The Steelers were undefeated heading into this matchup, leading the league in points scored, and points allowed. On the flip side, the Raiders were also coming off an impressive victory from the previous week over the Cardinals. It was their most complete win of the season with a season-high in points, and a season-low in points allowed. In the early going, Salim Ladha picked up where he left off last week by converting the first 4 drives into TDs for the Steelers. The early damage being done by players affectionately known as Zolfy, Allawi & Hamood. Ahmed (Hamood) Al-Waili had a fantastic catch in the end-zone picking the ball off the ground, and securing it with both feet inbound to give his team a two touchdown lead that they would maintain into halftime. It was Ahmed’s first TD of the season.

The second half would be a different story and Muhammad Ali may want to bottle up whatever was said at halftime, as the Raiders looked like a different team coming out of halftime. After not being able to offer any resistance in the first half, and giving up chunk yardage, the Raiders tightened up their defense forcing two picks (Bilal Mamdani with a crucial INT in the beginning of the second half to give the Raiders some life). The Raiders are beginning to have some chemistry and it’s a balanced attack between Muhammad Ali, Ammar Dayani, Taqi Baig and Bilal Mamdani. It’s similar for the Steelers as Zolfy, Allawi and AJ have all been significant drivers for their strong start with Salim’s efficiency at QB. This game was going to be decided by the slimmest of margins, and the Raiders took a late lead with Taqi Baig getting behind the defense to give the Raiders a 49-42 lead. Not to be outdone, the Steelers made one final drive scoring a TD on their own. The Steelers had ambitions of an undefeated season, and went for a 2-point conversion. The Raiders defensive backs stayed strong in their zone, and were able to knock the ball down to secure their second consecutive victory.

The Bengals and Giants seemed like a lopsided matchup, and it’s hard to see a matchup where the Giants aren’t an overwhelming underdog this season. The Bengals scored an early TD to take a 7-0 lead, and the score would remain the same until late in the first half. The Giants squandered a few opportunities in this game to tie the game early, or perhaps, take the lead. But once again, there were a lot of drops on the Giants; Mujtaba Abidi, Hussein Champsi and Rizwan Jafri being the main culprit this week. The one area that the Giants shined was on defense, as they switched to a man defense against the Bengals and it seemed to work. The game was tied 7-7 at half, and the Bengals’ receivers were having trouble getting open, and when they were open, they were dropping wide open TDs (*cough* Asghar Molu *cough*).

In the second half, the Bengals took a 14-7 lead on a TD by Asghar Molu, and it was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, albeit unconvincingly. Later in the second half, Danial Ali would score his 1^st of 2 TDs on a deep bomb beating Imran Ebrahim, who had the coverage. His second TD was an absolutely stunner with a sideline catch and extending just enough for the TD. This may qualify as the third straight highlight of the week by Danial Ali. The Bengals were strong defensively, as they rarely give up any big plays, and kept Taleb inefficient in the game.

The Giants had several players who played well defensively. Imran Ebrahim had a strong game deflecting numerous passes. Taleb Zaidi had a fantastic one handed interception. Kumail Ali had a nice showing on the defensive end with a sack on QB Hisham Ali, and constant pressure. With the win, the Bengals extend their unbeaten streak to 4 games and will face a Steelers team looking to get back in the win column. The Giants will face the Cardinals, who have lost 4 in a row after starting the season 2-0.

The Patriots and Cardinals were two struggling teams trying to get their season back on track, and it was the last game before the bye week for all teams due to the Family Day long weekend. The Patriots made the long-awaited switch to QB Ali Haroon, and on the other side, the Cardinals were hoping for a healthier Said Samater this week. The Cardinals were playing short-handed with 5 players on the field, however early on, it didn’t seem like it. Farhan Jafri had a major impact in this game, and the call-out in last week’s email seemed to have motivated him. Even though his offensive stats don’t have counting stats (i.e. no TDs), he consistently put his team in a position to score. The main beneficiary was Nadeem Kassam, who had 7 receptions and 3 TDs and earned himself his first offensive player of the week and also giving him the team lead with 8 TDs this season. The game was 21-14 for the Cardinals with a few seconds left in halftime, and Farhan Jafri tipped an errant passed and returned it for a touchdown to give the Cardinals a 28-14 lead.

