With the Chicago Rush holding a half game advantage over San Jose for the fourth playoff spot in the National Conference going into this game at Allstate Arena, it was critical for both teams to come out with a win.
Coming into the 2012 Arena Football League playoffs, QB Mark Grieb was one of the most accomplished players in league history in the postseason. He has three rings to his credit and four trips to the ArenaBowl, and he has the second most yards for a quarterback in playoff history. However, he might have seen his illustrious career come to a close at the hands of his arch rivals on Saturday night, as the San Jose SaberCats dropped to the Arizona Rattlers 51-48.
Weird week of AFL football. The road team won seven of nine games. The last winless team beat a previously unbeaten. Chicago, Orlando and San Jose all overcame 14-0 deficits against former af2 teams to win. Four winners failed to reach 50 points. The last two ArenaBowl champs are both 1-4. And Rod Windsor's back!
CLEVELAND - The Arizona Rattlers are once again champions. There was never a doubt that they were the superior team against the Cleveland Gladiators in the biggest romp in ArenaBowl history. However, the 72-32 victory proved that Nick Davila really is as special as it gets in this league. This one though, was perhaps a little more special for him.
Thanks to a loss by Chicago last Sunday, the San Jose SaberCats clinched their first playoff berth since losing in ArenaBowl XXII in 2008 and this Saturday will conclude their regular season against Iowa. San Jose has a bye in Week 20 and gets a week off before the playoffs begin.