IFL 2026 Week 3: What We Learned

It was quite a busy week for Off The Wall, as we were in attendance for THREE of the four games this past weekend in The Grand Canyon State, hitting Glendale & Prescott on Saturday and Tucson on Sunday for a whirlwind adventure that I can confidently say very few have accomplished... 3 games in 2 days in 1 state!

Bless the IFL scheduling committee for making the stars align on this one! Personally, I learned a lot about road trip snacks this past weekend. But what did we learn on the field?

San Diego Strike Force @ Arizona Rattlers

Result: 49-27 Arizona

What We Learned: Arizona is a buzzsaw & San Diego needs more out of their receiving core to be successful

First off, the Arizona fanbase is electric. Being in the building for this one was awesome and they have so many folks that absolutely love and adore this team. They were loud and IN IT the whole time, and they were very vocal all throughout the game.. including several instances where they voiced their displeasure towards the refs.

So shoutout to the Rattlers fans.

On the field, this Arizona team looks DANGEROUS. Max Meylor instantly got comfortable in the new digs, launching a 30+ yard bomb to Arland Bruce on the third play of the game to open up the scoring and they were rolling from there.

But what made Meylor an IFL MVP last season was his ability to impact the game on the ground, and he did more of the same in this one with 2 rushing TDs on the day, including a 28-yarder that was a big time momentum builder for the Arizona faithful in the building. And the scray thing for me is that the Rattlers had an explosive offensive performance in their opener without RB Kimo Clarke, who was inactive for this. If they get him in the mix ON TOP of what this offense was already doing, look out. The Rattlers are here and they are for real.

For San Diego, they looked good in the first half of this one but just let the game slip away in second. They had a couple of calls that didn't go their way, but they also had the ball on the 1 yard line on multiple drives that ended with zero points.

Unless your defense is playing absolutely lights out, it's going to be hard to win IFL games that way against a team like the Rattlers. QB Nate Davis was able to get some things going through the air, but there were multiple passes that were dropped by the San Diego WR group that would have either resulted in a touchdown or ended up being intercepted off the wide outs finger tips. This Strike Force receiver group is one of the best in the league talent wise, but they can't be leaving plays on the field like that. This receiving core needs to step up and play to their level in order for San Diego to play to their potential.

I would like to see the offense open up a little vertically as well. It seemed like Arizona was able to attack downfield with a lot more impact than San Diego, while the Strike Force were content with attacking short and at the line of scrimmage.

But this is only round one of what will be many between these two.

Jacksonville Sharks @ Northern Arizona Wranglers

Result: 47-24 Jacksonville

What We Learned: Sharks look really great in their opener & NAZ's finger should be close to the panic button

I had my hesitations about the Sharks offense heading into their opener, but I'll be damned they looked awesome out there. RB Jimmie Robinson looked like the old Pirates Jimmie out there, be-bopping and scattin' all over the field and turning nothing into something multiple times. The combination of QB James Cahoon & Jimmie looks like it is going to be a very successful one, as Cahoon was able to stand tall and put the ball downfield to 5 different receivers, while seeming to always having Robinson as a checkdown.

Kicker Marc Orozco has been one of the best in indoor football over the past few seasons and it looks like this year is going to be no exception to that. He was 2/2 on FGs and added a deuce in the 2nd quarter -- and had multiple kickoffs that could have resulted in even more if they didn't hit the roof. This Sharks team looked great and defensively was able to get to the QB throughout the entire game, but the next test ahead is going to be a big one with the reigning champs up next in Vegas.

For Northern Arizona, this was a tough one to watch on the offensive side of the ball. There were several times throughout the game where it looked like the QB Ramone Atkins-Frazier and his WRs were on totally separate pages. Several throws were made between receivers or in an area of the field where the closest receiver was 5-8 yards away.

There was a clear disconnect on offense, which is concerning considering this was game two of the season for them. They very nearly knocked off San Diego in their opener looked very dysfunctional on offense -- going nearly 25 minutes of game time without the offense producing points.

