Season 34: ThaJames Captures Fall Season Championship With 31-10 Win
Season 34: ThaJames Captures Fall Season Championship With 31-10 Win
Sunday, March 11, 2018
The XBFL concluded its Fall Season with ThaJames capturing his second league title (first fall season title) in only his second season with the league.
ThaJames’ Atlanta Falcons (15-1) faced Josh8185’s Cincinnati Bengals (13-3) in the Championship Game.
The Falcons defeated Season 29 Fall Season Champion LocknLoad Weez and his Seattle Seahawks (14-2) in the NFC final playoff round to reach The XBFL Super Bowl The Falcons won 31-13 in their meeting.
Josh8185 took a walkover win to advance to the final game of the season. FIve time fall season champion Meaker (nine championships overall) and his Miami Dolphins (11-5) were unfortunately unable to compete in the AFC Conference Championship. This was a first in The XBFL’s 16 year history.
The Championship game was broadcast on Twitch and the first quarter provided entertainment for onlookers as both teams showed their offensive firepower with big plays from aggressive play calling.
Both Julio Jones (9 receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns) and AJ Green (4 receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown) were in the spotlight as both scored first for their respective teams on the opening drives from big plays downfield. Devonta Freeman scored on a brilliant Jet Sweep on third and goal from the six yard line to help Atlanta go up 14-7.
Atlanta scored touchdowns on their first two drives which began to put pressure on Cincinnati. A second down sack from Cover 2 Man produced a third and long situation which rattled the Bengals, which up until that point, had upwards of six seconds of pass protection on every pass play. The sack was effective as Coach Josh8185‘s focus moved away from a gameplay that slightly favored the pass game to pass-heavy play calling that included a number of rollouts to the left side. On third down, Andy Dalton threw a pass that was intercepted by Falcons linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, however, Cincinnati’s defense got the ball right back with a turnover of their own. The Bengals were able to move the ball down field, however Andy Dalton and company were only able to achieve three points off a short field goal. The score was 14-10 at this point in the second quarter.
Atlanta was quick to make defensive adjustments that resulted in a career game for right end Takkarist McKinley. McKinley posted 5 sacks in the game (the team had six overall) for a Super Bowl MVP candidate-worthy performance
Atlanta’s secondary buttoned down mid-second quarter knowing that Coach Josh8185 was going to take deep shots down the field and that approach proved fruitful, resulting in four interceptions, two of which resulted in eventual scores in the first half. After two quarters, the Atlanta Falcons led the Cincinnati Bengals 28-10.
Cincinnati had to abandon the run game in the second half after Giovanni Bernard and Joe Mixon combined for 9 carries and 45 yards, most of which came in the first and part of the second quarters.
Between the added pressure up front and a suffocating secondary that gambled on deep zones, Andy Dalton struggled to find his receivers down the field. The playmaking trio of AJ Green, Tyler Eifert and John Ross combined for only 11 catches between the three, with only Green scoring a touchdown.
With a 28-10 lead to start the second half, Atlanta switched gears and began to lean on all-pro runningback Devonta Freeman (20 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown). Julio Jones was a still a presence and assisted Matt Ryan (191 yards passing and a 127.8 rating) on critical third down conversions.
Atlanta scored only three points in the third quarter as a result of conservative play calling, however their defense was relentless, not yielding a single point in the third and fourth quarters.
The Falcons finished the game with 312 yards of offense to Cincinnati’s 233. Atlanta was +2 in turnovers (4 to 2), however the second turnover of the game proved to be the game changer. The final score was 31-10.
Congratulations to both competitors for reaching the Season 34 Championship Game.
Hats (or helmets) off to ThaJames for capturing his first Fall Season Championship and second overall (Madden 17 spring season championship with Baltimore).