S16: Game of the Week Double Header
November football in the Super 16 usually means the start of a mad dash into the post season, where every win is important and every game is a big one. Two of the week 10 games are so big, that the league is issueing a Game of the Week Double Header, featuring two of the best rivalries in the League and four of the hottest teams in the Association.
At the top of the fight card AF#38 1 Eye Til I Die (6-3-0) kicks things off live on Thursday Night Football for what will be the most pivotal game of the season for their bid to repeat as West Division Champions. 1 Eye is red hot right now, on a two game win streak, they’ve scored over 225 points in each of their last three, putting them deadlocked for the division lead with rival AF#9 SF’s BowMen (6-3-0). The Archers, kicking off in primetime on Monday Night Football, are on a two game slide after starting off undefeated through the first five weeks of 2019 and must battle through 5 division matches to finish the year 
and secure the Division they’ve been leading all season. These two clubs are so evenly matched, they’re almost mirror images of each other, within 10 points of each other through 10 weeks of scoring. It’s the tenth meeting between the pair since they entered the league together in 2015 and 1 Eye leads the historical series 6 games to 3 with the battles often being closely contested – 3 have been decided by 7 points or less – so it’s no suprise the spread on this one is just 9 points.
6-3-0 – 6-3-0
All-Time
28-34-0 – 40-25-1
Head To Head
3-6-0 – 6-3-0
Spread
-9 – +9
Results
233 – 264 W
Taking the field Sunday at noon for round 2 of last week’s double-bye match-up are the juggernaut AF#1 Who Dat Saints (7-2-0) and the legendary AF#30 Birds of Prey (6-3-0) in a SimulPlay Game all of America will be watching. The Who Dats are having a season for the record books, their only two losses have been by a single stat-corrected point in week 1 to WTF Houston and by 20 in a bye strength game last week to the rival Birds. At their current pace, the Saints are projecting to knock their 2018 total out of #2 on the League’s all time scoring record. BoP is the winningest franchise in S16 history, with two Super Bowl wins, a third SB appearance, and is currently representing the league in the AF Pro Bowl Tournament – their second. Two of their 3 losses have come from WTF Houston as well this season, but in the last two weeks, they’ve defeated an AF#8 ranked BowMen and an AF#1 ranked Who Dats. In seven head to head match ups, the Birds have only lost to the Who Dats once, in their first ever game, week 3, 2016, and they come into this one with a 6 game winstreak vs the Saints and a 6 point advantage in the spread.
7-2-0 – 6-3-0
All-Time
33-20-0 – 77-33-1
Head To Head
1-6-0 – 6-1-0
Spread
-6 – +6
Results
150 – 188 W
In a Game of the Week Bonus, the Super 16 is playing host in Week 10 to the latest installment of the oldest rivalry in the Association, going back all the way to 2010. Historic Game 30 of the GOAT Rivalry between the coaches of the Arizona Firebirds (5-4-0) and WTF HOUSTON (4-5-0) sets up to be just as pivotal in the playoff race as both Arizona and Houston have an outside shot at their respective divisions, and will most certainly have the chance to play spoiler for the fortunes of the Archers, Who Dats, Birds and 1 Eye, although this one’s looking like a blow-out victory for Crash’s Firebirds.
5-4-0 – 4-5-0
All-Time
65-45-0 – 42-60-0
Head To Head
3-2-0 – 2-3-0
Coaches’ Head to Head
16-13-0 – 13-16-0
Spread
+49 – -49
Results
W 222 – 174
UPDATED: “It’s always stinking Atlanta!” AF#1 Who Dat Saints’ Coach Laurie lamented in the post-game press conference as her Saints suffered a 7th consecutive historical loss to Birds of Prey, 150-188 in a SimulPlay meltdown in the Big Easy. Both teams are now 7-3-0 in combined control of the S16 South, but the Birds own the division record tiebreaker – 2-2 to the Who Dat’s 0-3 – and appropriately enough, they’ll face each other again in the week 13 regular season finale….and possibly again in the playoffs.
In what might’ve been the best NFL game so far this season, AF#16 SF’s BowMen suffered their own upset to rival 1 Eye Till I Die on Monday night. After a strong start on Thursday night, the One Eyed Bandits established a lead the BowMen couldn’t overtake in the thrilling MNF contest. The Black and Silver take control of the S16 West with the win and their 7-3-0 record while BowMen fall to 6-4-0. The Broncs fall back into a distant fourth after losing to Eagle has landed, but the Arizona Firebirds are suddenly a factor with a big win over long time rival HOUSTON, 222-174, effectively ending Houston’s chances for their division. SF and Arizona are now both 6-4-0, but the Firebirds own the tiebreaker, setting up a massively important Week 11 SimulPlay showdown between the two.
Elsewhere in the league, defending Champion WRATH OF ODIN has quietly ammassed a 7-3-0 record with their 197-177 win over BIGDOGINTEX and have clinched the S16 North. They now turn their attention to securing a first round bye. Eagle has landed remains in control of the S16 East with their win and a 6-4-0 record, but Northern Fins got their own big win, 186-132 over Indy, and are 5-4-1. Their week 5 tie with Motor City could prove pivotal.