Despite that, they had a couple drives that were ended at the 1 or 2 yard lines in this one that would have been massive moment shifts for them. Ramone Atkins-Frazier fumbled into the end zone to end one drive and came up short of the goal line on 4th down on another. Add those two scores and suddenly it's a ball game DESPITE how bad they looked at times. WR Jordan Jakes is a physical mismatch at 6'6, but hardly saw any looks in the red zone. RB Nolan Susel was impactful when he was involved, but he's gotta be more of a presence in the running game vs out wide as a receiver.

I don't think they need to hit the panic button just yet, but it needs to be within eye sight.

Tulsa Oilers @ San Antonio Gunslingers

Result: 29-22 Tulsa

What We Learned: Tulsa's defensive identity is back & the San Antonio is a bit of a mess

We started off the Sunday slate with the long awaited return of Tulsa QB TJ Edwards from his season ending injury last season in Massachusetts, and he looked pretty good in the Oilers season debut.

Tulsa's identity has been ball control and ground & pound on offense while playing tough defense and this game was a great example of that as they slowly started to get Edwards back into the groove of things. The Oilers had some offensive troubles in the first half and got stopped short a couple of times, but were eventually able to get things going in second to get their season opening win over the Gunslingers for the 2nd consecutive season. LB Tre Harvey (friend of the program) was super disruptive on the blitz and caused a lot of havoc for the San Antonio offense, and the Oilers defense reloaded in some areas while keeping that same core mentality that matches their head coach Marvin Jones: Hard hitting, disruptive, downfield attacking. Now when the Oilers offense really gets rolling...

For San Antonio, they started off looking rough with QB Fred Payton Jr getting the starting nod over 2025 starting QB Joaquin Collazo -- and that project lasted about a quarter and a half before they pulled the plug and went back to Collazo. Some of the hesitations I had about the San Antonio offense heading into this game were realized with first time head coach Jonathan Bane calling the plays and just overall lacking an identity. Had Collazo got the start from the beginning, maybe we are looking at a different outcome and a different perspective.

Rookie WR Deon Cook had a good connection with Collazo in this one (4 rec, 87 yds & a TD) and seemed to be the lifeline for the offense in this one. But this team has a lottttt of work ahead of them. But it all has to start with Joaquin Collazo getting the starting nod moving forward.

Vegas Knight Hawks @ Tucson Sugar Skulls

Result: 64-43 Vegas

What We Learned: The Vegas offense is so back & Tucson has reason to be optimistic despite the outcome

The Vegas offense laid an egg in the first half of their season opener against Green Bay, but bounced back in a MASSIVE way against the Sugar Skulls. And it all started before the offense even touched the field.

RB/WR/KR/ATH Josh Tomas had a hell of a game in the kick return game in this one, earning IFL Special Teams Player of the Week honors with 7 returns for 127 yards & a TD -- which put the Vegas offense in short field situations more often than not.

But then when the offense hit the field, they were about as efficient as you could possibly be. Only 21 total offensive plays, with 7 of them resulting in touchdowns. QB Jayden De Laura had an incredibly efficient day going 8/11 for 114 yards & 6 TDs (lol), with 3 going to the human highlight reel WR Quentin Randolph who made several absurd grabs in the game.

This offense was rolling, the special teams was on their A-game and the defense had the Sugar Skulls offense fighting through the mud in the first half. This was about as good of a game as you could ask for from the Vegas Knight Hawks.

For the Sugar Skulls, despite the end result there are some promising takeaways from this game. This was the first pro start for rookie QB Draylen Ellis, who had a rough first half against a very good Vegas defense, but had some moments of "Oh okay I can see the vision with this guy" with his ability to use his legs and get things going.

Ellis finished the game 17/25 for 173 yards, 3 Passing TDs, 2 INTs & 2 more TDs on the ground. While a lot of that was stat-padding in the second playing from behind, there was enough there for me to be optimistic about what type of player he can be in this league. As the game starts to slow down a bit for him and he starts to better understand the nuance, the sky's the limit for this guy.

WRs Brian Smith & Tamorrion Terry combined for 11 catches for 132 yards & 3 TDs, and could prove to be quite the receiving core for the young QB along with Gourney Sloan. I like potential for this Sugar Skulls team and think they can be a very fun and dangerous squad down the road.

What did YOU think of IFL Week 3? What were your takeaways?

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