July 25, 2026
By Adam Ruffner

Following a pair of overtime finishes and split results from their first two meetings of the season, the New York Empire prevailed 23-15 over the DC Breeze in the first round of the East Division playoffs. The Breeze got the better of the Empire in their 2025 opening round playoff matchup, but could not create any kind of consistent pressure today against the New York offense. 

New York will advance to face the reigning UFA champion Boston Glory in the divisional championship game on August 8. The Empire and Glory also split their first two meetings of the 2026 campaign.

As the number one unit in the league all season, the Empire O-line continued their historically efficient run of play. New York did not surrender a break throughout the entire first half, and held on 15-of-17 (88 percent) of their offensive points. Daan De Marrée and Alex Atkins both finished with standout stat lines, but most importantly the two superstars combined for just one turnover; the Empire are yielding the fewest turnovers per game in league history in 2026, and had just 13 total turnovers against DC; De Marrée finished with the 14th most productive receiving performance of the season so far, according to Shown Space.

In contrast, the Breeze offense struggled to find flow for more than a few drives at a time, with the New York defense continually disrupting lane passes and underneath throws. The Empire finished with 12 blocks on the game, nearly equaling their takeaway total (14) from their first two encounters with the Breeze combined. DC entered the game fourth in red zone efficiency (86 percent), but converted just 15-of-21 (71 percent) against New York. John Randolph was once again an active irritant in coverage and on the counterattack, and notched his first multi-block game since June 5. 

New York has now ended DC’s season in three of the past five postseasons.