Getty Birmingham Iron RB Trent Richardson
Welcome to Week 5 of the Alliance of American Football season, which could go down as the “Aaron Murray” week. Murray took over at quarterback for the Atlanta Legends and threw for 254 yards last week, but unfortunately, his team doesn’t play until Sunday. With that said, the headlining game of the week takes place on Saturday afternoon.
The AAF’s best offense in the Orlando Apollos will face the league’s top defense in the Birmingham Iron. We’re going to take a look at the schedule for Saturday, how to watch the games live and also predictions and current standings heading into the week. While the games in previous weeks began at 4 p.m. EST on most Saturday’s, this week the action kicks off at 2 p.m., so adjust your schedule accordingly.
AAF Week 5 TV Schedule
- Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m.: Orlando (4-0) at Birmingham (3-1) – TNT
- Saturday, March 9 at 8 p.m.: Salt Lake (1-3) at San Diego (2-2) – NFL Network
The Orlando vs. Birmingham game was actually moved to TNT, as it features the two teams with the best records in the AAF. Orlando, led by quarterback Garrett Gilbert and head coach Steve Spurrier has scored 118 points in four games, good for 34 more than the next-closest team.
Gilbert enters this game as the leader in passing by a wide margin, having thrown for 1,071 yards with Birmingham’s Luis Perez at No. 2 with 797 yards. The Apollos also have former NFL wideout Charles Johnson, who’s leading the league in receiving yards with 410.
On the opposite side, Birmingham has proven to be an exceptional defensive group, giving up 33 points thus far, which is 30 less than the No. 2 defense (the Apollos). The Iron also have Trent Richardson, who hasn’t posted big rushing totals but has found the end zone seven times so far this year.
AAF Standings Week 5
PF= Points for
PA= Points against
DIFF= Point differential
Western Conference
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Team Record vs. Conf PF PA DIFF San Diego Fleet 2-2 1-1 84 64 20 Arizona Hotshots 2-2 1-1 84 77 7 San Antonio Commanders 2-2 1-1 67 85 -18 Salt Lake Stallions 1-3 1-1 65 85 -20
Eastern Conference
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Team Record vs. Conf PF PA DIFF Orlando Apollos 4-0 2-0 118 63 55 Birmingham Iron 3-1 2-0 77 33 44 Memphis Express 1-3 0-2 61 90 -29 Atlanta Legends 1-3 0-2 44 103 -59
Week 5 AAF Predictions for Saturday
.@TheAAF Week 5 betting lines:
Apollos -4.5
Iron +145
O/U 33.5
Stallions +175
Fleet -5.5
O/U 35.5
Express +105
Legends -2
O/U 38
Commanders +115
Hotshots -150
O/U 40.5
Orlando Apollos vs. Birmingham Iron Prediction
As Odds Shark shows, the Apollos opened as nearly five-point favorites while San Diego is -5.5 on their home field. Orlando’s offense has been tough to keep in check this year, and as seen above, their defense is no fluke either. While Birmingham has pushed their way to a 3-1 record, they’ve had their fair share of close finishes.
I do think the Iron will be able to keep this game close, and it may be a bit higher-scoring than many anticipate. But in the end, I’m taking the high-powered offense of Orlando to get the job done behind Gilbert’s strong play.
Prediction: Orlando Apollos 26, Birmingham Iron 17
Salt Lake Stallions vs. San Diego Fleet Prediction
San Diego is coming off a tough loss to the Memphis Express, who were led by new quarterback Zach Mettenberger. They’ll look to right the ship after an impressive 20-point win over San Antonio just one week prior. The big concern for the Fleet is what the quarterback situation will look like.
Philip Nelson is out for multiple weeks after an injury forced him from last week’s game. Alex Ross stepped in and threw for 80 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but was just 8-of-18. To win this game, the Fleet will need to rely on Ja’Quan Gardner and Terrell Watson on the ground.
Salt Lake has been a tough team to gauge, as they’ve struggled quite a bit at times and quarterback Josh Woodrum has been up and down. He completed 16-of-22 passes last week for 161 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. To make matters worse, the Stallions placed top running back Branden Oliver on injured reserve this week, just days after he rushed for 71 yards.
I’m going with the upset here due to the uncertainty at quarterback for the Fleet. I think Salt Lake has decent talent, but just hasn’t hit their stride.
Prediction: Salt Lake Stallions 20, San Diego Fleet 13
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