It was a wild weekend in the NPIFL, and with Week 3 now in the books, eight of the 12 franchises stand at 1-2. Many managers will find comfort in that, for the climb to the playoff spots is a short one and it feels like the mistakes of the opening weeks can be swiftly erased.
Statement wins came in the form of Nixon it Up and the Brymbo Originals, who once again put up huge numbers; they now tower malevolently over the more inconsistent teams at this early stage. We also saw the St. Lewis Rams and Lloyds Leviathans finally get off the mark and record their first wins of the season, and both will be much happier with the NPIFL landscape entering Week 4.
Before we get to Nathan’s Pix, Best Bench of the Week and the roundup, it has been brought to our attention that there is a large Christian following in Andrasta’s readership. As such, we wanted to share a snippet of the hymn “Make me a Channel of your Peace” to promote love and kindness in what is a politically tumultuous time across the world:
Daily Prayer
“Make me a channel of your peace,
where there’s despair in life let me bring hope,
where there is darkness, only light,
and where there’s sadness, ever joy.”
Nathan’s Pix & Best Bench of the Week
Andrasta needs to announce a correction, as there was an error writing up Nathan’s Pix last week. We had him down as 2-4, when he actually went 1-5. Andrasta apologizes for this mistake and any inconvenience or distress it may have caused.
Week 3 saw Nathan go an unprecedented 5-1, and taking a few underdogs pushed the O’s HC to his best-ever weekly total. This brings him up to a much healthier 10-8 on the season, and a 55-59 all-time record.
As for the BBOTW, Nixon it Up will be happy to relinquish the award after winning it in the opening two weeks, and in Week 3 Jordan’s Scary Team took it home with 69.02 points. Now, let’s get to it.
Originals (3-0) 164.28 – 135.52 Santos (1-2)
The Brymbo Originals continued their blistering start to the 2025 NPIFL season, and in Week 3 they took down Santos via another big score. The O’s are the first team in the league to cross 500 points and lead the NPIFL with 508.82 points scored.
The O’s got off to a hot start on Sunday, and this one felt all over early due to a huge day of offense from Jonathan Taylor; the Colts RB registered 31.3 points via 3 TDs and 102 rushing yards.
A good day from Christian McCaffery (19) combined nicely with solid outings from Keenan Allen (16), Davante Adams (14.1), DK Metcalf (11.7) and the Commanders D. Without JT skyrocketing, this could have gone a different way, but even a commendable resurgence from Santos on Monday night wasn’t enough.
Santos saw Josh Allen be his standard 20+ point self (23.02), while David Montgomery exploded for 28.9 points on MNF (his 2 TDs and 151 rushing yards were a real highlight). Honourable mentions for Santos were the Seahawks D (15.0) and Cameron “Dicker the Kicker” (12).
A worry for Santos coach Chris Faulkner is future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry. While the 31-year-old seems to be very much still at the peak of his powers, his three fumbles in the past three games have come at crucial times.
If Henry continues to struggle with ball security, there are some concerns he could end up exiting the NFL in the same way as Melvin Gordon.
Faulkner shared his thoughts exclusively with Andrasta, and was upbeat about the future:
“Glad to see an improvement after last week, but we came up against a team running hot. We’ll be looking ahead to a few wins in the coming weeks as not everyone will have Jonathan Taylor running in three TDs every week.”
O’s HC Nathan Adams called Andrasta to share his thoughts after no one from the media turned up to his press conference:
“Overwhelmed with the effort from the lads we really are making a statement this season, Faulkner is a tough competitor but we were just too strong onwards to our next match up”
Week 4 will see Santos hope to face fewer points against Jordan’s Scary Team, who appear to be amid an offensive slump. Meanwhile, the O’s will look to continue their dominance against a San Wrexham team that looks a little low on confidence.
69ers (1-2) 112.06 – 173.22 NIU (3-0)
Another team in red hot form is Nixon it Up, with the NIU stomping all comers in 2025. What’s been most impressive about this team is just how evenly spread out the points seem to be, with the team always covering for each other in the event of one player having bad day.
