May 14, 2026
By Sam Weiger
Week 4 brings the biggest slate of must-see games so far this season. New York tops the headlines, with a massive Alex Atkins revenge game. Meanwhile, both Colorado and Minnesota are navigating demanding doubleheaders, and the first “battle for California” of the year takes place as Oakland and San Diego renew their rivalry.
Colorado Apex at DC Breeze | Friday Night Frisbee
Friday, May 15 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link
Even though the Apex are only 1-2, and there's plenty more regular season left, losses to DC and New York would send Colorado to a 1-4 record that feels insurmountable after seeing the level of the three teams ahead of them in the West Division.
If the Apex want to avoid that fate, they'll need to clean up the throwaways that have plagued them so far against tough competition this season. The O-line has appeared hurried, often opting for aggressive or impatient plays and throwing floaters instead of taking the time to scan the field and weigh their options.
Continuing on this trajectory is a gamble the Apex can't afford, especially against a Breeze defense notorious for forcing turnovers. In a high-stakes matchup like this, Colorado desperately needs one of their facilitators to have an Austin Taylor or Allan Laviolette-esque game, where they efficiently command the field like a true MVP-caliber QB1.
Among active players, 21-year-old Timothy Elliott is the closest fit for that role. Coming off a strong performance against Salt Lake—where he racked up six assists, 46 completions, and 416 throwing yards—Elliott is showing his potential. While he hasn't reached the level of a Taylor or Laviolette just yet, the Apex are betting on this brand of young, raw talent to deliver definitive breakout games.
DC is also starting to find its new offensive identity; they’re riding the momentum of a season-best offensive showing. They just set new season-high marks for completion rate (95 percent), hold rate (70 percent), and red zone conversion rate (86 percent). It is now clear that AJ Merriman and Jacques Nissen are becoming the anchors of this unit; Merriman, in particular, has emerged as the workhorse DC leans on when they need maximum star power in critical moments against elite opponents.
But those aren't the primary players on my radar for this matchup. In a matchup where DC is the clear favorite, my focus shifts to Miles Grovic and Gabe Dowd, both of whom are coming off career-best performances in DC’s thrilling double-overtime victory against New York.
Grovic, in particular, flashed immense offensive potential; he terrorized the Empire defense as a handler and cutter, delivering clutch plays when the pressure was highest. Interestingly, this was his first time in a four-year tenure with the Breeze playing the majority of his points on the O-line. After that showing, the burning question is whether he’s earned himself another game on the O-line.
Dowd may be more one-dimensional, but his knack for finding space in the end zone has become a problem for opponents. Averaging 4.5 goals per game since his UFA debut, his pure speed left an elite New York defense scrambling. I’ll be watching closely to see if Dowd continues his trend and overwhelms the Apex D-line.
One Big Number:
7.5 - In Week 3, Grovic led the Breeze with a Total Adjusted Expected Contribution (Tot-aEC) of 7.5 against the Empire.
30 - The Apex have surrendered at least 30 turnovers in both of their games against playoff-caliber opponents. They never reached 30 turns in their first three years in the league.
Minnesota Wind Chill at Indianapolis AlleyCats
Friday, May 15 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link
While the Indianapolis AlleyCats have clearly leveled up since last season, their loss to the Madison Radicals last week sparked some early concerns that could linger into their Friday night matchup against the Wind Chill.
Both their O-line and D-line struggled offensively, and that will need to be corrected if they’re going to stand a chance against Minnesota's elite defense on Friday.
The ‘Cats struggled with efficiency against Madison, posting a lackluster 90 percent completion rate, and Jake Felton’s performance was particularly worrying; he seemed to carry over some of the same tendencies that plagued his tenure with the Mechanix.
While Felton had some bright spots against the Radicals, including converting all three of his huck attempts, he also fell back into old habits with an ill-advised full-field laser. These overaggressive throws have historically cost him, and they could be problematic against a Wind Chill defense that has consistently neutralized the huck in recent years. Felton also surrendered possession with some telegraphed throws, finishing with an 86 percent completion rate.
Will Wettengel was a bright spot for Indy, shining in his first-ever hybrid workhorse role. It was also his first game functioning primarily as an O-line piece in his four-year UFA career, and he racked up seven assists, converting all three of his huck attempts, and totaling nearly 600 yards. What made him truly stand out was the precision of his deep throws and his explosiveness as a receiver, two dimensions of his game that we could continue to see plenty of against the Wind Chill.
