ELF: Upstart Munich Ravens look to hand Stuttgart Surge first loss

The Munich Ravens are looking to make a statement in their inaugural season as they host the undefeated Stuttgart Surge on Sunday.

After losing their first game against the Raiders Tirol by a score of 59-38, the Ravens rebounded nicely and have won their last two games in convincing fashion.  Last week, they traveled to Barcelona and secured a 39-15 victory over the Dragons, who had gotten off to a 2-1 start.  The Ravens offense has been phenomenal in all three of their games so far, scoring at least 38 points in each and averaging a league-leading 506 offensive yards per game.  

The offense has been led by a trio of skill position players that have been giving defensive coordinators nightmares.  Quarterback Chad Jeffries has been outstanding so far, throwing for 982 yards and 10 touchdowns in 3 games, while managing to not throw an interception.  Irish running back Tomiwa Oyewo has been a beast in the running game, averaging over eight yards per carry, and has shown an ability to catch the football as well.  Finally, receiver Markell Castle ranks third in the league in receiving yards with 485 and is the only player in the top nine in that category who has only played three games.

Stuttgart is one of the few undefeated teams that remain in the ELF this season.  They faced their biggest test last week as they hosted the Raiders Tirol but emerged victorious by a score of 6-3.  Going into that matchup, they were tasked with slowing down the high-flying Raiders offense, and they managed to hold one of the best offenses in the league to just three points all game.  Although their offense was rather sloppy, scoring just one touchdown, they did just enough to get the win.  The defense will have to work more magic this week facing the Ravens’ league leading offense.

The Surge will have a new face at quarterback this week, with Reilly Hennessey being placed on injured reserve.  The team brought in German quarterback Jan Weinreich, who played with the Cologne Centurions for the last two seasons.  He was a top 5 statistical passer in the league in both seasons but has not been with a team this year.  In 2019, he played with the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns, the German Football League team that saw most of its core, including Hennessey and head coach Jordan Neuman, depart for the Surge before this season.  Now reunited with his old coach, he should be able to have a relatively smooth mid-season transition to his new team.

With that being said, it is hard to say just how well Weinreich will perform in his debut game with the Surge.  Can the Ravens take advantage and hand the Surge their first loss, or will Stuttgart keep its undefeated streak alive?