

For Jacksonville, this was both a step forward and a step backwards at the same time.

Forward: QB Sammy Edwards looked much better in this one, scoring 6 total TDs (4 Pass, 2 Rush), but had a couple of INTs that came back to bite them. They did a much better job with ball distribution amongst the WR room and were much more intentional with getting Jimmie Robinson in the mix.

Backwards: This defense was getting hammered all game and there was seemingly nothing being done about it. During the broadcast, the commentary team said Coach Jason Gibson said to them pre-game, "If Vander is in the backfield, it is a run 95% of the time".

Well, that same ratio carried over into this game and they continuously were getting run on for 4-6 yards per carry. It seemed like they were so scared to get beat deep by these WRs that they chose to get beat up by the running game.

The Sharks went from feeling themselves and talking about potentially leapfrogging Green Bay for the 1 seed to suddenly staring down the barrel of the strong possibility of not even having a home playoff game.

They have a CRUCIAL game against the Tulsa Oilers in a couple of weeks that will most certainly be a deciding factor in playoff seeding.

What did YOU think of IFL Week 16? What were your takeaways?

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