Minnesota's defensive numbers in their opener speak for themselves, they held Chicago’s O-line to a 25 percent conversion rate, a 71 percent red zone conversion rate finished first in blocks, and held the Union to just 12 goals. As long as the majority of their core group of defensive standouts—Justin Burnett, Paul Krenik, Dylan DeClerck, Noah Hanson, and Lukas Ambrose—are on the field, this game will ultimately be decided by how well Indy's offense can execute.
One Big Number:
48.47 - No team in the UFA has defended the huck more effectively than the Wind Chill since the start of 2025, holding opponents to a completion rate of just 48.47 percent on deep throws.
59.04 - Regression is due for Felton, who completed just 59.04 percent of his league-leading 83 huck attempts in 2025.
Colorado Apex at New York Empire | Game of the Week
Saturday, May 16 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link
With Daan De Marrée sidelined, Alex Atkins has stepped into the spotlight and made it his own, and the attention on him will only intensify in the Week 4 Game of the Week, as he faces his former Colorado squad for the first time.
For three seasons, Atkins was one of the first names on everyone's mind when the Apex took the field, one of the greatest players to ever wear a Colorado uniform. Now, in what figures to be his only reunion with his former team this year, he gets one of the most anticipated revenge games on the 2026 calendar.
Atkins was the centerpiece of so many Apex games, and the numbers back it up: he remains Colorado's franchise leader in completions with 1,423, surpassing 40 in 17 career games and eclipsing 60 in seven of them. Another 60-completion performance feels unlikely on Saturday, but hitting 40 is well within reach, as it's hard to imagine Head Coach Anthony Nuñez keeping him on a short leash against his former team. The only bitter footnote: Apex star Quinn Finer won't be out there to line up against his close friend and former teammate.
The Apex take a major hit this weekend with Finer remaining sidelined by a hamstring injury until at least late May. Not having him against New York is devastating; even without De Marrée in the lineup for Week 4, the Empire’s offense has looked elite.
The Apex will need offensive contributions across the board, and Benen Shea and rookie Ben Harris are two players worth watching. Both turned in career-best performances against Salt Lake, with Shea posting a career-high 306 receiving yards and Harris logging a career-high plus/minus of +6.
Defensively, Colorado has shown glimpses of promise this season, with players like Hunter May and Harris keeping the Apex competitive early in games with their explosive playmaking. New York's offense appeared disjointed at times against DC, particularly in the early going, so Colorado may look to capitalize by coming out with an aggressive approach.
One Big Number:
7 - This season, Atkins leads the Empire in seven key categories: total scores, assists, plus/minus, completions, throwing yards, receiving yards, and hucks.
64.2 - Last season, Finer was the unquestioned engine of Colorado's offense: his Total Adjusted Expected Contribution (Tot-aEC) of 64.2 led the Apex by a wide margin. The large gap between Finer and his teammates makes a strong case that he was the most indispensable player on the roster.
Minnesota Wind Chill at Chicago Union
Saturday, May 16 - 7:00 PM/ET - Watch link
Minnesota closes out their road doubleheader against their biggest rival, the Chicago Union, who are seeking to settle the score after being thoroughly dismantled 22-12 in Week 2. The question is whether Chicago can make this one a real contest.
The early indicators aren't promising. In their season opener against Minnesota, the Union committed 26 turnovers and posted a 91 percent completion rate, numbers that raise serious red flags for an offense already navigating significant turnover. Several of last year's primary facilitators, including De Marrée, Xavier Payne, and Brandon Van Deusen, are no longer in the fold, and with Pawel Janas and Jack Shanahan also sitting out the opener, Chicago's handler corps looked stretched thin and undermanned.
How Union Head Coach Charlie Furse deploys his handler corps on Saturday will be one of the most important storylines to watch.
Could Janas shift back to the O-line and take on a larger role in his return? The all-time UFA assists leader took on a drastically reduced offensive role in 2025, spending most of his time on the D-line and finishing with just 196 completions, a staggering drop from his career average of roughly 705 per season over his previous seven years.
Shanahan, who led Chicago with 41 assists in 2024 before the Union's transformative offseason influx of talent, figures to be another central figure this weekend in his season debut. His second-place finish in Tot-aEC among Union players in 2024 is a reminder of just how much he moves the needle when given the opportunity.
On the Minnesota side, Noah Coolman is worth keeping a close eye on offensively. Despite splitting time between the O-line and D-line in Week 1, he still led the Wind Chill in assists, throwing yards, and hucks. The same goes for Max Hanscom, who made an immediate impression in his O-line debut, causing all kinds of problems for the Union using his size and explosiveness in the red zone.
One Big Number:
46.3 - Coolman was Minnesota's most impactful player in their opener, posting a team-high Player Impact per Possession (PI-P) rating of 46.3.
