A game of what could have been. After a long season, the Playoff Bowl (to be known as the Redemption Game from 2022 onwards) pits the losing teams of the Eastern and Western Conference Championship games against each other. Although this game isn’t a championship, it is a high profile league game that does have consequences for ownership and players, in the form of financial incentive. For players, whose salaries are on par with other smaller spring leagues of the past, winning the Playoff Bowl will mean a pretty big bonus to end the year, which should mean both teams will be playing up to their full potential.

The visitors, the Memphis Comets, have been a top team all year, but in the eyes of their fans, they did not live up to their full potential. On paper, the Comets have some of the top talent in the league that almost rivals the Keystones. Unlike the Keystones, the Comets were not the dominant team they could have been. The Comets have one final game to show off how good this team really is, and a win against Pennsylvania would prove that they were legitimate contenders all year.

The Pennsylvania Keystones season ending at the Playoff Bowl is a huge disappointment for them. The Keystones were far and away the most dominant team in the GSL all year. It seemed very realistic that they could finish the regular season undefeated, before the team lost in Baltimore in week 15. It did seem like Pennsylvania was primed for a Gridiron Bowl title entering the playoffs. The Keystones divisional round game was hard fought, and tighter than expected. Going into the Eastern Conference Championship, the Keystones were 13 point favorites, but the offense was shut down until late in the game by the Commanders, and a late interception gave Norfolk the field position for a game winning field goal. So this game will truly be a redemption game for Pennsylvania after last week’s defeat.

On a neutral field, these two teams are almost evenly matched, with Pennsylvania having a slight edge on defense. These two teams matched up in State College, PA in week 5, for what was a great game. We can only hope for something similar Saturday.

Line:                   PEN -2.5
O/U:                   47.5
Win Percentage:  PEN 61.14%

On to the look of the game. The 2021 Playoff Bowl is being held at StateFarm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona this year. For the Comets, that means they just extended their hotel stay another week, as this was also the site of the Western Conference Championship game. The field design was headed up by John Nelson for this game.



The Keystones, as the home team, had first uniform choice, and decided to go with their whiteout alternate uniform, which the team had worn three previous times during the regular season. With the Keystones chosing white, the Comets will be wearing their standard home, black over yellow, uniform set.



The 2021 Playoff Bowl Kicks off at 4:30PM EDT this Saturday, July 24th.

Austin Snelick
July 22, 2021