While the two franchises in the hallowed city of Brymbo have one of the fiercest rivalries in the NPIFL, neither has yet to ascend to Super Bowl glory. In recent years, these are teams that have narrowly missed the playoffs, and throughout their long history, only the Firestorm franchise has made the big game, coming up short on both occasions.
Week 2 saw the Brymbo Originals ascend to its first 2-0 start in franchise history, and the manner in which they did so has oddsmakers putting them near the top of the pile as early Super Bowl contenders.
It was a rare week indeed that saw both Brymbo teams winning, a feat that has only been seen once per year since the 2022 season (when it happened five times). The Brymbo teams put up the two highest scores of the week, which is an NPIFL first.
Before we begin the roundup of a week that saw the O’s and Nixon it Up both get off to a perfect 2-0 start, it’s time to look at Nathan’s Pix and the Best Bench of the Week Award.
Nathan, a picker historically worse than a coin toss, regressed after a 4-2 start to the season, going 2-4 in Week 2. This puts him at 6-6 on the year and 51-57 since records began.
Meanwhile, the BBOTW went to Nixon It Up HC Olly Bailey for the second consecutive week, and with the defending Super Bowl champs at 2-0, this team could be pushing for the NPIFL’s first-ever repeat.
Here’s the Week 2 roundup, starting with the Game of the Week between the O’s and the Rams:
St. Lewis Rams (0-2) 153.34 – 196.86 Brymbo O’s (2-0)
The Brymbo O’s emerged victorious from a western-style shootout in St. Lewis, with some huge points being ut up by both teams. While the Rams were unlucky in that they would have beaten all but two teams in Week 2, they instead came up short in a fair fight against an in-form Originals.
The O’s were dealt bad news mid-week with QB Brock Purdy being ruled out, but found a more-than-suitable replacement. Inner-city rival HC John Maxwell looked a little silly as his prematch comments to Nathan Adams went viral and aged very poorly, very quickly.
To say Goff stepped up would be an understatement; his 334 passing yards and 5 TDs were worth 33.96 points, which was all the more decisive when compared to the 11.54 points put up by Rams QB Jalen Hurts.
It was truly a huge day for the O’s, as the box score shows clearly. In summary, Goff, Christian McCaffrey (19.7), Jonathan Taylor (28.5), Davante Adams (19.6), Keenan Allen (14.6) and Brandon Aubrey were backed up by 42 defensive points in what by some is being called “God’s Week 2 Will.”
The O’s have scored a league-leading 344.54 points in just two weeks, and to put that in context, the second highest scorers are Jordan’s Scary Team with 292.4 points (Leviathans are an NPIFL-worst 215.58).
HC Nathan Adams spoke to Andrasta on Tuesday:
“Over at the O’s we are level headed, and although we’ve had a great start to the season, we realise that there’s a long way to go.
“We had a tough match up against Lewis and for most of Sunday, I really did think he was getting away from us; but with some big players pulling it back for the O’s, we managed to get that W and make a big statement – also I want to give a special thank you to my kicker this week, keep up the good work.”
The Rams realy did have a good day. Other than a disappointing outing from Hurts, DeVon Achane (22.2), Fred Warner (15) and Malik Nabers (34.2) were walking highlight reels, and more than papered over some poor showings from Evan Engram (1.7) and Aaron Jones (2.3); the latter exited the game against Atlanta with a hamstring injury.
While St. Lewis start the season 0-2, the “Gateway to the West” has more than enough firepower to string together a run of wins. The injury to Jones will be a concern in coming weeks, but HC Lewis Done will doubtless be active in finding an appropriate replacement.
Done took a few questions from Andrasta on Tuesday afternoon:
“Another fantastic week, out done but an incredible score from my honourable opponent. Having been beaten by the only two kicks over 64 yards in NFL history.
“We need a change of luck, we’ve put up good points in the weeks so far but can’t control the opposition. It should get easier going forward as the quality of managers does decline moving forward.
“It’s a 16 game season and I still feel confident of opening the smackdown on some fools.”
The Rams look for better fortune in Week 3 away to Jordan’s Scary Team, while the O’s will hope for more of the same when Santos comes to Brymbo.
Old England Pats (1-1) 103.24 – 168.8 Brymbo Firestorm (1-1)
There were grim faces in Brymbo as the Firestorm prepared for a second away fixture to kick off the 2025 season. Preparations were intense and the mood was serious, but it paid off nicely with the Firestorm blazing in Old England.
The game was marred by what looked like an innocuous injury to Pats QB Joe Burrow, who is now expected to miss up to three months with a toe issue. However, Burrow was digging the Pats into something of a hole in Week 2, with his primary receiver being Brymbo’s No. 1 pick and thermonuclear weapon, Ja’Marr Chase.
