As the final weeks of the European League of Football rapidly approach and playoff spots still available for seven teams, wins and losses will mean everything.
It is for this reason that we have devised a power ranking of teams who are strongest today – not a reflection of their current standings.
1. Hamburg Sea Devils (Last week: #2)
Running the score up against the Leipzig Kings and Istanbul Rams does not make the Sea Devils the best team in the league.
Instead, their ability to produce the toughest brand of defensive football in the league and running back Glen Toonga running through defenders’ faces does.
2. Vienna Vikings (Last week: #1)
If the Vienna loss to Frankfurt over the weekend had no context, the Vikings would likely be near the bottom of the power ranking.
It is only weeks of dominance and consistency that makes this appear to simply be an off day.
3. Frankfurt Galaxy (Last week: #6)
The Galaxy delivered a complete game against the Vikings on Sunday and showed the rest of the league how high their ceiling is.
Reece Horn gave the Vikings secondary a lesson in what it takes to be an NFL receiver, picking up three touchdowns before the end of the first half.
The single caveat to this resounding victory is that Frankfurt have shown nothing but mediocrity in every other game this season.
4. Barcelona Dragons (Last week: #3)
Before their week 6 loss to the Vienna Vikings the Dragons were arguably the hottest team in the league. Since then, however, a few holes, most notably in their secondary, have begun to appear.
The quarterback-receiver tandem of Zach Edwards and Kyle Sweet are still the most dangerous duo in the league, but they will need to offer more as a team if they want to challenge for the title this year.
5. Rhein Fire (Last week: #7)
The Fire have one of the best defensive minds in Jim Tomsula and a defense with talent to match. But it is what the team has been able to offer on offense which draws doubts.
Newly acquired quarterback Jadrian Clark threw for 130 yards and an interception in his first game for the Fire. In his third and most recent game he threw for 500 yards and seven touchdowns.
This level of wildly inconsistent play makes it hard to predict their future, and with the worst record of all the teams still in playoff contention, stability will need to be found.
6. Raiders Tirol (Last week: #5)
Another lopsided scoreline from the Raiders this weekend against a bad team after they whipped the winless Stuttgart Surge 44-3.
Tirol will likely continue their near perfect brand of football against teams at the bottom of the table. But their single problem persists; not showing up against the league’s front runners.
7. Berlin Thunder (Last week: #8)
The Thunder have been playing their hearts out in the second half of the season and have earned themselves a chance to make the playoffs.
They will need this plucky grit as the final weeks of the season and an unfavorable set of opponents approaches.
8. Istanbul Rams (Last week: #4)
Istanbul didn’t quite live up to the hype after their win over Barcelona and their overtime loss against the Sea Devils, as shown by a resounding loss to the Fire this past Saturday.
But on the upside, their offense is now producing and if teams decide not to throw on them, they’ll fare well.
9. Wroclaw Panthers (Last week: #9)
Sitting at 3-6 following a second loss to the Thunder, the Panthers playoff hopes are now pretty much in the dirt.
The Polish side had high aspirations at the start of the season with Justice Hansen at the helm but have since taken a turn for the worse following a change in quarterback, reeling off loss after loss.
10. Cologne Centurions (Last week: #10)
Similar to the Panthers, the Centurions are in a markedly different place to where they were at the start of the season.
German quarterback Jan Weinreich was for the first few weeks the league’s leading passer by a country mile. But he has since fallen down the leaderboard as the team has gone from bad to worse and now sits with a seven-game losing streak.
11. Leipzig Kings (Last week: #11)
The Kings were dealt another quarterback blow over the weekend as their recently arrived quarterback Conor Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
This injury bug, along with other issues, has plagued the team that is now rumored to be practicing with just 28 players.
12. Stuttgart Surge (Last week:#12)
There is little positive to say about the Surge. Their descent appears to have only increased as time goes by.
Their week 13 matchup against the Kings may be the last opportunity to escape a winless season, a feat that has yet to be achieved in the European League of Football.