Ali Haroon had 2 INTs in the first half, however he quickly put the first half behind him as he played a near flawless second half. The Patriots would score 5 TDs in the second half, and Ali did a great job by distributing the ball as 6 different receivers had a touchdown. A lot of players were hyped to see Hussein Mojtehedi get his second TD of the season, and also see Mujahid Hemani make an impressive catch on the sidelines. Both players played a big role in the comeback win for the Patriots. Newcomer Ali Merali continues to impress as he had a multi-TD game with 4 receptions. Farhan Ratansi earned his first defensive player of the week with 1 INT and 6 flag pulls. The Patriots have 3 of the last 4 defensive player of the year award winners on their team, however they have yet to get into a defensive rhythm this year. The Cardinal show glimpses to be an elite team, however they have now lost 4 straight, and sometimes, you are what your record is. It may be too early to judge as they have yet to have a complete team in consecutive weeks. It’s hard to build a chemistry when players are in and out of the lineup.

The Cardinals and Raiders matched up to what seemed to be a lopsided affair. While both teams were 2-2 heading into the matchup, the Cardinals were playing very well despite their 2-game losing streak heading into the matchup. The Raiders were beaten soundly by the Bengals in the previous week. Early on in this game, both teams were tied – that’s when Kumail Meghani hooked up with Taqi Baig on a deep crossing pattern and after a couple of missed flags on the play, the Raiders were up 14-7, and it was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The closest the Cardinals would get in this game would be 21-14 when Omar Khamissa made a juggling catch to bring his team within a touchdown. Just before halftime, Co-Offensive Player on the Week Muhammad Ali had a receiving touchdown (1 of 3 on the day for him) to give the Raiders a 28-14 lead. When the second half started, the Raiders captain made sure that his team knew that the game was 0-0. With that mindset, the Raiders into absolute juggernaut mode. They didn’t allow any scores from the Cardinals in the second half, and shut them out 35-0 in the second half. The offensive was clicking as all players on the Raiders had a score. Bilal Mamdani was the defensive star picking of Said Samater twice in the middle of the field. Taqi Baiq and Muhammad Ali, each had 3 touchdowns. On the Cardinals, Omar Khamissa did most of the damage with 6 Rec. and 2 TDs. Farhan Jafri had a poor showing in this game with no receptions and 1 flag grab.
The Raiders are hoping this game serves as a stepping stone to kick-start their season; they face the 5-0 Steelers next week. The Cardinals hope to get back to their winning ways facing a struggling Patriots in Week 6.

Based on the circumstances, this was a matchup that heavily favoured the Patriots. The Bengals were playing a man short, and also had two possession penalty against them due to the captain showing up late for his refereeing duty. We discussed the David v Goliath match-up as our last game of the day, however this was very much it. The Patriots took advantage of the penalties as they scored touchdowns in both instances where they were awarded the ball at half to begin their drive. The Patriots set the tone early with methodical drives leading to open receivers, with Ali Merali (x2) and Fayaz Ladha the beneficiaries. Ali Merali’s second touchdown was a beauty, making 3 defenders miss on the flag grab before speeding away to the endzone. This gave the Patriots a 21-7 lead in the game, and the only score for the Bengals was a hail mary to Ahsan Raza. The Bengals would score again before the half on a wide open Ahsan in the back of the endzone (theme alert). With little time to go in the half, the Patriots marched down the field in their two minute drill that would make Tom Brady proud (perhaps, not at this very moment, “Fly Eagles Fly”). Mikael Ratansi would find Ali Haroon in the end zone for his only catch of the game and give the Patriots a 28-14 lead heading into halftime.
The game would turn in the second half, in a big way. With an early interception in the second half by Shoaib Mamdani would cue the comeback. Early in the second half, Danial Ali received a deep bomb from Hisham Ali in the back of the endzone. Danial was able to haul it in with two defenders draped on him and having to control the ball to the ground. Contested catches have started to become the norm for Danial Ali this season. He would also have 3 interceptions in the game to net himself the Defensive Player of the Week. With that said, the Patriots would respond when Mikael Ratansi connected with Fayaz Ladha on a short curl route, and Danial Ali would get greedy and go for the fumble, instead Fayaz would take the ball to the endzone with both players exchanging some pleasantries after the play. This game should have been over at this point, as mentioned previously, the Bengals were playing with 5 players. However, the Bengals were a resilient bunch in this one. With the Bengals down 35-21, Hisham Ali would once again find Ahsan Raza in the back of the endzone for his third touchdown of the game. And with few minutes left in the game, Hisham Ali would find MFL TD-leader Shoaib Mamdani to tie the game at 35, which would the eventual final score.
For the Patriots, they lost a game they shouldn’t have. Mikael Ratansi took some unnecessary deep shots, and was picked off 4 times in the game. It’s just a matter of time until Ali Haroon takes over at QB for the Patriots, relegating Mikael Ratansi as a receiver, and possibly on the trade block. For the Bengals, they continue to show the league that they are a championship caliber team, and will face the winless Giants team in Week 6.

