There is no bigger game on the schedule for the 2022 season than the one that will be played Saturday night when the No.1 ranked Seattle Thunder travel to the Windy City to battle the No.3 ranked Chicago Blitz at BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, IL.
KK Matheny and her Thunder have impressed the oddsmakers being a 6.5pt favorite as a road team, which basically means this roster has sent its message with its dominating season-opening performance vs the Denver Rush. The unsung hero this season for Seattle has to be their stud running back Janetra Gleaves who had her break-through game vs Denver, however, Gleaves will face a far more physical and attacking defense in the Chicago Blitz.
Outside of Gleaves, watch for Seattle’s two-headed offensive monster in running back Dominique Malloy who possesses home-run speed, and wide receiver Kiarra Williams who is KK Matheny’s favorite target because of her sure hands.
Defensively, Seattle can be exposed, especially against the run, the Thunder defense struggled in containing Denver Quarterback Jessica Poole as well as being caught out of position with misdirection plays.
Chicago will be led by its No.1 ranked defense as most suspected coming into this season. Middle linebacker Krista Kampa leads Chicago’s No.1 ranked defense alongside secondary leader LaBrenthia Murdock. Whether the Blitz can upset Seattle will rest with the performance of its offense which struggled in its season-opener. The Chicago offense lacks weapons but has steady contributors headlined by running back Javell Thompson who is 2nd in the league in rushing with a very impressive 9-yard per carry average. On the outside Quarterback, Stephanie Raymond will look to wide receiver Tamika Robinson who comes into the game ranked 3rd amongst all-receivers with 5 receptions and 2 touchdowns.
There will be serious playoff implications going into Saturday night, whomever wins will clinch a playoff spot. If Chicago wins, they will advance in all likelihood as the No.2 or No. 3 seed. If Chicago losses, they will have to watch the scoreboard next week when Los Angeles lines up against the Mexico National Team, if Los Angeles wins and beats Chicago’s point differential, the Black Storm would edge out Chicago.
If Seattle wins, they will be more than likely the No.1 seed with a better point differential than the Atlanta Empire. If Seattle loses, they still are expected to advance to the big dance simply because of their current and rather impressive +57 point differential.
Buckle in if you are an X League fan; this could easily be the ‘Game of the Year’.
Rankings: No.1 Seattle Thunder vs No.3 Chicago Blitz
Injuries: None.
Betting Line: Seattle -6.5pts
Score Prediction: Seattle 35 Chicago 31
Where: BMO Harris Bank Center
Time: 8pmET Kickoff
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