IFL Week 18 is donezo and we've got our playoff field juuuuuuuuuust about wrapped up. The last spot up for grabs is in the West and will come down to the Arizona Rattlers & the Northern Arizona Wranglers.
But that being said, the only SEEDING that is locked in at this point is Bay Area at number one in the West. Everything else is still up for grabs:
If Green Bay wins their final game, they lock up home field in the East.
If Frisco wins their final game and Green Bay loses, they lock up home field in the East
If San Diego wins their final game, they lock in a home playoff game and the number 2 seed.
If Vegas wins their final game and San Diego loses, they can leapfrog into the 2 spot.
Final week of the season and we still have a LOT at stake, folks! But how did we get to this point? How was Week 18? What did we learn?
Green Bay Blizzard @ Jacksonville Sharks
Result: 45-42 Green Bay
What We Learned: Green Bay is one win away from clinching homefield & Jacksonville is a sleeper for 2025
Starting with Jacksonville, from the opening kick they executed a solid game plan. They attacked Green Bay on the ground REPEATEDLY on the first drive and worked their way down the field to score an opening drive TD and played a physical game at the line of scrimmage. I’ve never felt more validated in my life, because I’ve been preaching for weeks that the way to be competitive in a game against the Blizzard is by running the ball and the Sharks proved that.
Jacksonville had over 100 rushing yards total on the day and QB Kaleb Barker was efficient through the air: going 11/15 for 107 & 3 TDs. This was game where every single drive for both teams ended in points — except for one in the second half where Jacksonville was sacked for a Safety & when Green Bay kneeled out the clock at the end.
The Sharks had multiple long drives and were able to keep their offense on the field, but unfortunately couldn’t get a stop on defense and give their offense an opportunity to keep up and steal the game.
For Green Bay, this was a game that the Blizzard REALLY needed in order stay at the top of the Eastern Conference standings and they did just enough to hold off a feisty Sharks team. Max Meylor had a big day with 6 total TDs on the (4 pass, 2 rush) and really kept things moving. Every Green Bay possession ended in points and you really can’t ask for much more than that, especially when you have a defense like the Blizzard.
DL Rafiq Abdul-Wahid had a fantastic day, getting 2 sacks (including the safety that changed the game), 2 TFL & 3.5 total tackles — AND they use him in the “Tush Push” package often to get Meylor over the goalie. Making plays on both sides of the ball!
This Blizzard team is playing really well, but needs to take it up a notch once the playoffs start to really give themselves the best chance at punching their ticket to the IFL National Championship game in Vegas.
Sioux Falls Storm @ Iowa Barnstormers
Result: 65-54 Iowa
What We Learned: I may have been premature on the SF QB future & Iowa continues to confuse me
If you were to watch this game, there were many moments throughout this game where you thought “WOW teams are 3-11 / 4-10??”. But then there were other moments where you thought, “Wow these teams ARE 3-11 / 4-10”. Perspective and balance.
Iowa came out RED HOT in this one, jumping out to a 26-3 lead and eventually leading by as much as 29 points. QB Brandon Alt ended the day 14/29 for 140 yards & 6 TDs, but there wasn’t much balance with the offense yet again (14 rushes for 18 yards total as a team). Fortunately, they bounced to a big enough lead where it didn’t matter but they still ended up settling for FG attempts 5 times in this one — which makes you think about how many points they COULD have scored if they did have that balance.
WR Quian Williams had a massive day with 7 catches for 95 yards & 3 TDs and K Gabriel Rui had himself a DAY - accounting for 22 points through 3 FGs, 3 Deuces & 7 XPs. He’s proven to be an absolute weapon for the Barnstormers and would not be surprised to see him on the All-IFL team at the end of the season.
On the other side, I was in on Storm QB Jiya Wright maybe a litttttttle too early. Wright showed great ability with his legs against Quad City — which is a huge part of the Storm’s offense (and most offenses in the IFL tbh) — and I anticipated this being the game he puts it all together through the air and on the ground.
