Week 8 delivered a shakeup to the power rankings, resulting in the Louisville Kings taking the top spot for the first time this season. Louisville pulled off a massive home upset over DC, Houston stole the Crown from St. Louis on the road, and Orlando kept rolling while Columbus slipped to the bottom of the standings. The walls of the playoff race are closing in with only 2 weeks remaining.
Crown Holder š: Houston Gamblers
The Houston Gamblers stole the Crown with a 23-16 road win over St. Louis. They will host the Battlehawks in Week 9.Court Jester š: Dallas Renegades
The Dallas Renegades remain the Court Jester after another tough home loss. They will travel to Louisville in Week 9.
If a team defeats the Crown Holder, they steal the Crown and become the new Crown Holder. If a team loses to the Court Jester, they become the new Court Jester, freeing the previous holder.
1. Louisville Kings (4-4)
Previous Rank: #3
Week 8 Result: 33-30 win vs DC
Week 9 Opponent: vs Dallas Renegades Sunday 4 ET
Louisville delivered the biggest statement of the week, knocking off the defending champs 33-30 at home in a thriller. Louisville was victorious in part due to winning the turnover battle 4-2, as well as success on third down, converting 9 of 15, whereas DC only converted 1 of their 7 3rd down conversion. The run game is looking a lot better for Louisville as James Robinson rushed last week 20 times for 59 yards and a touchdown with 2 missed tackles on the way (by my count) while Ian Wheeler rushed 11 times for 51 yards with 4 missed tackles on the way. Kicker Tanner Brown made all 4 of his field goals, including a 60-yard 4-pointer.
Louisville is now on a 2-game win streak and is nipping at the heels of the Birmingham Stallions, who currently hold the final playoff spot with a 4-4 record and the head-to-head tiebreaker over Louisville.
2. St. Louis Battlehawks (5-3)
Previous Rank: #1
Week 8 Result: 16-23 loss vs Houston
Week 9 Opponent: at Houston Gamblers Sunday 7 ET
The Battlehawks looked really bad offensively in their loss to Houston. The pass protection really struggled, and Luis Perez looks like a quarterback who lost his mojo after being a QB2 for the first 6 weeks of the season for 2 different teams. Iām sure Perez will find his mojo soon, but last week was rough. He still threw for 308 yards with a touchdown, accompanied by 2 interceptions, but there were too many misses (55.3% completion).
Defensive end Pita Taumoepenu had 7 total tackles, including 2 sacks, and was in on 3 run stops. DE Damone Harris didnāt get on the stat sheet, but had a strong day in pass rushing, getting pressure past a blocker 8 times in the game by my count.
3. Orlando Storm (6-2)
Previous Rank: #5
Week 8 Result: 31-24 win at Dallas
Week 9 Opponent: vs DC Defenders Friday 8 ET
Orlando took sole possession of first place this past weekend with their 31-24 over Dallas. Jack Plummer was efficient, completing 24 of his 36 passes for 238 yards, and also led the team in rushing in large part due to a 71-yard rushing touchdown early in the third quarter. Chris Rowland led the team in receiving, catching all 9 of his targets for 91 yards. Defensively, defensive tackle Isaiah Mack stood out as he had 6 total tackles, including a sack, 4 solo run stops, and a shared run stop. In coverage, linebacker Deion Jennings intercepted the only target that he faced, ending Dallasā final possession midfield with just over 3 minutes left.
4. DC Defenders (5-3)
Previous Rank: #2
Week 8 Result: 30-33 loss at Louisville
Week 9 Opponent: at Orlando Storm Friday 8 ET
DC suffered a tough road loss in Louisville that snapped their recent momentum. Jordan Taāamu left the game early with a season-ending injury, and the defending champions suddenly find themselves in a lot of trouble. Spencer Sanders completed 7 of his 15 passes for 83 yards with an interception, and the playcalling seemed to be avoiding passing it when he entered the game. The run game had a great game as Xazavian Valladay led the way with 13 rushes for 107 yards and a touchdown with 3 missed tackles on the way, and Abram Smith rushed 8 times for 56 yards, and a touchdown and 3 missed tackles on the way.
5. Houston Gamblers (3-5)š
Previous Rank: #7
Week 8 Result: 23-16 win at St. Louis
Week 9 Opponent: vs St. Louis Battlehawks Sunday 7 ET
Houston earned a massive road victory over St. Louis to steal the Crown and improve to 3-5, keeping their playoff run alive. Hunter Dekkers completed 15 of his 22 passes for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. The team had a really strong day in the pass rush, especially toward the end of the game, they made St. Louis have pass protection breakdowns more often than not. Houston made an offense with a lot of good weapons look rather timid in their own building, which is an impressive thing to do.
6. Birmingham Stallions (4-4)
Previous Rank: #6
Week 8 Result: 14-3 win vs Columbus
Week 9 Opponent: at Columbus Aviators Saturday 3 ET
Birmingham won their 3rd game in a row and control their destiny as they hold the 4th spot in the standings and have the head-to-head tie breaker over Louisville. Dorian Thompson Robinson completed 12 of his 20 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown and an interception. It was the 2nd week in a row that DTR had just 12 completions. Birmingham won but had only 144 yards of total offense to Columbusā 188. A great game defensively, but this offensive production is cause for concern. With this tight playoff race, the margin for error is very small for the Stallions.
7. Dallas Renegades (3-5)š
Previous Rank: #7
Week 8 Result: 24-31 loss vs Orlando
Week 9 Opponent: at Louisville Kings Sunday 4 ET
The Renegades are cursed. After a 3-0 start, they lost 5 straight. Last week
Dallas dropped another game as the losing streak continued. The offense showed some fight, but the defense couldnāt slow down Orlando. The Renegades remain the Court Jester and will need wins in their final two games to have any shot at the playoffs. Austin Reed completed 12 of his 23 passes for 134 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception. The completion percentage is not high, but when you consider there were 3 drops the stat line is not a fair representation of Reedās play. Dallas just lost a close game to a team playing good football. Orlando didnāt have any turnovers and converted 11 of their 16 first downs, while Dallas went 3 for 8 on first downs.
Dallas will likely need to win both of their final 2 games and need some additional help in matchups going their way to make the playoffs.
8. Columbus Aviators (2-6)
Previous Rank: #4
Week 8 Result: 3-14 loss at Birmingham
Week 9 Opponent: vs Birmingham Stallions Saturday 3 ET
Columbus had a very rough afternoon in Birmingham, scoring just 3 points in a 14-3 loss. The offense continues to struggle to find consistency, and the team is now 2-6. The defense held Birmingham to only 144 total yards, which is amazing, and they won the time of possession 36:46 to 23:14, but found a way to lose.
Things look bleak for the Aviators, but they can still make the playoffs if they win their last 2 games and 2 of the teams ahead of them all retire from football. They do have a game against 2 of the teams they need to pass in the standings to make the playoffs, as they face Birmingham in week 9 and Louisville in week 10.
