The ELF Rundown: Playoff Race Tightens Through Week Eight
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The ELF Rundown: Playoff Race Tightens Through Week Eight

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We’re already eight weeks through the ELF’s 2024 season, and things are heating up as we near the point of no return. For some franchises, these next 2-3 weeks will define their season’s fate.

Week eight in the ELF saw many of the same trends from prior outings. The good teams continue to win, while there are some that simply can’t put it together, no matter how hard they might try. Let’s take a look at what all happened this week.

Prague Lions vs. Fehervar Enthroners

In the “Battle of the Beatens”, as dubbed by the ELF kings themselves in Matt Bressington & Alex Malchow, it was the Fehervar Enthroners who finally got into the win column. They decimated Prague on the road, coming away with a 38-6 victory that wasn’t ever really all that close.

The Enthroners were able to see quite a bit of offensive success for the first time all year. Jack Mangel threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, and Fehervar converted on 9 of 13 third down attempts. On the other side, Prague was just 1-6 on third downs, and 1-2 on fourth downs.

It’s been a rough year for the Lions. Their offensive line play has been brutal, which has resulted in very little production from their quarterbacks. Perkins was sacked six times this weekend in the loss.

Frankfurt Galaxy vs. Cologne Centurions

Even though Cologne and Frankfurt have had some struggles this season, this was one of the best matchups of the entire ELF season. The Centurions went into Frankfurt and took down the Galaxy on the road, in thrilling fashion, 35-28.

Cologne ran 83 plays as they put together one of the most complete offensive efforts of their season, converting on 10-15 third down attempts. While Isaiah Weed’s numbers won’t jump off the charts, his ability to put this team in a winning position was crucial. Not to mention, DB Bijon Harris led the way with an interception, and a fumble six that gave the Centurions a ton of momentum.

Frankfurt didn’t play a poor game by any means, but still have some kinks to work through as an offense. This was Matthew McKay’s first start of the year, and he did throw for 335 yards and a touchdown. With some more time in the Galaxy’s system, McKay’s numbers should get even better. Overall, this was a down to the wire affair with plenty of excitement – something we haven’t consistently seen from either one of these franchises.

Vienna Vikings vs. Helvetic Mercenaries

One of the most unexpected outcomes of the weekend came between Vienna and Helvetic. The mighty 7-0 Vikings got off to a 28-3 lead in this ball game, which was par for the course. Then, the Mercenaries proceeded to make things very interesting, ultimately coming up just short on the road. Vienna held on for a 49-40 win, staying undefeated in the ELF.

Ben Holmes had another stellar day, with 291 yards and four touchdowns. He’s been excellent for this Vikings offense, and continues to shine week in and week out. Reece Horn, the former Tampa Bay Viper, posted 145 receiving yards and three scores on the day.

Helvetic, though, impressed with their ability to make this a game. The Mercenaries had a shocking 520 yards of offense, which is the best they’ve looked all year long. After a coaching change just this past week, the Mercenaries are already playing better football. Carlton Aiken Jr. did everything he could, tossing four touchdowns while racking up 396 passing yards.

WR Milan Spiller had a phenomenal day in the receiving core for the Mercenaries. He tallied 200 yards and two scores, and was a big spark to get Helvetic back in the game. One of Helvetic’s glaring sore spots: the O-Line. Aiken was sacked eight times, which might have been the difference in this one.

Barcelona Dragons vs. Madrid Bravos

With all of the drama that Barcelona has faced over the past couple of weeks, this outcome certainly wasn’t surprising. The Madrid Bravos are far and away the better team, and took care of business smoothly en route to a 54-0 victory over the Dragons.

The Dragons had let 27 players go, while signing 21 new ones this week. Obviously, changes like that – plus a head coaching swap – makes for a unique and difficult situation. Madrid simply had Barcelona’s number, posting 397 yards to the Dragons’ 131. Steven Duncan looked fantastic yet again for the Bravos, throwing for 217 yards and four touchdowns in the blowout win.

Paris Musketeers vs. Berlin Thunder

There were a few bangers in the ELF this week, and Paris vs. Berlin was one of them. This was a strange one, as the Musketeers took a quick 35-0 lead. It seemed like Berlin was all but out of it, until they scored 27 unanswered points to make it a game down the stretch. While the Musketeers ultimately held on, it was a wild second half that also included one of the craziest QB-sneaks-turned-touchdowns you’ll ever see.

Zach Edwards continues to ball out in the ELF. He threw for 182 yards and three scores, while adding 140 yards on the ground alongside a touchdown there. He’s been elite all year long, and is a big reason why this Paris team is so dangerous.

Jakeb Sullivan looked crisp for Berlin in that second half. After just 11 yards of offense through the first two quarters, Sullivan threw for almost 200 yards and three scores in the second half, nearly willing the Thunder to the comeback victory. Where Berlin had a rough time was on third downs, converting just two of their 13 attempts. Additionally, Paris had 23 first downs, to the Thunder’s 10.

Tirol Raiders vs. Stuttgart Surge

The Tirol Raiders are a perfect example of a team that is “oh so close, but yet so far”. They were right in the thick of things against Stuttgart – and even outperformed them in certain categories – but couldn’t find a way to make the plays necessary to win down the stretch. The Surge came away with a 30-25 win on the road, staying perfect on their ELF season.

While it wasn’t an outstanding day for Reilly Hennessey and the Surge offense, with 308 yards and just 14 first downs, they found ways to put up points when they needed to. Reilly used his legs for a big second half touchdown, while the defense stepped up and closed the door shut when the Raiders attempted their late comeback.

Tirol has a lot more questions than answers. They cannot get over the hump against the best teams in the ELF. N’Kosi Perry hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations, throwing three interceptions in this loss. Not every pick was his fault, but the pick six in the 4Q was brutal and at the worst possible time. RB Tobias Bonatti had three touchdowns, but only 28 rushing yards as Stuttgart shut him down for the most part.

The Raiders are very much alive and in the playoff race with a 5-3 record, but something needs to give sooner than later in order for them to make it past the first round.

Hamburg Sea Devils vs. Rhein Fire

Even though it wasn’t necessarily a close game, the Hamburg Sea Devils and Rhein Fire put on a scoring show in front of 25,000 fans. Rhein once again established their dominance in this one, putting up 61 points in a game that featured some of the most efficient offensive performances of the entire ELF season.

Jadrian Clark was on a heater in this game, throwing for six touchdowns while tossing just two incompletions all day. Kelvin McKnight Jr., the former Seattle Sea Dragon, had another big day with 128 yards and a score. It was RB Glen Toonga, though, who unsurprisingly stole the show early – posting 231 rushing yards and three touchdowns in this one.

Hamburg made a quarterback change this week, bringing in D’Angelo Fulford to make his third start of the year after playing in two games for Tirol. Fulford didn’t have a fantastic outing, but did end up throwing for 240 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. With some more time and reps under his belt in Hamburg, there certainly is potential there for the Sea Devils to become more consistent offensively.

Final Thoughts

The playoff race is getting pretty intense across the board. The Western Conference, in particular, is quite tight with Paris, Rhein, and Madrid all playing excellent football. These final several weeks are going to be very entertaining, no doubt.

If you missed our ELF Recap from week seven, you can check that out here.

For those wanting to keep up with all the games here in the states, you can acquire ELF Game Pass here.

What are your thoughts on week eight action in the ELF? Which teams and players impressed you? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!

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