IFL 2025 Week 3: What We Learned
- offthewallfbpod
- Apr 8
- 10 min read
IFL Week 3 is in the books! What a week it was. One game on Friday, one game on Saturday and a triple-header on Sunday provided for some fun football all throughout the weekend.
Fishers is building something special in their inaugural season and really rolling out the blueprint for success, both on and off the field, and has been crushing it on social media (the rest of the league needs to take notes).
We've got teams underperforming, some teams finally living up their expectations and others that are just repeating the same behaviors that cursed them last year. It was a fun weekend, but what did we learn in Week 3?
Tulsa Oilers @ Fishers Freight
Result: 40-29 Fishers
What We Learned: Fishers is for real & the Tulsa O-line is a problem for them
This was the first home game in Fishers Freight history and things could NOT have possibly gone better for them in this one. The defense was flying all over the field and laying some big hits on the Oilers and really stymying them throughout the first half. The Freight offense was methodical and just marched down the field with nearly every possession in the first half and were able to jump out to a massive 33-7 lead right after halftime.
QB Jiya Wright really had this game under control for Fishers and was able to be efficient both through the air and on the ground (16/23 127 yards & 2 TDs passing, 16 carries for 54 yards & 3 TDs rushing). The offense was clicking and just able to march down the field with the running game and punch it in consistently — and were able to kill a LOT of clock in the second half.
The Freight front 3 on defense were able to control the line of scrimmage and really neutralized the ground game that makes Tulsa QB TJ Edwards so deadly.
This was the most impressive performance of the weekend for me and Fishers just crushed it across the board — on the field, in the stands, on social media, and even getting a shoutout on the Pat McAfee Show for the lively environment.
For Tulsa, this was a nightmare game. They weren’t able to get things going on offense in the first half with 2 drives ending in a Turnover on Downs & another from a lost fumble on the goal line when it looked like they were gonna make it a game right before half time.
WR Phazione McClurge was the bright spot on offense with 5 catches for 40 yards & 2 TDs and the Oilers were actually using backup QB Hasan Rogers as a RB/WR hybrid in this one — which he was able to do a good job in that role, but it felt like having a more natural RB on the roster would have been able to help them run the ball in the middle and open things up on the outsides.
But the story of the Tulsa season so far, in my opinion, is the play of the offensive line. They were just getting manhandled in this one by the front 3 of the Freight and TJ Edwards just couldn’t settle in and get much going through the air. It seemed like every play he was being rushed out of the pocket, just like we saw in Week 1 against San Antonio.
The Tulsa O-line has gotta be better to give this offense a fighting chance to score points — through 2 games they have scored 28 & 29 points, which is not what you would expect from an Andre Coles & TJ Edwards offense. I think Tulsa will still be fine for the season if they can get the protections figured out, but they gotta start scoring points soon.
Quad City Steamwheelers @ Iowa Barnstormers
Result: 52-38 Quad City
What We Learned: Quad City has a formula that works & Iowa is the same old Iowa
Quad City & Iowa locked horns three times last year and only 5 points separated the them in all three games combined. Quad City came in undefeated at 2-0 and looking good, but left a little to be desired and I was hoping for a statement win at some point — and they provided it here.
Quad City dominated this game behind a fantastic performance on both sides of the ball, with a balanced attack on offense and a defense that was able to come away with FIVE interceptions on the day to tip the scales in their favor. QB Daquan Neal had a great game, going 10/19 for 123 yards & 2 TDs through the air and another 83 yards on the ground — including a 48-yarder that was a delight for Over bettors everywhere.
Jarrod Ware Jr also added 3 TDs on the ground and this offense was cooking. This was a type of win that the Steamwheelers needed to establish themselves as one of the front runners of the league and they delivered.
The defensive line was super impressive and getting to the Iowa QB all game, ultimately forcing some of this bad throws that led to turnovers. This was a very impressive game for Quad City.
For Iowa, this was a rough one that undid any goodwill they earned in their opening game against Green Bay — and it starts at the QB position. Coach Mogensen admitted before the season that they were going to go with more of a pocket passer this season, and that basically told us that they are going to live and die by their ability to pass the ball..
Against Quad City, they died by it. They ran 40 plays on offense, with 35 of them being passes — which in and of itself isn’t a death sentence, but the part where you are completing less than 50% of your passes and throwing 5 interceptions, however, IS.
I understand that they were behind early and playing catch up for most of the game, but they were never so far behind as to completely abandon the running game. You gotta be able to run the ball in this game, especially with a rookie QB, and they didn’t even really try to do that in this one.
They have to be more intentional with the running game, whether that be with RB Hunter Clasen or getting some of the dynamic WRs in the mix on some sweeps, read options, etc. It was looking like 2025 Iowa was turning a page, but in this game they regressed back to the same old Iowa from last season.
Arizona Rattlers @ Green Bay Blizzard
Result: 51-47 Arizona
What We Learned: Dalton Sneed is the MVP frontrunner & Green Bay has to learn how to close out games
First off, I’d like to award this game with the badge of honor known as the #OffTheWallCertifiedBanger. This was an absolute delight of a game between the reigning IFL National Champions & the Eastern Conference runner-ups, and makes you wonder what could have been last season if the Blizzard could have shown up in the Eastern Conference Championship.
Starting with Arizona, there is simply not enough praise that can be given to QB Dalton Sneed for how well he played in this game. 21/32 for 269 yards & 6 TDs, including the game winner to WR Jamal Miles with 3 seconds left in the 4th quarter. The Rattlers committed a ton of penalties in this one (9 penalties for 80 yards) and really put themselves in some tough positions, but they battled back every time and just refused to die.
