AAF Playoffs & Championship 2019 Preview, Odds and Prediction

The first ever season of the Alliance of American Football is now past the halfway mark with Week 8 set to go down this coming weekend. What that means too is that the playoffs are just around the corner with the AAF’s regular season schedule up to Week 10 only.

The Playoffs Are Coming

Only four teams will advance to the AAF’s postseason and in round one, the top two teams per conference will play each other in the home site of the team with the better win-loss record. The conference winners will then play in the championship game that decides who will be the inaugural champion of the AAF.

Check out the AAF Playoff Schedule:

After seven weeks of regular season play, one team has already clinched a playoff spot and that team is the Eastern Conference leaders Orlando Apollos who are the top team in the AAF right now at 6-1. Out in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Commanders are beginning to take control and they are on the cusp of clinching the 2nd playoff spot with their 5-2 record.

📽️🎞️🍿

Can't stop! Won't stop. "The Reel: Rumble in Atlanta"

🏹#TakeAim | 🎟: https://t.co/1MAwcVekc1 pic.twitter.com/xdRzDHu1ax

— Orlando Apollos (@aafAPOLLOS) March 27, 2019

According to the best football betting sites, the Apollos have the best odds to become the first ever AAF champion at +120. The preseason favorites Arizona Hotshots who are currently at 4-3 are next at 340 while the Commanders come in third at +350. Here are the complete odds to win the 2019 AAF championship. Odds were taken from Bet365 as of 3/28/19:

Orlando And San Antonio Lead The Way

The Orlando Apollos proved they were only mortals when they suffered their first loss of the season when they suffered a 17-22 defeat at the hands of the Arizona Hotshots in Week 6. But that was short-lived as the Apollos went back to their dominating ways in Week 7, trouncing the Atlanta Legends 36-6 to clinch the first playoff spot.

Coached by long-time collegiate coach Steve Spurrier, the Apollos lead the league with a total of 202 points scored, 2741 total yards gained, 1787 passing yards, 954 rushing yards and 28.857 points per game. On defense, Orlando has also allowed the fewest points per game at 15.0 points per game and fewest total opponent points scored at 105 points.This domination on both ends has produced a 6-1 record which will likely end up as the best record in the AAF and give Orlando home field advantage throughout the postseason.

While the Apollos have dominated the East, the San Antonio Commanders have taken command of the Western Conference with four straight victories and a 5-2 record. In week 7, the Commanders defeated the Salt Lake Stallions 19-15 at the Alamodome. Prior to that, they played four straight games on the road and finished the road trip with three consecutive victories.

Week 8 though will be a crucial one for the Commanders as they take on the highly touted Arizona Hotshots who are next to them in the Western Conference team standings at 4-3. A win by Arizona puts them in a tie with San Antonio and evens their season series. The Commanders defeated the Hotshots 29-25 in Week 5.

Who Wins It All?

The Hotshots were the odds on favorite before week 1 and were #1 in the power rankings after week 1. Experts believed that Arizona has the best 1-2 punch at quarterback with John Wolford and Trevor Knight. They also agreed that the Arizona defensive front was a standout in a football league that promoted offense. After 8 weeks though, the offense and defense are just in the middle of the stats board. Still, Arizona has a shot at the top spot of the West this weekend when they face San Antonio for the second time this season.

In the East, the Birmingham Iron have positioned themselves as the #2 team in the East with their 4-3 record. The Iron squandered a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter before losing 25-31 in overtime to the Memphis Express last weekend. Despite the loss, the Iron face the lowly Atlanta Legends this week before closing out the season with tough games against the Commander and Apollos. But given they are two games up on the 3rd and 4th ranked teams in the East, a win over Atlanta almost assures them of a playoff spot.

I think it will be the Arizona Hotshots and the Birmingham Iron who will join the Orlando Apollos and the San Antonio Commanders in the playoffs with Orlando and San Antonio coming out victorious in round one, although I won’t discount the possibility of Arizona defeating the Commanders. In the end, I think the team which has played very well and very consistently on both sides of the field is going to walk away with the first ever AAF championship trophy and that team is none other than the Orlando Apollos.

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