Mexico: Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional end of season Power Rankings

The regular season in Mexico’s Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) is now over, and the playoffs are now upon us.

Our final power rankings for the season give us an indication of how the the regular season played out but also a look at the playoff picture.

1. Dinos de Saltillo (5-1)

Last Week: 1

The Dinos from top to bottom were the best team in the LFA this season. They were balanced on both offense and defense, Enrique Yenny was the best kicker in the league, and they gave up the fewest number of points of any team. What made the Dinos unique compared to every other team is that they held their regular season games back-to-back without a bye week. In fact, they had their byes consecutively in the last two weeks of the season. Add to this the fact they will have a bye week during wild card weekend, thanks to their incredible play this year, and you have yourself a squad that will not have played a game in close to a month when the semifinals come. It’s really a shame that they had a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds of their game against the Raptors because they truly had the makings of a legendary regular season squad. Now let’s see how they do in the playoffs.

2. Raptors de Naucalpan (4-2)

Last Week: 2

It wasn’t always this good of a look for the Raptors. In the first half of the season, while competitive, their offense didn’t click the same way as those Tazón México represented squads from the past, and quarterback Bruno Marquéz looked closer to retirement than the former two-time league MVP that he is. But then in the second half, there was a sudden change and Marquéz looked more like his old self, even earning offensive MVP of the week after the team’s 40-0 shutout of the Galgos. However, despite the shutout win, their best performance as a team was easily their matchup against the Dinos in which a clutch touchdown pass and two-point conversion by Marquéz denied their rivals in Saltillo a perfect season. The Raptors finished as the best scoring offense in the league and looked like a team aiming to make it to the championship for the fourth time as a franchise.

3. Mexicas CDMX (4-2)

Last Week: 4

The path this season for the Mexicas was very similar to that of the Raptors. Both started the season with 1-2 records, had decent defensive starts and kept games close with for the most part. They also had their big breakout game of the season against an expansion team, this time in the form of the Reyes, where they scored more points than anyone in any game this season, 18 of them coming from the season’s leader in touchdowns and MVP candidate, running back Ruben Zendejas. However, unlike the Raptors, they fought a little too hard against weaker opponents late in the season like the Gallos Negros and the Galgos, who on paper should get steamrolled by the Mexicas. Fortunately, because of their tiebreaker over Naucalpan, the Mexicas will host the Gallos Negros again for the wild card round and will look to go for a season sweep. 

4. Fundidores de Monterrey (4-2)

Last Week: 3

The best way to describe the Fundidores would be as a very good team who had two disappointing bookend games. In their first game of the season, they lost in the only overtime game of the regular season to the rival Dinos after being up 10-0 after the first half. 

The next four games were really solid competitive matchups. No matter who they played, whether it was the Raptors or the Gallos Negros, quarterback and MVP candidate, Shelton Eppler would always be the reason why his squad was always in play. Wide receiver Torin Justice also made a late surge in the season overtaking the lead for the most receiving touchdowns beating out Dinos’ star wideout James Okike. 

 What really hits this team down is how they have had the second worst defense out of any of the playoff teams, giving up 111 points, the third most out of any team this season, only behind the expansion Reyes and Galgos. The former of which upset and mostly dominated the Fundidores in the last game of the season. The good thing for the Fundidores is that they won their games against the Raptors and Mexicas and that is what gave them the number two seed and their first round bye.

5. Reyes de Jalisco (3-3)

Last Week: 6

The Reyes are a team in which you can divide into three parts. It felt like there were three different teams out on the field. In the first two weeks of the season, against the Raptors and Galgos, the offense could occasionally get yardage, and would struggle to find the red zone. However, their defense gave up the second fewest number of points in the season at that point. For their next two games, they suffered insane blowout losses, giving up a combined 80 points. To make matters worse, their offense was still very bad, only scoring 18 points. But in their final two games, a light bulb went on and the offense finally started clicking, outperforming the Gallos Negros and the Fundidores, and they even managed to lock up the number 5 spot.

6.Gallos Negros de Querétaro (1-5)

Last Week: 5

In Week 1, the Gallos Negros shut down the Galgos early and looked to be a force more resembling the Condors in 2019 and 2020. What happened? After their opening game victory over the Galgos, Querétaro went on to lose their final five games. Thanks to their one win in the season opener, they are in the playoffs, but more than likely, thanks to their lack of offense, they will more than likely be a very easy win for the Mexicas. Then again, stranger things have happened.

7. Galgos de Tijuana (0-6)

Last Week: 7

Zero wins. That is all you need to see. The first winless team in LFA history. By every metric, the Galgos were just plain awful. They are the only team in league history to be shut out twice, went four weeks without scoring a touchdown and didn’t score double digit points until the last game of the season where they had nothing to play for. If there were any positive points for the season, it would both be from off the field. Due to Tijuana’s close proximity to San Diego, they were able to sell the most tickets. Also, Estadio Caliente will be hosting Tazón México V. In a way, despite not making the playoffs, they get to be represented on the highest stage in the end regardless.