We previewed this game last week as a David versus Goliath matchup, and were hoping for a more focused Giants team. The Steelers were missing their captain, and LVP (according to his own teammates) Ahmed Al-Waili. The Giants made a concerted effort in sharing the ball, with Saqib Dadabhoy enjoying his best game of the season with 6 receptions and 1 TD. Unfortunately for the Giants, that would be the only score of the game for them, and the lone bright spot. Imran Ebrahim had to sit out 5-minutes on two instances for the swearing penalty (one from last week, and another one this week). Captain Mujtaba Abidi appeared to hurt himself on defense trying to unsuccessfully prevent a TD by Zolfakar Al-Mousawy. This is a team that cannot afford any injuries, and may need to look outwards for trading pieces, and see if that can rejuvenate the team.
For the Steelers, this was a fairly easy victory. Co-Offensive Player of the Week Salim Ladha was 10/10 in the first half playing flawlessly on the offensive end. He only had three incompletions the entire game, and they were all on the same drive, and the only drive where the Steelers didn’t score (all started by the patented Mohamed Railey drop). Salim would finish the game going 19/22 with 8 TDs and no interceptions; for a perfect MFL QB rating (if that existed). Another player on our weekly mentions is Allawi Al-Salem who had 3 receptions, all for TDs. They were all the same way, and in the same place – back of the end zone. The true unsung star of the game was Ali Jessa. He constantly hounded Mujtaba & Imran on the short crossing and slant patterns, and set the tone defensively. Ali is putting together another strong campaign with 28 receptions and 8 TDs along with 15 flag grabs. The aforementioned Zolfy also had 2 TDs, and another TD called back due to a flag-guard. The Steelers will look to keep it going against the Raiders in Week 6, while the Giants may have to call upon a higher power for their first W of the season.

The Raiders and Bengals are two teams that have done a great job spreading the ball so far this season. So with the two teams facing each other, you expected more of the same. This was true for the Bengals, as 4 players had 5 or more receptions in this game. However, the story was not the same for the Raiders as all but one player had more than 3 catches. The Raiders did a great job taking Shoaib Mamdani out of the game, however, they forgot about everyone else. Ahsan Raza got the Bengals on the board early, and scored a second touchdown on a beautiful lob thrown by Hisham Ali. The height played a big factor in this game, as both Danial Ali and Ahsan Raza had 2 TDs each, and the Raiders had no answer.

The Raiders started this game playing good defense, and keeping it close. However, as the game went on, the Raiders were routinely put in bad position because of turnovers. Kumail Meghani threw two picks in this game, and also had two fumbles in the game. Ammar Dayani had a nice showing this week with 10 Rec. & 3 TDs, but he was just about all the offense for the Raiders. The flurry of trades that Shoaib Mamdani made pre-draft is paying early dividends.

The Bengals came into this game after an impressive win over the Cardinals, and they continued that momentum into this game as they completed out-classed the Raiders. The Raiders have been an enigma so far, as they have some good offensive stats, but it’s mired by some atrocious defense, and they continue to turn the ball over at an alarming rate. That will need to correct itself for the Raiders to have a successful season.

