The Orlando Guardians were officially eliminated from playoff contention after last week’s loss to the Arlington Renegades. Despite another solid offensive performance, the Guardians could not overcome five turnovers by starting quarterback Quinten Dormady.
With just two weeks remaining this season, head coach Terrell Buckley has made it clear he wants his team to finish strong. Despite not having the postseason to look forward to, you can expect Orlando to go out guns-blazing.
Orlando Guardians (1-7) vs San Antonio Brahmas (2-6)
Time: Saturday, April 15th, 7:00 PM EST
Location: Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Television Broadcast: ESPN2, ESPN+
Weather Forecast: 93°F with sunny skies expected, winds up to 8 mph
Betting Odds (per DraftKings Sportsbook):
Moneyline: ORL +105/SA -125
Spread: ORL +2/SA -2
Over/Under (points): 39.5
Guardians Injury Report
The Guardians’ favorable injury luck will not prevail this week as superstar tight-end, Cody Latimer, is set to miss his first game of the season with a knee injury.
Latimer has been arguably the best aerial threat in the league this season and is easily Orlando’s most consistent player eight weeks in. The former Denver Bronco currently leads the league with 558 receiving yards on 47 receptions.
Replacing Latimer will be no easy task. You can expect a mixture of Logan Carter, Jordan Thomas, and Jaylen Smith to step into the lead tight-end role at different points within the contest.
Guardians-Brahmas Prediction
Orlando will get its second shot of the season against San Antonio this Saturday. The Brahmas decimated the Guardians, 30-12, at home back in Week 2.
However, at this point of the season, both teams are looking much different. The Guardian’s starting quarterback in Week 2, Paxton Lynch, is now a part of the Brahmas and could be featured this weekend. On the other hand, Orlando will be rolling with Dormady to start Saturday’s game despite last week’s five turnovers.
Dormady will be without one of his top targets in Latimer for this contest. However, the 27-year-old quarterback seems to have found another threat in Eli Rogers. The former Pittsburgh Steelers’ wideout finished last week’s game with 10 receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the large disparity back when the teams first faced off, Orlando’s offensive resurgence has them as slight underdogs on the road. This is likely due to San Antonio being almost equally underwhelming as the Guardians have this season. In fact, San Antonio is averaging just 13.8 points per game to Orlando’s 19.1.
For this reason, it is not hard to see a scenario where the Guardians come away with an upset on the road. If not for Dormady accruing so many turnovers last week, Orlando could very much be on a two-game win streak heading into this game. Even so, if the offense can get back to how it looked in weeks prior, San Antonio simply will not have enough to compete.
Prediction: Orlando Guardians 26, San Antonio Brahmas 18
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