30 - The Union finished with a hold rate of 30 percent in their season opener, their lowest hold rate since July 2023 against Minnesota.
Carolina Flyers at Atlanta Hustle
Saturday, May 16 - 7:30 PM/ET - Watch link
If the first few weeks are any indication, the bitter rivalry between the Flyers and the Hustle could be headed for a major shift in dynamic.
Unlike last year’s dismal 0-4 start, the Flyers are surging at 3-0 and are fresh off their most explosive scoring performance in five years (31 goals vs. Philadelphia. This resurgence is driven by a new wave of impact players—Jacob Louie, Walker Matthews, and Elijah Long —who were either absent or less impactful last season. They still haven’t even introduced their two biggest offseason additions: Tobias Brooks and Zeke Thoreson.
The Hustle's O-line, despite its perceived depth entering the 2025 season, has looked uncharacteristically shaky. Their recent loss to San Diego exposed a stagnant offense, and with high-impact players like Will Selfridge, Brett Hulsmeyer, and Jeremy Langdon listed as dressed, the team’s depth will be pushed if any of those stars remain on the sideline.
Control has once again been the name of the game for the Flyers, who lead the league in touches with the fourth-highest completion average (287.67 per game). Look for them to lean into this high-volume passing game against the Hustle, particularly if Atlanta’s shorthanded roster struggles offensively. The Flyers implemented this strategy incredibly well against the Hustle in the playoffs two years ago, attempting 320 passes and playing keepaway for a big chunk of the fourth quarter.
Saturday kicks off a remarkable stretch, with three meetings between these two teams in three consecutive weeks, so both coaching staffs might experiment with their line configurations more than usual in this game, particularly on Atlanta's side given the potential absences. Does Adam Miller reclaim a full-time role on the O-line? And could we get a workhorse outing from Hayden Austin-Knab, who trails only Taylor among all Hustle players in Tot-aEC?
One Big Number:
48 – The Hustle finished with an O-line conversion rate of 48 percent last week. It marked just the third game since the 2023 season that Atlanta has finished with an O-line conversion rate under 50 percent.
11.4 – Louie, who has quietly put together one of the more impressive debut seasons in the league, currently sits tied atop the Flyers' Tot-aEC leaderboard at 11.4.
San Diego Growlers at Oakland Spiders
Sunday, May 16 - 6:00 PM/ET - Watch link
The Growlers are coming off of what is arguably their most significant victory since 2021—a gritty 16–15 upset over Atlanta in Week 3. It is the ideal time to score a win of this magnitude as they prepare to face the red-hot Oakland Spiders.
Oakland entered 2026 with expectations for a breakout year, and they have delivered on that promise. They finally cleared their most formidable hurdle in Week 2, dismantling Salt Lake in a convincing blowout, and backed that impressive performance up with another dominant win against Seattle last week.
The Spiders lead the league in goals per game (27.25) and are second in blocks per game (14), and everyone is getting involved. 14 players have completed a huck, and 21 players have recorded a block, and both of these marks are atop the league right now.
As balanced as Oakland's O-line was expected to be, the reality has exceeded preseason projections. The assumption heading into 2026 was that Walker Frankenberg, Jason Vallee, Leo Gordon, Adam Rees, and Dexter Clyburn would anchor the unit. All six of them have been impactful, but the depth behind them has been the real story.
Daniel Ritthaler has emerged as one of the O-line's primary facilitators, with Evan Magsig shifted to the D-line. Ritthaler has completed 96.8 percent of his 121 throws and leads the team with 852 throwing yards. Meanwhile, Chandler Boyd-Fliegel and Dillon Whited, two players who had little to no UFA experience coming into this season, have quickly become legitimate contributors on the O-line.
The matchup to watch features Oakland’s O-line and Growlers' near-full-strength D-line, fresh off an impressive performance holding Atlanta’s high-octane offense to just 15 goals last week.
Max Gibson was a true difference-maker against Atlanta, leveraging his 6’5” frame to command the air on defense. As San Diego’s top D-liner, his value extends beyond lockdown coverage; he is a catalyst for their break opportunities. Gibson’s unique blend of height and versatility has historically haunted Oakland.
Another San Diego defender to watch is Max Combs, who has seamlessly carried his elite form over from last season. His quick hands and exceptional anticipation will help him match up well against the fast-paced offensive play of the Spiders.
One Big Number:
10 - Oakland leads the UFA with 10 players who have reached double-digit total scores (assists + goals) this season, three more than Atlanta's seven (both teams have played four games).
3 - In his last two games where he logged heavier D-line minutes against the Spiders, Gibson recorded three blocks in each.