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This was the battle of the two winless teams, and this game showed us a lot about the Giants. As they went down, and failed to convert on the easiest of plays, the team imploded. The Giants captain Mujtaba Abidi had to call an early timeout in the second half after various missed flag grabs (more on this below). On the flip side, the Patriots held a mid-week practice after an 0-3 start, and it was exactly what the team needed. The Patriots looked like a unit, and started relying on quick decisions by Mikael Ratansi. This game wasn’t in doubt, and while the Patriots could have played better in some areas, overall they didn’t leave much doubt that they belong near the top of the standings rather than at the bottom. Last week, the Patriots dropped 4 TDs; it was a different story this week. The Patriots had 5 different players score a TD for them, though Mujahid Hemani maintains that he was vultured by his captain Farhan Ratansi on the last TD. All players on the Patriots either had 2 or 3 receptions, no more, no less. Now that’s called spreading the wealth.

For the Giants, as mentioned, it was an implosion. Imran Ebrahim was seen yelling at his QB to make throws on time, and will be off for the first 5 minutes next game for his swearing penalty. There are rumblings that some players are unhappy with their roles, and Mujtaba Abidi has to wonder if some changes are necessary to make the team more competitive. They have the fewest TDs in the league, and have also given up the most points in the league. Nothing is working at the moment. After the game, the captain was deliberating his own capabilities as a captain. It’s clear that the Giants need leadership heading into next week. It won’t be about their play on the field next Sunday, but rather how they handle adversity.

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This was the marquee matchup of the week, as the Cardinals had a chance to catch the Steelers for 1st place with a win this week. Said Samater returned with a cast on his hand, and still continued to QB for his team. Said was clearly not 100% as he had a really tough time gripping the ball, and was relying mostly on short plays to move the ball. However, he was still the Cardinals best shot at winning this game. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Muzammil Rizvi was on the other side. While some are vying for his case as the most-improved player, he is building his case for something much bigger, a MVP-candidacy. He had the most complete line for a player this season with 4 receptions, 1 TD, 2 flag grabs, 1 interception, and a fumble recovery resulting in a TD. With the Steelers already leading the game 7-0 (started by the INT in the end zone by Muzammil Rizvi), he made the defensive play of the year. With Said receiving a hand-off from Omar, he weaved through the defense getting to the last line of the defense. Instead of going for the flag, Muzammil went for the ball, and got a clean swipe and returned it the other way for a TD.

After the early 14-7 lead, the Cardinals fought back valiantly. Their offense was methodical, making the most out of the short plays, and their defense tightened. Omar Khamissa and Farhan Jafri continue to be vacuums, gobbling up everything around them. Nadeem Kassam ran a fantastic route for his first TD, and the Cardinals later tied it up on a bit of lucky play, where the ball bounced around and landed in Nadeem’s hands once again. With the game tied, it was last week’s DPOY who made the offensive play of the week for his team. Allawi Al-Salem scored an acrobatic TD in the end zone from Salim Ladha. The Steelers had a chance to put the game away later in the half, but the Cardinals played strong defense on 4th down to get a 12-steamboat count. The Cardinals had a chance to tie/win the game on the last drive, but the cast was too much to overcome. After the game, the captain of the Cardinals can be heard saying “not to worry, we had half a QB and we were in the game. Hold your heads high.”

The Cardinals have shown they’re a championship caliber team, however currently, the Steelers are in a class of their own. They will look to remain undefeated next week facing the 0-4 Giants in a David versus Goliath matchup.

The Steelers were coming off a victory in which they were short-handed, and they continued their dominance in Week 3 of the MFL season.

One of the early season MVP-candidate Allawi Al-Salem has led the charge for the Steelers as he had one of the best interceptions of the season by skying over Ali Haroon at a critical juncture of the game. QB Salim Ladha has been steady at quarterback, while all players continue to chip in both defensively and offensively. The Steelers remain the only undefeated team in MFL this season. For the Patriots, this game script could have gone a lot differently had they not had the yips. The Patriots uncharacteristically dropped a handful of passes, and 4 of the drops could have resulted in a touchdown. Due to the receivers clearly having a bad day, Mikael Ratansi was forced to take more shots downfield which resulted in more picks. It may be something teams plan against the Patriots, if they continue to drop the ball at an alarming rate.