Chase finished the game with an electric 30.5 points from 14 receptions for 165 yards and a TD, and was backed up by several decent displays. QB Lamar Jackson had another big outing (26.3), while D’Andre Swift (12.4), Zach Ertz (15.4) and J.K. Dobbins (15) all found the endzone.
Meanwhile, Jaxon Smith-Njigba (14.3) and Jake Elliott (12) both broke 10 points as Brymbo cantered to a comfortable win against the Burrow-less Pats.
It was just one of those days for Old England where nothing goes right. Other than Burrow’s second-quarter exit, the receiving corps of Ladd McConkey (7.3), Marvin Harrison Jr. (3,7) and Courtland Sutton (2.1) never got going and TDs were at a premium.
Linebacker Roquan Smith stole the show for Old England with his fumble recovery TD and 15 tackles for 20.5 points, while running backs Saquon Barkley (16.4) and Jaylen Warren (15.4) both looked good in the backfield.
HC John Maxwell had a quick chat with Andrasta’s Brymbo beat writer John Maxwell (no relation) on Tuesday at Firestorm HQ:
“Obviously hugely important to get that win and go .500 after a bad opening week. We’ve never started a season 0-2, and given the work put in this offseason, it would have been hugely disappointing if we had.
“Big performance from the boys today, we shut a lot of people up out there, and looking at next week, if everyone does the fundamentals right, execute cleanly, we’ll be 2-1 and back where we need to be.”
Week 3 will see the Firestorm play its first home game of the season as they host the anaemic offense of the DDT, while the Pats welcome Kelce Smiles to Old England in a rivalry game.
Portscatho Padres (1-1) 134.08 – 140.74 Nixon it Up (2-0)
The Padres welcomed Nixon it Up to Portscatho in a Week 2 rivalry game that perhaps hasn’t been as heated as some of the others from the old Plas Coch division. The Padres, led by two-time NPIFL Super Bowl-winning coach Damen Griffiths, are never short on confidence, clever plans and sneaky tricks.
Griffiths employed several of those in a week where he perhaps got a little too cute, as some of the players he benched would have been the difference out there. As it was, neither Kenneth Walker III (18.3) or Daiyan Henley (8.84) saw the field in the loss.
However, the real reason for the defeat was Padres QB Justin Fields, whose 3.98 points were a far cry from his Week 1 heroics, and serve as a reminder of the boom-bust nature of Fields’ career thus far.
With good days from Jahmyr Gibbs (17.9) and Travis Etienne (15.9, along with some solid points at WR, Portscatho were only a QB away from a victory.
Griffiths got candid when speaking to Andrasta on Wednesday:
“A frustrating week for the team – injuries and a lack of composure in the red zone really hampered us. The potential is definitely there to make the playoffs, but we’re going to have to do a lot better than that. I’m happy for Bailey who’s looking in fine form. It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep it up.
“It’ll be nice to get our second win on the board next week, and I’m sure the lads will kick on from there.”
That second win that the Padres are eyeing so confidently, will be against the Leviathans, and it will be interesting to see if Griffiths can prove his boasts well-founded in Week 3.
Meanwhile, Nixon it Up, a fantastic name-change shout-out to the former years as Mixon it Up, had a solid day at the office without being overly spectacular. The highlight of the game for NIU was Puka Nacua (23.6), who has gotten off to a fast start in 2025.
Nacua was backed up by Bo Nix (20.24) and Bucky Irving (15.1), with the rest of the team doing okay overall but not really pushing the boat out.
NIU’s bench is where it was at in Week 2, with Rome Odunze (28.3) and Wan’Dale Robinson (24.2) in particular shining brightly
Nixon it Up will look to continue their winning streak in Week 3 when they host San Wrexham, with the 69ers hoping to build on a perhaps fortuitous win over Santos.
Kelce Smiles (1-1) 150.88 – 143.68 J’s Scary Team (1-1)
Kelce Smiles came out on top in a back-and-forth struggle that at times looked like was turning against them. The Smiles emerged victorious even though they fielded Younghoe Koo at kicker, who had been ruled out by the Falcons in advance.
Kicker is a spot HC Christopher Ward can’t seem to get right, as after overvaluing the position majorly in the draft by taking Tyler Bass in the sixth round, Bass went on IR. Koo had a bad game in Week 1, and has since been put on ice.
There were some bright spots on the field for Kelce, with 13.0 points from cornerback Dax Hill helping the team to victory. The real game-winner was James Cook, who put up 26.0 points in Buffalo’s 30-10 mauling of the Jets.
