AFLE
© American Football League Europe

Playoff picture after week 9

•

Five weeks of regular season football remain and the playoff race is tightening. Vienna Vikings have clinched their place in the postseason. Everyone else is still fighting for position, and for Firenze Red Lions, the end of the road may be coming sooner than they would like.

Cool Down — Built to Recover. Code AFLE

If the season ended today

Semi-final 1: London Warriors at Vienna Vikings
Semi-final 2: Panthers Wroclaw at Rhein Fire

Vienna Vikings: already through

The Vikings are the only team to have officially clinched a playoff spot and continue to set the standard for everyone else in the league. As Seed 1, they would host whichever team claims the fourth spot in the first semi-final. Their remaining games will be about maintaining form and securing home field advantage all the way through the postseason.

Rhein Fire and Panthers Wroclaw

Rhein Fire hold Seed 2 and Panthers Wroclaw sit on Seed 3, with both teams in a strong position heading into the final five weeks. The seedings between them are still very much up for grabs, which means the second semi-final matchup could still change before the regular season is over.

The race for Seed 4

This is where the real drama lies. London Warriors currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot, and have won their last three games to arrive in this stretch with real momentum. But nothing is secured. For Berlin and Paris Lights in particular, every game between now and the end of the regular season carries enormous weight.

Firenze Red Lions on the brink

For Firenze Red Lions, the picture is bleak. They could become the first team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention after Week 10. A season that started with high hopes has not gone as planned, and with the numbers stacked against them, the focus is shifting toward finishing the year on a positive note heading into 2027.

Five weeks to go

The top is settled, the bottom is close to being settled, and the middle is anyone’s game. The fight for that fourth seed will define the remainder of the regular season, and with London, Berlin, Paris Lights and the Alpine Rams all still involved, there is plenty of football left to be played.

Watch every AFLE game on AFLE+

Weitere News

Why the Berlin Thunder season deserves more credit than the record suggests

22.10.2026

A 5-7 record and a missed playoff spot tell only part of the Berlin Thunder story. On the field, they were one of the most explosive offensive teams in the league. Off it, they faced challenges that would have derailed lesser organizations entirely. Looked at in full, this was a season that deserves respect. An […]

Why Nazir Streater’s 2026 season was something special

19.10.2026

Anyone who has followed European American football over the past few years knows the name Nazir Streater. But in 2026, the Rhein Fire defensive back took everything he had shown before and raised it to an entirely different level. A player built for the big stage Streater arrived at Rhein Fire ahead of the 2026 […]

Why the Paris Lights fell short in 2026 and what needs to change

14.10.2026

The Paris Lights came into the 2026 AFLE season with expectations. A 2-2 start after the first four games suggested those expectations were not unfounded. What followed over the remaining ten weeks was a season that never found the consistency it needed, and a 3-9 record that placed the Lights last in the North/West Conference. […]