If you look at the box score, I wasn’t technically wrong. 7 total TDs with 191 passing yards & 10 rushes for 80 yards. However, if you watched the game you know that I WAS wrong. The Storm offense only scored 10 points in the first half and got absolutely boat raced early and the majority of the stats were collected in garbage time.
This is going to be a season of “what ifs” for both teams when they look back after the last week of the season, but they have some bright spots they can each build off of heading into next season and try to right the ship and position themselves to make a playoff run next year.
Quad City Steamwheelers @ Tulsa Oilers
Result: 35-31 Quad City
What We Learned: Quad City is in the dance & Tulsa’s fans continue to be top class
The mission was simple for Quad City: win and you’re in. They didn’t make it easy on their fans, but they got the job done thanks to a game winning TD by QB Mike Irwin with 5 seconds left.
The Quarterback-and-Forth continued in this one for the Steamwheelers, as Judd Erickson got hurt late and prompted Irwin to get in the game in the 4th quarter and eventually be the difference maker. We’ll have to keep an eye on Erickson’s status heading into Week 19, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Irwin get the go regardless.
This wasn’t a particularly great game for the Steamwheelers offense, as they had trouble getting things going early against a Tulsa defense that was firing on all cylinders in the first half — but they made some adjustments and ended up scoring TDs on every drive in the second half.
QB Judd Erickson had 3 total TDs (1 passing & 2 rushing) on the day before getting hurt, with WR Jarrod Harrington adding one on the ground as well. Quad City ended getting the ball to PJ Vander 13 total times, but I will die on the hill saying that they can always get it to him more. #FeedVander
For Tulsa, I want to give a moment to give a shoutout to the fanbase they have developed. They took home the “Fan Base Champions” award, given to the best home field advantage in the league on a given week, for the fifth time and the atmosphere just looks incredible. Job well done by the front office, gamed ops staff & all of the fans for bringing it every single game.
On offense for the Oilers, this was a similar story to what we saw with the Steamwheelers — slow and sloppy first half on offense, then making an adjustment and scoring a TD on every drive in the second half. Unfortunately for the Oilers, they just ran out of time.
QB Andre Sale had a really strong game, going 20/27 for 172 yards & 5 TDs, and spreading the ball out pretty evenly amongst his receiving core and getting newcomer CJ Tate involved and continuing to get the ball to Alexis Rosario, who leads the IFL in receptions with one more week to go. Newly signed Calvin Bundage made a big impact in his first game with the team, recording 9 tackles & 2 TFLs and the Oilers defense got to the QB for 4 sacks on the day, but again they just ran out of time in this one and their playoff chances went up in smoke.
San Antonio Gunslingers @ Tucson Sugar Skulls
Result: 49-43 San Antonio
What We Learned: San Antonio stat padded & Tucson gave QB number 8 of the year a go at it
San Antonio offense delivered again, but not in the typical way that we have seen all year. The Gunslingers have been one of the most prolific and efficient passing teams all year — led by Sam Castronova’s 3192 passing yards & 72 TDs on a 68.7% completion percentage. But in this game they got it done on the ground, with 5 Rushing TDs on the day (4 for Castronova & 1 for Rashaad) — including a long run by the QB where he broke free for a big gain to put the Gunslingers up big in the second half.
But the best play of the day by far, and potentially the IFL Catch of the Year, belongs to WR Nyqwan Murray — who caught a wild one-hand TD in the end zone and seemed to hold on to it just by his finger tips while falling to the turf, never letting the ball touch the ground. It was initially ruled an incomplete pass because it seemed IMPOSSIBLE that somebody would have caught that, but they reviewed it and overturned it to a TD.
On the other side, Tucson showed some great fight getting back into this one and getting an onside kick away from potentially stealing the win but the QB situation has to get figured for 2025 in order for the team to have a puncher’s chance.
They brought in QB Vincent Espinoza, who became the EIGHTH different starting QB for the Sugar Skulls this season, and he didn’t played badly but just wasn’t in the position to lead team to victory. He ended the day with 5 total TDs on the(4 passing, 1 rushing), but Tucson as a whole lucked out getting multiple short field opportunities late to truly make this game look closer than it actually was.
