The 2019 Indoor Football League season is closing in on the home stretch. Games are getting closer. Teams are trying to reach their peaks at the right time. It’s all coming together for what could be the most intriguing playoff race the league has seen in the last few seasons.
The reason for the intrigue?
The expansion to 10 teams is giving the IFL multiple playoff races to look at in the last four weeks. I broke all of the races down right here.
IFL Playoff Races to Watch
The part of the standings with the most question marks is the one that surrounds the final two spots in the playoffs.
Tucson (6-5), Nebraska (5-6), and Quad City (4-7) are all within two games of each other with three left to play in each of the teams’ seasons.
To make things more dramatic, the team at the top of that group in Tucson will finish the season with back-to-back games against the undefeated Arizona Rattlers before a finale against fellow playoff hopeful Quad City.
| Remaining Schedules | |||||
| Tucson (6-5) | Nebraska (5-6) | Quad City (4-7) | |||
| Week 14 | AZ (10-0) | Week 14 | QC (4-7) | Week 14 | @ NEB (5-6) |
| Week 15 | Bye | Week 15 | Bye | Week 15 | Bye |
| Week 16 | @ AZ (10-0) | Week 16 | @ SD (1-10) | Week 16 | BIS (2-8) |
| Week 17 | QC | Week 17 | @ IA(10-1) | Week 17 | @ TUC (6-5) |
The biggest game of those nine above, however, comes this weekend with Quad City taking on Nebraska.
The Danger have been a sneaky good team this season, but will need to be good enough to stop the league’s most dangerous offense in the Steamwheelers on Friday night.
Will Iowa win out and see an Arizona loss?
If so, that would mean the Barnstormers will earn home field advantage and the top seed in the IFL playoffs.
The tiebreaker after head-to-head in the IFL to determine playoff spots is Strength of Schedule and because the two teams never played each other in the regular season, it will go to Iowa.
The only issue with that is Arizona may not lose this season, and they’ll be favored to win big in each of their remaining games. The team still plays Tucson twice – a team they beat by 35 and 14 points in the first two matchups.
Besides that pair of games, Arizona faces both of the one-win teams, as well.
So, even if Iowa can get past Sioux Falls at home, it’s going to take a lot to see home-field advantage leave Phoenix.
Not to mention, Sioux Falls still controls its own destiny to getting a bye in the first round. If they win out and beat Iowa for a second time, they’ll move to No. 2 and would host a playoff game in the second round.
Green Bay still trying to secure No. 4 spot
The Green Bay Blizzard are the only other team I haven’t brought up that could see their spot move.
Green Bay takes on Bismarck next week after sitting out Week 14 for a bye before two straight games against Cedar Rapids to finish things off.
Unless an upset or two happens, expect to see the Blizzard host a playoff game for the first time since 2012.
LWOS will have complete coverage of every IFL game this weekend as well as the other three leagues we cover. Keep up with the action by following us on both Twitter and Instagram at @LWOS_IndoorFB.
