The 2019 Arena Football League season came to its conclusion last Sunday evening as the Albany Empire defeated the Philadelphia Soul, 45-27. This marked the end of a very fun and fascinating season.

We laughed, we cried, we sacked the Destroyers’ quarterback a bunch of times.

Without further ado, here is the absolutely, positively final “power” ranking for 2019.

1. Albany (10-2, won ArenaBowl): The Empire were the number one team on this list for most of the season and they showed why over the last five weeks of the season. After the loss in Philadelphia which saw them shutout in a quarter for the first time all season, the Empire ran through Columbus to secure home field throughout the playoffs and then beat Philadelphia in the regular season finale. The Empire would face Baltimore and the league’s best defense, but it was Albany’s defense (in particular DB Tevin Homer) that would shine in forcing eight turnovers in their two-game series and taking the series with the largest differential since this playoff format began last season. In the ArenaBowl, the defense continued to set the pace by forcing five turnovers in their win, including three fourth down stops, against Philadelphia. This was a big year for the Empire as they look to become the standard for AFL 3.0.

2. Philadelphia (7-5, lost ArenaBowl): At one point during the season, the Soul were 3-4 and under .500 for the first time in five seasons. But the Soul regained their swagger in the following weeks, winning four of their final five games to finish as the third seed in the playoffs. This included an 11-point win over Albany. The Soul faced Washington in the two-game playoff series and the return of Darius “Money” Reynolds to the receiver position was the difference as they defeated the Valor handily in the first game. The second playoff game was much more competitive, but by then, the Soul’s ticket to the ArenaBowl was punched for the third time in four seasons. In the ArenaBowl, the Soul had several opportunities to steal the game away from Albany, but they could not capitalize on those chances and the prospect of a fourth ArenaBowl championship slipped away. A core group of players on offense and a ballhawk secondary look to be back to contend again in 2020.

3. Washington (7-5, lost in playoff series): To many, the Valor’s 2018 ArenaBowl championship was considered to be a fluke, a one-off. The best remedy to silence their critics was to go back to the playoffs and try to capture another ArenaBowl. The Valor won their final two regular season games, including one over their primary rival Baltimore. By virtue of a win and a Philadelphia loss in Albany in the final week of the regular season, the Valor earned the two seed in the playoffs. Would MVP candidate QB Arvell Nelson lead the Valor back to the ArenaBowl? No; the Valor fell completely flat in the first game of their two-game series against Philadelphia, losing by 36. They put up a better game in the second game, but by then, the series was well in hand for the Soul. Although the Valor didn’t win an ArenaBowl this season, they made a vast improvement from 2018.

4. Baltimore (7-5, lost in playoff series): The Brigade built a reputation of building the best defense in the league during the regular season. They led the league in turnover margin and fumble recoveries and finished tied for first in interceptions and fumble return touchdowns. DB Joe Powell had seven interceptions, three return touchdowns, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Baltimore would be guaranteed a four seed with Washington beating Columbus in the final week of the regular season. The Brigade would draw Albany in a match that pitted the league’s best defense against the league’s best offense. What we didn’t know was how good Albany’s defense was against Baltimore’s offense. The Brigade were lit up on both sides of the ball in their playoff series as inconsistencies and injuries on offense became evident during the playoffs. If they were fully healthy, this would have been a different result. Regardless, the Brigade have plenty to build on next season.

5. Atlantic City (4-8, missed playoffs): Entering Week 11 of the regular season, the Blackjacks had an outside shot at making the playoffs after upsetting the Valor in Washington in Week 10. Would an upset of Philadelphia keep their chances alive? Atlantic City went up by one with less than a minute to go as QB Warren Smith fought off a twisted ankle to bring the Blackjacks within 38 seconds of a victory. But they left too much time for the Soul as the Blackjacks were officially eliminated from playoff contention. In Week 13, they faced their budding rivals Baltimore in a hard-hitting defensive struggle by both teams. However, the Blackjacks were forced to start two inexperienced quarterbacks and AC would lose by seven. The Blackjacks had a successful year in terms of fanbase building and they hope the momentum off the field will carry onto the field.

6. Columbus (1-11, missed playoffs): Entering the final two weeks of the season, the Destroyers had the chance to play spoiler against two playoff teams and wash away the forgettable performance against Baltimore in Week 10. The first team was Albany in Week 12 and similar to the previous game, the Destroyers got off to a nightmarish start in falling behind by double digits. Adding insult to injury, their star WR Fabian Guerra was ejected in the second quarter after a fight. The Destroyers would suffer another big loss and not get to 20 points. Prior to Week 13, they signed veteran QB Kyle Rowley and he stood tough in the pocket against a relentless Washington pass rush. The Destroyers nearly pulled off the upset as Rowley threw for five touchdowns. Although they couldn’t pull off the upset, they did offer some hope of what may come in their return next season.

Ryan McCarthy has been an on-and-off Internet columnist and blogger since 1997. He has been an avid follower of Arena Football since 1990 when the Albany Firebirds were established. Ryan currently attends Regent University, where he is pursuing his Bachelors degree in Communications with a Journalism concentration. He anticipates graduating toward the end of 2019. You can follow Ryan on Twitter at @rwhoisryanmcc