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The second game of the week had a lot more drama as the Raiders were short-handed for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. The Giants looked poised to take advantage as they got Imran Ebrahim back this week, and were hoping to turn their season around from an 0-2 start. The Giants went up early this game, and looked to be in command early. In a surprise move, the Raiders started Bilal Mamdani at QB, choosing for last year’s MVP to play receiver to start the game. The Giants gifted an early TD to the Patriots on a tipped ball that landed in the hands of Kumail Meghani. After the early scores, it became a defensive battle with both teams going into halftime with the score tied at 14.

The undoing for the Giants may have been their early drops. In the first half, both Imran Ebrahim & Mujtaba Abidi had drops in the end zone that would have given the Giants the lead. Taleb Zaidi had a strong game, but the numbers wouldn’t attest to that as his final line had him with only 18 completions in 35 attempts. Giants eventually did take the lead late in the second half, and at that point, the Raiders made the switch back to Kumail Meghani. The Raiders marched down the field twice in the final two possessions, and took the lead with 4 seconds to go in the game. A hail-mary later, the Raiders had clinched an improbable victory. In other news, Mujtaba Abidi has had a strong start to the season, leading the league in reception and seems to have taken his game a notch higher this season. He was responsible for all three of the Giants touchdowns.

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The last game of the week showed great potential, however the 2-0 Cardinals were missing their starting QB and had to resort to a 2-headed QB combo by the Kassam brothers. Khaleel impressed early as after a short pass to Omar Khamissa to start the game, Khaleel threw an absolute bomb brought in by Nadeem. Unfortunately that was all that can be said as far as the highlights were concerned for the Cardinals. The game showed a glaring weakness that can be said for most teams in the league, if the starting QB is away, the team usually struggles. On the other side, Hisham Ali was throwing the deep ball that would make Ben Roethlisberger proud. Speaking of Big Ben, this team might have found their Antonio Brown. Shoaib Mamdani has played at a MVP-level early on, and is on an absolute rampage when it comes to scoring TDs. He’s become the deep-threat for his team, and it was on display early and often in this game as he scored 5 TDs this week alone.

The Bengals have been a team of unsung heroes this season and true to form, all players chipped in this game. Ali Raza Rizvi and Asad Mewawala have proven to be defensive stalwarts up front, and Danial Ali has been uncharacteristically vocal this season on the defensive end. Once Ahsan Raza and Asghar Molu acclimate to the team, this team will be a darkhorse to hoist the MFL trophy in May. For the Cardinals, this game may have not told them much about their offense than their defense. They routinely gave up big plays, and while Said Samater not being there played a factor, the team showed a lack of passion for the game. We’ll consider this as a blip on the radar, but it will be situation worth monitoring moving forward.

Registration is now underway for the MFL Indoor Season for 2018!

Venue: Aurora Sports Dome

Cost: $250 per player

Start Date: January 7, 2018

End Date: May 13, 2018

Games will be on Sunday mornings from 9:00AM to noon.

6 teams, each team will have 15 games (plus playoffs – top 4 make it), 6v6 flag football

 

If you wanted to sleep through this matchup, I don’t blame you. It seemed like many of the players wanted to do the exact same thing. You know it’s bad when the first play of the game is a pick six by Muzammil Rizvi. You know it’s worse when captain Imran Ebrahim forces his way under center, only to throw the awaited first interception that had the crowd dying of laughter.

With QB Taleb Zaidi ruled out at the last minute, captain Muhammad Ali took the responsibility of playing QB into his own hands. As expected by everyone (including probably himself), that didn’t turn out great. Although there were some throws that made you cringe, Muhammad Ali was able to slice through the defense on others, including a beauty to Ahmed Goralwalla.
The Colts continued to do what they do, spreading the ball around to multiple targets as four of their players hauled in TDs. QB Kumail Meghani tacked on a few passing touchdowns as well as a pick six to most likely seal his campaign for Most Valuable Player.

On the theme of sleep, the Vikings sleepwalked through a dismantling loss to the Texans, who could be the league’s hottest team right now. While a close loss would’ve definitely hurt, the brutality with which the Texans dominated the Vikings puts a major hold on the Vikings’ playoff aspirations. Before this week, many would’ve expected the Vikings to give the Colts a run for their money. But with a performance like this, league members are wondering if they can beat the 3rd place Patriots.

