AAF Week 5 Betting Preview & Picks

We’re at the midpoint of the inaugural season for the Alliance of American Football, as we have hit Week 5 of the 10-game regular season slate. Orlando leads the East Division and is the league’s lone remaining unbeaten team, at 3-0. Birmingham is a game behind them in the East with a 3-1 record. Atlanta and Memphis round out the division with 1-3 records. The West has three 2-2 teams at the top: Arizona, San Antonio and San Diego, with Salt Lake City trailing at 1-3. We have the AAF Week 5 schedule and our own AAF betting notions about each matchup.

AAF Week 5 Betting Preview & Picks

The top 5 touchdowns from Week 4️⃣! #JoinTheAlliance pic.twitter.com/hSWb0yBZf0

— The Alliance (@TheAAF) 7 de marzo de 2019

Saturday, March 9

Orlando Apollos at Birmingham Iron (2:00pm ET, TNT / fuboTV)

The 4-0 Apollos and the 3-1 Iron tangle in Alabama this week. Orlando won at Salt Lake City in a snowy game a week ago, and one reason why it is so difficult to game plan for Orlando is that coach Steve Spurrier mixes up schemes from one week to the next, not showing anything consistently. It helps that Orlando has the best quarterback in the league in Garrett Gilbert and the best wide receiver in Charles Johnson. Birmingham only lost last week by a single point, with the final score 12-11. The offense, as we can see, is struggling, thanks to the slow decision-making process that quarterback Luis Perez shows. The defense, though, is stout, particularly in the red zone, as the Iron have only permitted a single touchdown in six situations when the opposition has had goal-to-go. With the Apollos coming, though, they need to open up the offense. AAF Week 5 Prediction: Orlando 23, Birmingham 18

Salt Lake City Stallions at San Diego Fleet (8:00pm ET, NFL Network / fuboTV)

San Diego is in trouble, as they lost quarterback Philip Nelson to a fractured clavicle in the first half last Saturday and will miss at least a month, if not more, so basically the balance of the regular season is gone. This means that Mike Bercovici, who started in the opener, will need to do more on offense. Salt Lake City has just one win, but they lost to Orlando and Birmingham by an average of six points, with both games ending up close. Four of their next six games, though, are in the West, which isn’t nearly as good as those two teams. The fact that San Diego has to go back to Bercovici should give the Stallions an advantage. AAF Week 5 Prediction: Salt Lake City 18, San Diego 13

Sunday, March 10

Memphis Express at Atlanta Legends (4:00pm ET, CBS Sports / fuboTV)

The dregs of the league, at least in terms of standings, meet in Atlanta this weekend. Memphis finally picked up a win last week, and Zach Mettenberger showed confidence in moving the offense. The defense created four takeaways last week, and there is room in the East standings for Memphis to make some noise. Atlanta looked good against Arizona, thanks in part to Aaron Murray’s scrambling, and in part to the play of Tyson Graham, coming up from his safety position to deliver big hits in run support. Can Atlanta pull off the same this week? It’s hard to see the Legends keeping up with Mettenberger. AAF Week 5 Prediction: Memphis 27, Atlanta 16

San Antonio Commanders at Arizona Hotshots (8:00pm ET, NFL Network / fuboTV)

San Antonio has put together two quality wins, and their loss to Orlando was certainly excusable, as no one else has stopped the Apollos either. However, that loss at San Diego by 20 points hurt. When the Commanders run into a team that can play offense well, they have a hard time — but can Arizona challenge them at all with their ball movement? Arizona started off the season 2-0 but has now fallen to .500, and their worst game might have come last week, when they simply looked disoriented. Their defense permitted four plays of at least 30 yards to the Legends, and that offense had come into the game ranked dead last in the AAF in terms of points per game. The Hotshots could not stop Aaron Murray from scrambling — and the offense that produced 38 points in the opener but only could muster 11 points last week. AAF Week 5 Prediction: San Antonio 23, Arizona 19