AAF Week 2: Picks, predictions for every game in The Alliance

After a fantastic start to the league, the AAF will get Week 2 underway with some fascinating matchups, and we’ve got picks and predictions for them all.

The Alliance of American Football (AAF) took a major step last weekend as there were actual pro football games played under their brand. For any upstart league, getting off the ground is perhaps the hardest part, and the AAF accomplished that. Not only did they achieve said goal, but they did so while exceeding expectations, drawing good ratings and presenting a good product.

While the AAF is clearly still a developmental league that would like to be a feeder system to the NFL, the football on the field is still fun. With a mix of potential breakout stars and familiar names, there are numerous reasons for fans to buy into the league and tune in to see what’s going on with this new football league while the NFL offseason gets underway.

Now we’re on to Week 2 of the league’s inaugural season as these teams look to both establish themselves and improve. With that in mind, let’s get into the second week of action with picks and predictions for all four games on Saturday and Sunday in the AAF.

Salt Lake City Stallions at Birmingham Iron (Saturday, Feb. 16, 2 p.m. ET)

Birmingham Iron quarterback Luis Perez emerged as one of the surprise stars from Week 1 in the AAF, even playing on offense with running back Trent Richardson, perhaps the biggest name in the entire league. The Iron had a favorable matchup to start the season as they handled the lowly Memphis Express to the tune of a 26-0 victory. Now they take on a Salt Lake City Stallions team that lost 38-22 in their opener.

It’s worth noting that Salt Lake can score and should be able to attack the Iron defense better than Memphis did. However, it’s hard to have faith in the Stallions defense at all after they conceded 38 points to Arizona last week. As such, expect Perez, Richardson and Quinton Patton to put forth another great offensive performance and pick up the win to move to 2-0.

Pick: Birmingham Iron win, 28-16

Arizona Hotshots at Memphis Express (Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m. ET)

This one could get ugly on Saturday night. The Arizona Hotshots were one of the most impressive teams of the first week of AAF action as they earned a 38-22 victory and seemed virtually unstoppable with the ball in their possession. In stark contrast, the Memphis Express come into this game having looked worse than any other team in the league last week, getting shut out in a 26-0 loss.

Especially if the Express try to run it back with Christian Hackenberg, this game isn’t going to be close. Memphis’ defense won’t have a single answer for the Hotshots explosive offense led by John Wolford at quarterback and their offense simply can’t do anything consistently. They’ll get on the board, but it won’t matter in a blowout win for Arizona.

Pick: Arizona Hotshots win, 46-9

Orlando Apollos at San Antonio Commanders (Sunday, Feb. 17, 4 p.m. ET)

Perhaps the biggest story after Week 1 of the AAF season was Steve Spurrier’s Orlando Apollos looking akin to a juggernaut as they torched the Atlanta Legends. They put up 40 points and shut down the Legends in a big way, but there’s at least a chance that the success of Garrett Gilbert and Co. could have been at least partly about how bad the Legends are right now.

We’ll get a better idea of the Apollos in Week 2 as they go on the road and face the San Antonio Commanders. The Commanders defense was dominant in a 15-6 win last week, though their offense was turnover-prone and left a lot to be desired. I don’t think San Antonio has the offense to win on Sunday, but their defense will keep it close and slow down Spurrier’s offense at least slightly.

Pick: Orlando Apollos win, 22-12

Atlanta Legends at San Diego Fleet (Sunday, Feb. 17, 8 p.m. ET)

In their Week 1 matchup, the Atlanta defense was absolutely abysmal as the Apollos hung a 40-burger on them. That doesn’t necessarily bode well for them, especially considering that they managed just six points of their own. Having said that, the Fleet only scored six points as well in their first matchup of the AAF season.

Next. AAF Power Rankings: Apollos dominate Week 1. dark

The big factor in this matchup, though, is the San Diego defense. They forced turnovers and made some solid efforts in their season-opening loss last week. Though this won’t be a pretty one, that’s more than the Legends showed and makes me lean towards the home team picking up the win to cap off Week 2.

Pick: San Diego Fleet win, 18-15

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