Cook was complemented by good performances from Patrick Mahomes (22.08), Chuba Hubbard (14.1), Jaylen Warren (15.3) and Jake Ferguson (12.3), and Ward was relieved to get over the line. He delivered a four-word shout-out while speaking to the media:
“Thank you James Cook.”
On the other side of the ball, Jordan’s Scary Team went off the boil in Week 2, and while there were some big performances, a few players are a concern. A.J. Brown may have tripled his Week 1 showing, but fans will be wanting a lot more than 5.2 points next week.
Justin Herbert looks reborn in 2025, and his 18.42 points led the Scary Team in the loss. Bijan Robinson looked electric (18.3), while James Conner (11.7), Zay Flowers (11.4), Trey McBride (10.8), Carl Granderson (12.0), Brian Branch (12.0), Tyler Loop (12.0) and the Patriots D (13.0) all broke 10 points.
Week 3 will see the Scary Team try to jump back up the table when they host the St. Lewis Rams, a team that at 0-2 can ill afford another loss so early. Meanwhile, Kelce Smiles will travel to Old England to settle an old score with the Pats.
Santos (1-1) 115.42 – 131.6 San Wrexham 69ers (1-1)
The San Wrexham 69ers escaped from Santos with a close win in highly unusual circumstances. Santos’ highly reliable QB-RB powerhouses, Josh Allen (11.82) and Derrick Henry (2.83), both had bad days and combined for just 14 points.
Santos was unable to put the finishing touches on big outings from Tucker Kraft (21.4) and Jameson Williams (17.8), who were backed up by solid days from Alvin Kamara (13.0) and David Montgomery (12.0).
Meanwhile, there was not a lot going on offensively for the 69ers, with QB Jayden Daniels leading the charge (19.7) and only Nico Collins really worthy of a mention (12.7).
This matchup was really won on the back of some big defensive performances, with Danielle Hunter (12.0) and Azeez Al-Shaair (10) balling for the Texans, while the Ravens D put up 17 points in their win over Cleveland. Factor in 12 more points from kicker Chris Boswell, and it was a gritty San Wrexham win.
69ers coach Chris Blockley told Andrasta:
“The only win we’ll get this season most likely, but one of the greatest, it always feels amazing to beat Faulkner.”
Meanwhile, Santos coach Christopher Faulkner promised his fan base better days are ahead:
“We won’t be this bad again. Words will be had, decisions will be made.”
Next up for the 69ers are defending Super Bowl champions, Nixon it Up, who will make the short journey to San Wrexham. Meanwhile, Santos travel to the high-flying O’s looking for a statement win.
D’s Daring Team (1-1) 121.6 – 118.3 Lloyds Leviathans (0-2)
It would be fair to say that neither team was ready to play this week as both fielded players ruled out in advance and neither manager has made a single move since the draft. This really could have gone either way, and neither team can have any complaints about being in the bottom three after two games as the NPIFL’s two lowest-scoring outfits.
Dan’s Daring Team was majorly bailed out from an otherwise terrible showing, and if it were not for a behemoth fourth-quarter from Amon-Ra St. Brown, the DDT would be 0-2 and deservedly so.
St. Brown exploded for the Lions against Chicago, and his 9 receptions for 115 yards and 3 TDs made for 34.7 points and a narrow win. Other than the “Sun God,” the DDT had only one TD in the entire team, which came from Kyler Murray (14.0).
HC Dan Gittins looks to have been awoken from an early-season slumber, and caught up with Andrasta on Tuesday:
“Beating Tom is nothing… I did it with one player… Beating Maxwell on the other hand, going to take some rejigging… A bit of thought 🤔 it’s kind of like our Super Bowl. Watch this space.”
Meanwhile, the Leviathans came tantalizingly close to winning, but were not helped by a lapse in management. Cornerback DaRon Bland was ruled out on Friday afternoon, but was still fielded by the Levs.
With the game coming down to 3.3 points, that really could have been the difference between being 1-1 and 0-2. There’s enough being left to chance in the NPIFL without these kinds of lapses.
Lloyds saw a few players get into the endzone in Tee Higgins (13.1) and Josh Jacobs (14.4), but they came up short in what was ultimately a winnable fixture.
Fans of the DDT are wondering if they will see the ineligble Jaydon Blue start in the flex for a third-straight week, and whether Gittins will make some major changes in the coming days.
It is very unlikely that the Firestorm will be a man short when they take the field against the DDT in Brymbo in Week 3, so that could be a tricky fixture to navigate. Meanwhile, the Leviathans are set to host the Portscatho Padres, and will be in near-desperation mode to avoid going 0-3.
It may not be time to panic for Lloyds fans just yet, but it is almost certainly time to start considering thinking about potentially planning to panic.
Andrasta 
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