QB Salim Ladha threw seven touchdowns to his two favorite targets this season, Khaleel Kassam (3 TDs) and Omar Khamissa (4 TDs). However, the biggest feat for this team was keeping an Ali Haroon-led team out of the end zone for most of the game. Khaleel, Salim and Mikael Ratansi each forced an interception while holding the Vikings to their lowest scoring game of the season.

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Playoff Preview:
Colts vs Texans 10AM
Season Record: Colts 3-0

Matchups to Watch:
Omar Khamissa vs. Colts’ defense.
Colts’ spread offense vs. Texans’ CBs.

While the standings show that this is a 1-4 matchup, the play on the field clearly projects a much closer battle. Don’t expect a lot of scoring, as the top two defenses go head to head. If the Colts can find a way to slow down Omar Khamissa (23 TDs) and force QB Salim Ladha to look at his second, third and fourth options, they could see themselves in the finals. Meanwhile, the Texans have to have a near perfect game on defense as the Colts have shown no reluctance to spread the ball around to every option on offense.

Prediction: Colts 6 Texans 4

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Vikings vs Patriots 11:10AM
Season Record: Vikings 2-1

Matchups to Watch:
Muhammad Ali, Ahmed Goralwalla, Asghar Molu vs. smaller Vikings defenders.
Vikings speed on offense vs. Patriots lack of speed on defense.

After the horrid performance by the Vikings this past week, we’re quick to forget that they were playing without their QB Hisham Ali. Adding their QB gives them a top-tier receiver in Ali Haroon. If Ahmed Goralwalla can match up with Ali Haroon throughout the game, the Pats may be the ones advancing. Captain Mujtaba Abidi is sure to have a big game, but it’ll come down to Shoaib Mamdani, Abuzar Abbas, and the rest of the Vikings’ supporting cast to take down the Patriots. Missed flags will decide this one.

Prediction: Patriots 8 Vikings 7

As a member of the audience for this game, you wouldn’t be faulted if you looked at the field and felt completely underwhelmed by the matchup. For the Patriots, starting QB Taleb Zaidi found himself hindered by car issues. So who would find themselves in the Jimmy Garropolo (or in this case, Jacoby Brissett) role? None other than captain Muhammad Ali. Having not attempted a pass this season, it looked like the Patriots would struggle to obtain their second win of the season. For the Vikings, starting QB Hisham Ali was off adventuring somewhere in the Caribbean… And once again, you find the team captain stepping up to the challenge. While Ali Haroon, whose last attempt at QB resulted in a stat line of 24/28 and 10 passing touchdowns, lined up at WR, captain Mujtaba Abidi thought his season 11.1% completion percentage could will the Vikings to victory.

As for the first half of this game, apart from a few great plays by our makeshift QBs, I won’t waste your time with a recap. Just picture the Cleveland Browns facing the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On the other hand, the last few drives of this game compacted the excitement of a Warriors-Cavaliers series into the span of three minutes. After an injury put Mujtaba Abidi on the bench, QB Ali Haroon took control of the offense as he should’ve from the start. The scoring connection of Muhammad Ali to Shabbir Rizvi kept the Patriots’ lead at one with the clock rapidly approaching zero. But a laser dart to Shoaib Mamdani brought the score to even once again. Showing his worth, as he earned himself the Offensive Player of the Week, Shabbir Rizvi took a short route to the house after the Vikings continue on their season-long trend of missing flags. Four Vikings’ games this season have been decided by a point or less (2-1-1 record), so a close game doesn’t come as a surprise to them. Many expected another quick dart and a tie for the standings. All that changed when Ahmed Goralwalla hauled in a majestic one-handed interception, which looked like it should be gracing the cover of Madden NFL 18, and propelled the Patriots back into third place.

In what could have easily been labeled as a “trap” game for the 1st place Colts, especially against the surging Texans, this game turned out the exact way most people expected it to. The Colts came up with a lead, steadily continued building the lead, and the Texans didn’t have enough firepower to match.

The most telling stat of the season for the Texans comes down to this: against all other teams, the team averages almost 7 points a game; in three matchups against the Colts, this Texans team has averaged almost THREE points a game. Offensively, even though the Colts couldn’t force QB Salim Ladha to commit a turnover, the Texans struggled to put the ball in the zone. Although, it seemed like they passed midfield on every drive, they could only muster up three touchdowns, including one ricochet off a defender that landed in Omar Khamissa’s hands. While it was tough enough for them to score, it seemed just as tough to keep the Colts out of the end zone.