Going through 8 QBs in a single season has to be some type of record. The offense looked promising at the beginning of the year, but lacking any sort of continuity — whether it be due to injury, personal disputes, etc — is setting yourselves up for a disaster.
Here’s to hoping they get some consistency at QB in 2025 and they can get things going on the right path.
Vegas Knight Hawks @ Northern Arizona Wranglers
Result: 55-45 Vegas
What We Learned: Ja’Rome Johnson is making a late season push back into the MVP conversation & Northern Arizona might be the odd man out
This was my game of the week heading into Week 17 due to the high powered offenses and what was at stake:
Vegas wins, they are in the playoffs. NAZ wins, they are very likely to make the playoffs.
Vegas ended up getting the win here, largely thanks to Ja’Rome Johnson’s near perfect day. Johnson went 12/15 for 152 yards & 2 TDs through the air, and added 100 rushing yards & 5 TDs on 19 attempts. He was very dynamic, didn’t make any costly mistakes and put the team on his back to get their ticket to the playoffs punched. It’s still very up in the air in terms of what seed they will land in and who they will play, but they are in.
Vegas’ defense had a bit of a bounce back game as well, coming up with an INT, a blocked FG, forcing another missed FG & a turnover on downs to end the game. The combination of the defense getting these types of stops and Ja’Rome Johnson having games like he did are what will lead Vegas to the natty.
On the other side, the Wranglers fought and clawed to stay in this one but ultimately had too many mistakes and misfires that held them back. The lack of a balanced rushing attack was a big hinderance for them yet again, as they had 94 total rushing yards, but 77 of them coming from QB Joshua Jones & 5 other players combining for the remaining 17. WR Kobay White also had a quite a day with 7 catches for 100 yards.
It was pointed out on the broadcast by the NAZ commentary team that the Wranglers don’t have a “true RB” on the roster, but more so WRs that they can interchange based on scenario — which I think is holding this team back. I love the idea and really love that they gave it a shot, but having a tried and true RB to lean on in close game situations like this would really take this team to the next level.
NAZ has a chance to get into the playoffs still, but needs some help in order to get there.
Duke City Gladiators @ Bay Area Panthers
Result: 50-28 Bay Area
What We Learned: Duke City is at least still trying & Bay Area’s defense is ready for the playoffs
Coming off of a crazy ending last week against Northern Arizona, you had this lingering feeling that Bay Area was going to smack around Duke City and get back to their true form — and they certainly did that, especially on defense. But this was a MUCH closer game in the first half than you would think.
Like a lot of Duke City games this year (especially the earlier matchup with Bay Area), they weren’t able to make very many adjustments in the second half to keep up with teams. This was a 23-20 game at half time that just unraveled in the second half and allowed Bay Area to pull away.
QB Hasan Rogers had a tough outing through the air against a very stout Panthers secondary, but QB Javon Kilgo wasn’t able to do much better when he entered the game. Combined they went 15/35 for 143 passing yards, 2 TDs & 2 INTs, which isn’t going to be good enough to compete with the defending champs.
WR Tamorrion Terry had a very good game for the Gladiators, reeling in 6 catches for 92 yards & 2 TDs, but we didn’t see as much production elsewhere. They are still fighting each week, which is all we can really ask for at this point in the season for a 2-13 team.
On the other side, this Bay Area defense is playing so well and is making it so hard on teams to pass the ball. Their secondary has been playing out of their mind all year and had another really great game — combining for a total of 12 PBUs on the day.
Shane Simpson turned in a 3 rushing TD performance and QB Daquan Neal had a very efficient day through the air, going 12/14 for 136 yards, 3 TDs & an INT. Watching how this team operated during this game, they seem like the perfect antithesis for the remaining playoff teams in the West.
The other Western conference teams have high powered offenses that are will ing to get into shootouts to get a win, while Bay Area has the more traditional mentality of running the football, playing great defense and picking your spots to get big plays through the air. The Panthers secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs already, so it will be interesting to see how they approach the last game of the season against the San Diego Strike Force — who need a win in order to have a home playoff game.
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