AAF/Getty Orlando Apollos QB Garrett Gilbert
The Alliance of American Football is set to get Week 3 of the action underway and again features a split of two games on Saturday and two on Sunday. Saturday kicks off with a Week 1 rematch which pits the Arizona Hotshots against the Salt Lake Stallions with a 3 p.m. EST kickoff. The Stallions get home-field advantage this time around, though, and will hope to pick up their first win of the season.
We’re going to take a look at the full schedule and break down the betting lines and a prediction on each matchup. Let’s first start with the TV schedule and how to find all four games, beginning with Arizona and Salt Lake featured on Bleacher Report Live.
AAF Week 3 TV Schedule
- Saturday, February 23 at 3 p.m.: Arizona (2-0) at Salt Lake (0-2) – B/R Live
- Saturday, February 23 at 8 p.m.: Memphis (0-2) at Orlando (2-0) – NFL Network
- Sunday, February 24 at 4 p.m.: Birmingham (2-0) at Atlanta (0-2) – CBS Sports Network
- Sunday, February 24 at 8 p.m.: San Antonio (1-1) at San Diego (1-1) – NFL Network
We’ll roll right into the betting lines and predictions on each matchup, and we have two games projected to be close while the other two feature a heavy favorite.
AAF Week 3 Betting Lines & Predictions
*Note: All betting lines and projected totals are courtesy of OddsShark. Stats and any additional scoring information from NoExtraPoints.com.
Arizona Hotshots (-4.5) at Salt Lake Stallions – Over/Under 44
The Hotshots have arguably one of the best offensive trios in the AAF with quarterback John Wolford, running back Jhurell Pressley and wide receiver Rashad Ross. Wolford threw four touchdowns against this same Salt Lake team in Week 1 while Ross caught two of them and cleared the 100-yard mark.
Although the Stallions are at home and played far better last game, losing 12-9 to Birmingham, I just don’t think they have the firepower on offense to keep up with the Hotshots. Arizona has scored 58 points this season while their opponent has tallied 31, and I’m buying into the hype behind the road team here.
Prediction: Arizona Hotshots 24, Salt Lake Stallions 13
Final score: Salt Lake Stallions 23, Arizona Hotshots 15
Memphis Express at Orlando Apollos (-15) – Over/Under 45
On the surface, it would appear that this game has a chance to get ugly unless something changes for the Memphis Express. They’ve scored just 18 points this season, and they all came in Week 2. It’s actually somewhat of a positive that the team took a step forward in the narrow 20-18 loss to Arizona, but there are still a few major areas of concern.
Memphis quarterback Christian Hackenberg has done very little to help get the offense going, and he threw for just 102 yards on 14 completions last week with no touchdowns. On the other side, the Apollos boast a group with the AAF’s leading passer in Garrett Gilbert (620 yards) and receiver in Charles Johnson (252 yards).
Although I think the Apollos win this game, I’m not pegging it as a blowout. Personally, I’d avoid this bet altogether because laying more than two touchdowns isn’t appealing, but I’m not confident in the Express.
Prediction: Orlando Apollos 31, Memphis Express 17
Final score: Orlando Apollos 21, Memphis Express 17
Birmingham Iron (-7) at Atlanta Legends – Over/Under 38.5
The Legends are hoping to use home-field advantage to pick up their first win of the season, but like Memphis, they have a lot to figure out on offense. Beyond that, Atlanta has also allowed a league-worst 64 points and after jumping out to a 9-0 lead last week against San Diego, they were outscored 24-3 in the final three quarters.
Atlanta quarterback Matt Simms has looked solid at times, but Birmingham Iron running back Trent Richardson’s knack for finding the end zone has been big. Although Richardson has struggled to do much anywhere outside of the goal line, the Iron’s signal-caller in Luis Perez has flashed decent upside.
I don’t believe Atlanta will get their first win here, but I like the over and think Birmingham wins by double-digits.
Prediction: Birmingham Iron 28, Atlanta Legends 16
Final score: Birmingham Iron 28, Atlanta Legends 12
San Antonio Commanders at San Diego Fleet (-2.5) – Over/Under 43.5
If the San Antonio Commanders hadn’t given up a fourth-quarter lead to Orlando last game, they would have joined the short list of undefeated teams. Unfortunately, strong games from quarterback Logan Woodside (223 yards, one touchdown) and running back Kenneth Farrow (74 yards, one touchdown) weren’t enough.
San Diego was able to complete a comeback against Atlanta to get their first win of the season, but have to kickstart the offense. Fortunately, their defense has been good, allowing just 27 . points all year. Running back Ja’Quan Gardner was excellent late last week, wrapping up the game with 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He should be a big factor in this game, but San Antonio has looked impressive at points and I think they pull off the road upset.
Prediction: San Antonio Commanders 20, San Diego Fleet 16
Final score: San Diego Fleet 31, San Antonio Commanders 11
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