Nixon it Up appears to have once again dominated in the draft, with the whole team putting up dependable floors or high ceilings. That was on display here, with Garrett Wilson (19.4) reaching for the stars, while Puka Nacua (17.3), Rome Odunze (13.7) and Bucky Irving (11.9) papered over a 13.42 outing by QB Bo Nix.
The true highlight of this game, however, came from the NIU defense. 44 points from defensive players combined with a mammoth outing from the Vikings D (39!!!), and there’s just no fighting that kind of production.
NIU HC Olly Bailey told Andrasta:
“Coming into the season off the back of last year’s dominance, I knew there’d be eyes on us. The expectation is high, the competition is fierce, and yet here we are sitting at 3–0. The message from me is simple: stay level, stay grounded, and keep Nixon it Up every week.
“This week, our defence absolutely stole the show. The Vikings D/ST putting up nearly forty points was pure madness — performances like that don’t just win games, they set the tone for the whole team. Add in Wilson showing pure class again and James Jr. delivering strong, and you can see the foundation of trust and consistency I’ve been talking about.
“I do take a little pride in toppling Chris once again. But let’s not get carried away. It’s only Week 3. I know every team in this league is coming for me after last year’s run, and I welcome it. We don’t go bloodthirsty, we don’t go hiding, we just keep Nixon it Up: steady, consistent, strong.
“Looking ahead, we’ve got Dan Gittens next, and we respect the challenge. Every game in this league can swing either way, but I believe in the lads, I believe in the staff. Trust, stability, consistency. that’s the Nixon it Up way.
“So, to the fans, to the reporters, and to the rest of the league: let’s go lads. Let’s go Nixon it Up.”
The San Wrexham 69ers didn’t have the best day at the office, putting up the second-worse score in the league in Week 3. Trading Jordan Mason for George Pickens looked a terrible move, given the injury to Aaron Jones, but with CeeDee Lamb suffering a high ankle sprain, it could well pay out.
Pickens (16.3), Nico Collins (18.4) and Quinshon Judkins (16) were the stars of what was an overcast night sky in San Wrexham.
69ers HC Chris Blockley pulled no punches and lambasted his team following the loss:
“I’ve been robbed by my own players, absolute joke the lot of them, seasons a right off, wake me up when September ends.”
September is indeed coming to a close, but Blockley and the 69ers will need to wake up a little earlier if they are to come out on top in Week 4 against the high-flying O’s. Meanwhile, top of the table Nixon it Up is set to welcome the Leviathans, who somehow find themselves in last place after a win.
Firestorm (1-2) 129.62 – 144.66 DDT (2-1)
In what had been touted as a comfortable win (15 point spread via ESPN), the Brymbo Firestorm fell to a spectacular defeat to Dan’s Daring Team. DDT HC Dan Gittins once again made no effort to change his lineup and fielded the ineligible Jaydon Blue, but was somehow able to take home the W.
Brymbo entered the game with an 8-4 all-time record against the DDT, and were heavily expected to win; but that is not how it went down.
The Firestorm never really got going, with poor performances on Thursday setting the tone. A few bright spots included Lamar Jackson (28.02), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (18.1) and the Eagles D (13.0), but other than that, it was very underwhelming.
Firestorm HC John Maxwell was clearly not taking the unexpected defeat well:
“This was the worst defeat in the history of the franchise and potentially all sport. It simply cannot be ignored and cannot happen again.
“To lose to a team this badly managed has sent shockwaves throughout the organization; it was clearly a message from God, and we at the Firestorm have wasted no time translating it – we need to get right with Him as a matter of urgency.
“Our focus in the build-up to Week 3 will be bible study and rebuilding our faith. If God created the world in seven days, he can get us a victory in that timeframe easily. We now understand that victory comes only through Him, and we aim to bring his divine retribution to the heretical Padres in Week 4.”
The DDT got the win on the back of four performances, with Kyren Williams (18.2), Amon-Ra St. Brown (17.2), kicker Chase McLaughlin (20) and Mark Andrews (24.1) exploding into form.
This game came down to Lamar Jackson throwing to Mark Andrews late on Monday night, and could easily have gone either way. Andrews had a combined 1.9 points from two games but rained points from a vengeful sky on Monday.
It does, however, seem unlikely that the DDT can continue winning without making widespread changes to the roster, especially with the loss of Mike Evans for probably a few weeks due to a hamstring injury.
