Week 3 Rundown: Undefeated DNA

As seasons evolve, more and more teams feel the pain of losing - it's a part of the game and a part of what makes the wins so special. The SFL has eight undefeated teams through two weeks but three of them enjoyed an early bye in Week 2. We'll examine the five that have already gotten to 2-0 this week and what has made them successful so far. 

But first...

• San Diego's Bob Funk leads the league in tackles with 26. It makes sense because this week, he became the only defender in the league with a tackle grade of 93, a league high. Planes play boats (Portland) Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.
• While Louisiana is the favorite this week on the road in Denver, the Nightwings have actually had their number - winning four of the last five meetings. The Revs last meeting in Denver was...never - they're 0-4 at Richard L. Snowden Memorial Stadium. Revs try to get to 2-1 Saturday at 9:15 pm ET.
• While Los Angeles and Atlanta isn't going to headline the week (Sunday, 9:15 pm ET) when these two teams get together, things get fun. Both teams have won five meetings and neither team has won more than two in a row against the other. Six of the ten meetings have been decided by one score and they've only met twice since Season 16. Both are going to want this one.

Can the Canton Classics take the next leap?

The Classics have held their first two opponents to a total of six points. Heading into Season 21, 2,374 games have been played in SFL history. Of them all, only two teams ever have given up six points or less in back-to-back weeks: The Mexico City Aztecs are the only team to pitch two-straight shutouts in February of 2019, beating Carolina and St. Louis in back-to-back weeks. Florida gave up a combined six points in back-to-back wins of September 2020. Last season, Canton made its first playoff appearance and won its first playoff game, but lost to championship teams like Baltimore (30-18), Florida (22-10) and D.C. (31-29) along the way. Winning this game against a hungry Vultures squad (Sunday, 6:30 pm ET) would put this team on the next wrung up of its maturation.

Chapter 21: A Houston and Alamo City story

Yep that's right, this will be the 21st meeting between these two franchises (Saturday, 6:30 pm ET), both 2-0 to start the SFL season. In the first 20 meetings, Houston's won 11 of them, but have lost the last three by 9, 9 and 7 points. Houston leads the league in red zone trips (nine) and red zone touchdowns (six) ironically since last season's losses to Alamo City were a result of poor red zone play. Houston's secondary is also best in the league so far, giving up just 5.1 yards per pass attempt. Alamo City is winning the turnover battle. The only team with no turnovers through two weeks, the Artillery are also capitalizing off turnovers - 27 points in two games, most in the SFL, tied with Baltimore.

The Championship matchup we didn't get

Another Monday Night Spectacular between two top teams when Florida (1-0) gets back in action for the first time since opening night against Fort Worth (2-0). These two were the top two teams in last regular season, but didn't get to play for the title with Baltimore's upset over FTW in the semifinals. The Toros' Stephen Hacker and EJ Mincin are 1-2 in the SFL in yards per game over multiple games (154.5, 138.0) which is like...impossible. Except it's not - last season Sioux Falls' AJ Warren and Kae Marion almost did it (went 1-3) if it wasn't for Indianapolis' Ryan Roosevelt crashing the party. The difference is Fort Worth is winning and the combo's been more lethal across the board but Florida won't be making it easy on them this week - the Storm sit top 10 in yards per pass allowed and yards per carry heading into Week 3.

An offensive awakening

The D.C. Dragons lead the league in scoring this season among teams that have played two games, averaging 34.5 points per game. That's nearly a touchdown uptick from their middle-of-the-pack 28 PPG last season - the Dragons have never averaged over 30 points per game in a season. They're also forcing teams off the field, leading the league in punt returns (11). The Dragons host Carolina this week (Sunday, 9:00 pm ET), averaging just 17 points per game through the first two weeks. Their franchise low for a season is 17.7 (Season 13).