On the other hand, the Colts were scoring with relative ease. QB Kumail Meghani continued on his MVP campaign, spreading the love to all of his receivers as has been his M.O. for the year. Receivers Farhan Ratansi, Murtaza Shah, and Mujahid Hemani each caught two touchdowns with captain Imran Ebrahim hauling in one of his own. The Colts are clicking on all cylinders, tied for the most points in the league but allowing the fewest. It’s not surprising that they have the top two flag grabbers in the league (Farhan Ratansi and Imran Ebrahim). Their rematch against the Vikings this weekend should really be another major test on their road to 9-0.

Results

Team	Score
Patriots	5
Texans	8

After a season of writing off the Texans, they finally started to make a bit of a splash. Finding themselves in 3rd place after a victory against the Patriots, the Texans will look to capitalize on their newly-found team chemistry against the undefeated Colts.

A shrewd move by captain Omar Khamissa, who sat himself for the first couple offensive possessions to get his QB out of his “tunnel vision,” gave Salim Ladha the exact jolt he needed to get the offense on the right track. Although they remain the worst offense in the league, the Texans took strides on a path that seems like it could result in more victories. QB Salim Ladha was sharing the love, as he hit 5 different receivers for scores on his way to an 8-touchdown game. Offensive staple Omar Khamissa hauled in 3 TDs and Mikael Ratansi brought in another two, including a nifty catch-and-run for six. Khaleel Kassam now has an interception in two straight games and will look to continue his streak against the Colts’ formidable offense.

While the Patriots haven’t ever had problems with their offense, the lack of defense has been the key in them taking a free-fall in the standings. Although they didn’t give up any turnovers, it’s hard to gain a victory when you’re not taking some for yourself either. For just the second time this year, the Patriots defense couldn’t force the opposing offense to make a mistake. QB Taleb Zaidi continues to pile on his stats, with Asghar Molu (15 total TDs) and Muhammad Ali (12 total TDs) now being 2nd and 4th in receiving touchdowns, respectively.

Results

Team	Score
Colts	9
Vikings	8

Just based off the standings, this had to be the best game of the year. What was the icing on the cake was the trash talk that put this matchup on a pedestal.

Without Kumail as the QB, [the Colts] would be in last place.
– Anonymous Vikings player

Determined to prove it wrong, the Colts were amped up to get this matchup under way. Even with a few hecklers on the sidelines, the team managed to answer every shot the Vikings took. QB Kumail Meghani continues to impress, with 7 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns. Captain Imran Ebrahim played a fervour some say he’s been lacking as he hauled 4 catches, a touchdown, and 8 flag grabs. Mujahid Hemani and Murtaza Shah also contributed 2 touchdowns each in this close battle.

It looks like captains came to play in this one. Mujtaba Abidi caught 7 passes while also collecting a sack and an interception. Ali Haroon hand-slaughtered (if you know, you know) the defense, on his way to collecting two touchdowns and one breath-taking effort of a catch. But this game came down to three plays, and unlucky for them, they all went against the Vikings. In the last play of the first half, the Colts were able to score in the back of the end zone as time expired. Halftime didn’t seem to help either, as Kumail Meghani shook his way to a touchdown on the first play of the second half. And lastly, while being down just one score, QB Hisham Ali threw a heart-breaking interception that would seal the victory for the Colts.

These two teams play again in a couple of weeks, and you can bet to see a similar showdown.

So, as you can see, the website is hopefully going to look like this going forward. We hope that this version of the website is more user-friendly for all of you.

One major thing to note: ALL TRADED PLAYERS, YOUR WEEK 5 BOX SCORE STATS ENCOMPASS YOUR ENTIRE SEASON. THIS SYSTEM WAS MEANT TO BE DONE AT THE START OF THE SEASON, SO WORKING BACKWARDS, IT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO ENSURE ACCURATE STATS.

However, to have this website, it will take some time to update the careers stats and other portions of the website. This season’s stats ARE up to date and career stats/player profiles will be updating in the coming days.

We thank you for your patience and hope you enjoy the new website!