The Firestorm are said to be very concerned about the QB situation in Cincinnati, which is hampering the performance of their star WR, No. 1 NPIFL Draft pick Ja’Marr Chase.
Gittins was very proud of his team after the win, perhaps he will be proud enough to take the time to set his lineup going forward? He went into graphic detail (some of which had to be retracted) while speaking to Andrasta:
“I’d like to start with a great thanks to my willpower to keep preserving through tough times. I can’t lie, as a manager I’ve made some mistakes. They are obvious, it’s been suggested that I take a step back, step down if you please from my role as head coach. But I take this on the chin (Gittins then made what can only be described as a vulgar, pornographic reference).
“I don’t mind that there are haters out there, jealous of what I can do (some reporters murmured about what that is – no 2025 pickups, no lineup changes, nothing). I haven’t played a full team and I’m still taking down teams like Brymbo Firestorm who invest countless hours and millions into the team.
“It’s a gift, I’m blessed 🙏. I look forward to the rest of the season fending off the wolves as they try to oust me. We won our own Super Bowl this week. Bring on next week… Weeks 11, 14 & 15 are all that matters. We must stop the tyrants! They must never reach the top!!”
While some might debate as to whether continuous absence and inactivity count as “mistakes” and question the ambitions of Gittins due to his “Super Bowl” comments, but those are conversations for another day.
It remains to be seen if Gittins will have his team ready to play next week when they take on Kelce Smiles. Meanwhile, the Firestorm travel to Portscatho for a high-stakes battle with the Padres that is taking on ecumenical, potentially even divine, proportions.
Leviathans (1-2) 143.22 – 127.98 Padres (1-2)
A perhaps overconfident Portscatho Padres travelled to face the Lloyds Leviathans looking to back up some interesting comments from HC Damen Griffiths ahead of the game. Some have suggested he may have fallen into the trap of looking past the Leviathans, which many would call a rookie error.
The Padres were again hamstrung by poor QB play, which has been a feature of the franchise not just in 2025, but to some degree in recent years too. Portscatho likes to try to find QB value later in the draft, and getting too cute bit them here again with 3.78 points from Michael Penix Jr. This followed a 3.98-point outing from Justin Fields in Week 2.
Jahmyr Gibbs put on a clinic (24.4) for Portscatho and will be disappointed to have come out on the losing side. Meanwhile. Tyreek Hill (13.4) showed some signs of life and Kenneth Walker III’s 17.5 points were a highlight. Brian Burns (12.5) looks an inspired choice at DE, but Portscatho needs a reliable option at QB if they are to win consistently.
Head Padre Damen Griffiths had a video call with Andrasta on Tuesday evening, where he got brutally honest about not just the Leviathans, but quarterback Michael Penix Jr.:
“Sometimes giving a young QB a chance against a weaker team is the right thing to do – ironically it’s clear that Penix doesn’t have the stones for this league. Onto the next one.”
Meanwhile, the Leviathans came away with a much-needed win, as the difference between a 0-3 and 1-2 start is far greater than it looks. While the Levs are now bottom of the NPIFL due to points scored, they will take much heart from not just the win, but the manner of the victory.
A plucky Baker Mayfield led by example (17.72), and he was backed up by a breakout performance from rookie RB Omarion Hampton (21.9) and decent points from T.J. Hockenson (13.4).
Kicker Matt Gay (13) and the Lions defense (12) were complemented by 47.0 points from defenders, with particular note being 14.5 points from T.J. Watt and 10 from Falcons linebacker Kaden Eliss.
HC Tom Lloyd was much more talkative with reporters after the win than he had been in recent weeks, and he told reporters:
“Sharks hunt in silence. Some of the league’s more arrogant managers may brag and boast; but here at the Leviathans, we do all our talking on the pitch – just ask the Padres.”
A big concern for the Leviathans in the coming week is the absence of CeeDee Lamb (expected to miss “at least two games” with a high ankle sprain) and the faltering performance of the Bengals offense; Cincinnati’s woes are causing a sharp decline in targets and numbers for Tee Higgins, and the Levs’ WR room looks rather stark at the moment.