Four WRs caught touchdowns in this game for Arizona and I was really impressed with RB Ron Brown Jr. He ran the ball 7 times for 53 yards & caught 5 passes for 73 yards and made a massive impact in this game to keep the Rattlers in it. This was an outstanding game for the Rattlers offense to overcome their own boneheaded penalties and pull out the win in a tough environment on the road.
For Green Bay, they HAD this game in the bag. They were up 11 with 5 minutes left and could have ended it on their terms on offense with under a minute to go, but just couldn’t get a first down and gave the ball back to Arizona with 37 seconds left.
If you’re a Green Bay fan, this is unfortunately something you are used to at this point.
Literally LAST WEEK against Iowa they were up 19 with 3 minutes left and narrowly held on for a 5 point win. For some reason the Blizzard can’t seem to close out these games on their terms and do so decisively. When it happens once, it can be a blip on the radar. If it happens multiple times consistently — that’s a problem.
QB Max Meylor has a decent day, going 10/19 for 98 yards & 2 TDs through the air and rookie RB Kimo Clarke continues to impressive with another multiple TD game - with 2 on the ground and 1 receiving. Green Bay is still a good team and will have a good season, but games like this are ones they have to find a way to win against one of the best teams in the league.
Vegas Knight Hawks @ Jacksonville Sharks
Result: 36-19 Jacksonville
What We Learned: Jacksonville defense is looking SCARY & Vegas has to get off to a better start in games going forward
Heading into this game, I thought we would see a matchup of explosive offenses going up and down the field on each other and just points being scored everywhere you looked.
But the reality could not have been more opposite of that. The Sharks defense had a great opening game against Massachusetts, but to me there was a slight asterisk on that one because it seemed more like the Pirates being bad than the Sharks defense being good — but they stepped up in this one and put the muzzle on a very explosive Vegas offense and shut them out in the 2nd half.
QB Kaleb Barker had the biggest impact on the game scoring wise — with 2 Passing TDs & 2 rushing TDs on the day — and played the role of ‘facilitator’ really well on the ground. RB Jimmie Robinson had 10 carries for 55 yards but was able to pick up those yards in key situations to make the Sharks drives much easier and WR Ka’Ron Ashley clearly has the best connection with Barker so far in this early season.
The Sharks are rolling on defense, controlling the game on offense and showing why they were ranked number 2 in the preseason power rankings.
For Vegas, they were able to move the ball a bit in this one but just had a hard time punching it in to the end zone. There was a particular drive in second half where the Knight Hawks had the ball at 2 yard line — and they took QB Ja’Rome Johnson out of the game to run a wildcat formation with RB Antonio Wimpish.
They took the reigning IFL MVP and one of the most dynamic dual threat playmakers out of the game at the 2-yard line.
It just didn’t make sense and they managed to get in their own way multiple times. They also had a new kicker in the mix this week after issues last week but still managed to have kicking woes this go around. Vegas got off to a slow start last week against San Diego but managed to mount a big comeback, but they were not so lucky this week.
The Knight Hawks defense played pretty well in this one all things considered and gave their offense opportunities to get back in it, but this Vegas offense has to get off to a better start in games and put in a full 4 quarters of football in order to fulfill their destiny as one of the best teams in the league this year.
Otherwise they might be staring down the barrel of another first round playoff exit.
San Diego Strike Force @ Bay Area Panthers
Result: 41-18 Bay Area
What We Learned: Bay Area bounced back to being Bay Area & San Diego is in a rut on offense
Bay Area had a rough season opener against San Antonio, but boy did they bounce back in a big way. QB Josh Jones had quite a day, going 18/29 for 142 yards & 3 TDs through the air and adding another 53 rushing yards & a TD, and getting back to the form that we were used to seeing last year in Northern Arizona.
But what impressed me the most about the Jones this week was hist ball distribution:
Tyrese Chambers - 6 catches
Arsiah McCorker Sr - 6 catches
Joshua Tomas - 4 catches
Tosin Oyekanmi - 2 catches
I was / still am worried about the number of carries for Josh Jones in the running game, but they did a good job of getting Tomas & McCorker in the mix to help lighten that load on Jones. He did a really solid job of spread the ball around and getting his skill position players in the mix, but you can’t talk about Bay Area without talking about that defense.
For a second straight game, the Panthers defense played really well. The secondary was flying around breaking up passes and being very physical, with DB Tyler Watson coming down with an early INT that really helped Bay Area pounce to an early lead.
Bay Area looked strong in this one.
For San Diego, this was a rough go. After scoring the opening TD of the game, they couldn’t get much going. In fact, in their last 6 quarters of football they have been outscore 71-28 and have just looked off.
In the first half of their opening game, they were balanced on offense and really able to connect on short yardage throws consistently to work it down the field. But in this one, the passing attack never got going and the running game failed in the moments where they needed a couple yards for a first down.
San Diego lives and dies with how well Nate Davis plays, and in this one he went 11/26 for 105 yards, 1 TD & 1 INT on the day and just looked off his game. San Diego’s defense did okay considering the spots they were put in and how much the offense was giving them to work with in terms of complimentary football, but weren’t able to get a turnover on the day.
Last year, the San Diego defense had 26 INTs on the season and their turnover ratio was a major reason why they were able to lay it on teams — but they haven’t been able to get that same help defensively so far this season, and is one of the reasons they are sitting at 0-2.
Season is far from over for the Strike Force, but they gotta break out of this current slump they are in as soon as possible to avoid sliding even further down the standings.
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