The Leviathans hope to continue winning ways in Week 4, when they take on the PNIFL’s No. 1 seed, Nixon it Up. Meanwhile, the Padres host a Brymbo Firestorm reeling from a shock defeat.
JST (1-2) 122.7 – 141.04 Rams (1-2)
Jordan’s Scary Team has hit something of a wall after an impressive opening week victory over the Firestorm, and have slipped to two defeats since then. Week 3 saw them not quite hit their stride against a Rams team in dire need of a win, and St. Lewis fans were delighted to get their first W of the year out of the way.
QB Jalen Hurts led the way for the Rams, with his 29.04 points coming from an impressive day both passing (226 yards, 3 TDs) and rushing (40 yards, 1 TD). He had some support from De’Von Achane (12.6), D.J. Moore (10.8) and Kenneth Gainwell (9.1).
30.5 points for defensive players helped St. Lewis to victory, with Fred Warner (10) being the main highlight, but the real key was the Steelers D, whose 24 points turned the lock for the “Gateway to the West.”
Rams HC Lewis Done waxed lyrical when speaking to the media:
“The haters gonna hate. The oppo looked less like Air Jordan, more like Grounded Jordan. In all seriousness, this is the first week we’ve come up against a standard score and not some super kicker-led, high-points worldie of a performance.”
Done then turned his attention to his eternal rival, Santos HC Chris Faulkner:
“The fact Santos spent so long worrying about the mighty Rams this week is a worry for his franchise. Maybe if he spent more time looking at his side they’d have won – but who knows. Maybe it was his divided attention with the multi-sports model causing him to lose sight of his side’s main objectives. We live rent free in their heads of haters.”
Meanwhile, the JST had a much-needed big day for WR A.J. Brown (19.9) and Michael Pittman Jr. (16.3), both of whom will be hoping for more of the same in coming weeks. The issue is that other than them, only Trey McBride (12.8), and Bijan Robinson (13.6) were worthy of mention, with QB Justin Herbert having a quiet day (14.6).
Patriots (2-1) 136.22 – 100.86 Kelce Smiles (1-2)
The Old England Patriots have jumped up the table with a solid win over Kelce Smiles in the Chester Derby. The Smiles once again suffered from a kicking issue, with the recently cut Younghoe Koo lining up for HC Chris Ward. This, however, was not really decisive, as the 36-point margin of victory underlined deeper issues on the day.
The Smiles saw James Cook hit the ground running, if you’ll excuse the pun, on Thursday evening. His 19.3 points was the high water mark for Kelce in a week where not much else went right.
Jaylen Waddle flashed brilliance, but his 13.4 points is still a far cry from previous years. The other player to really show up for Kelce was Jake Ferguson (14.7), who looks to be a prime beneficiary of CeeDee Lamb’s injury.
Meanwhile, Drake London had another bad game (8), and has yet to look like a first-round pick. Much of that is to do with the QB situation in Atlanta, and if the Falcons do look to Kirk Cousins, London could explode into form again.
The tide may have turned against Kelce Smiles mostly due to their lack of output, but credit has to go to the Old England Pats for beating them on the day. The Pats may not have been spectacular, but they did a professional job and eased past their rivals.
Drake Maye looked very promising at QB (19.22), while Jordan Mason (23.6) papered over a bad day at the office for Saquon Barkley (7.5). 15 points from the Broncos D and 12 from kicker Harrison Butker were the difference here, as well as the Pats winning the IDP battle 28.5-19.5.
Patriots HC Aminul Hassan told reporters proudly:
“City belongs to the Pats!”
As a point of interest, the all-time record between these two franchises now stands 5-2 in Old England’s favour, and it will be interesting to see how HC Christopher Ward responds to the loss.
Given Ward has a reputation as a man of many hats, one of which includes cosplaying as a slave trader in classical Rome, it would not be a surprise to see him take to the NPIFL trade market to see if he can improve his fortunes.
In the meantime, Ward prepares for a Week 4 battle with a surprisingly resurgent DDT, although if Gittins does not fix his lineup, this time he will certainly be doomed to a defeat. As for the 2-1 Pats, they face the Rams in St. Lewis and will be looking to show the world that they are indeed for real in 2025.
Andrasta 
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