Sep 11th, 2022 00:00, by Tim Hanswillemenke

The Battle for Klagenfurt – Dragons at Vikings TODAY

Who will clinch a spot in the 2022 Championship Game of the European League of Football?

© Hannes Jirgal

Sep 11th, 2022 00:00, by Tim Hanswillemenke

The Battle for Klagenfurt – Dragons at Vikings TODAY

Who will clinch a spot in the 2022 Championship Game of the European League of Football?

The 2022 regular season is over, and four teams have advanced to the postseason. The Raiders Tirol will travel to the Hamburg Sea Devils to playoff-round on Saturday. 

The second matchup of the postseason will go down in Vienna, Austria. The Vikings will host the Barcelona Dragons for their third matchup in 2022 on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. 

Will the Vikings win over the Dragons once again or are the Dragons going to their first ever European League of Football Championship Game?

Offensive firepower  

Both teams have played incredible regular season. Players like Dragons wide receiver Kyle Sweet or Austrian running back Anton Wegan wowed fans around Europe. 

The Barcelona Dragons are coming into this game with one of the best QB-WR tandems in the league. Quarterback Zach Edwards leads the league in passing yards (3325) and passing touchdowns (36) while throwing ten interceptions. With those marks, Edwards used the two additional regular season games in 2022 to put up over 800 more passing yards compared to the 2021 season. 

Alongside Edwards, American wide receiver Kyle Sweet is poised to break out against the Vikings once again. He led all wide receivers in the European League of Football in 2022 in touchdown catches (17), receiving yards (1561), and receptions (115). Against the Vikings, Sweet put up 132,5 receiving yards per game. He also caught a total of three touchdowns in only two games against the Austrian franchise. 

The Vikings will try to win against the Dragons for a third straight time this year. Leading the Austrian franchise, quarterback Jackson Erdmann will be ready to leave his mark on the game. With 597 passing yards and five passing touchdowns, the gunslinger looks to find his way through the Spanish defense. 

With Erdmann, one of the most talented running backs in Europe takes the field in Anton Wegan. The 29-year-old halfback looks to cash in once again on running downs as he did against the Dragons in the last two matchups. With almost 200 rushing yards and one touchdown against the Spanish franchise, the Dragons have to account for a heavy running attack. 

Most important matchups and keys to the game

WR Kyle Sweet vs. Vikings defensive backfield  

As already mentioned, wide receiver Sweet could be in line for a heavy workload on Sunday against the Vikings. But do not underestimate the Vikings defensive backfield. 

Cornerback Nikolaus Huszar and safeties like Exavier Edwards and Luis Horvath will try to put their best foot forward in defending the Dragons passing attack. 

But will the Vikings defensive backfield be able to stop the 2022 triple-crown wide receiver?

QB Erdmann vs. Dragons pass rush  

Quarterback Jackson Erdmann is like every other quarterback. Facing pressure usually leads to making mistakes. And the Dragons can surely get to the quarterback on every passing down. 

Former NFL player Michael Sam and youngster defensive end Alejandro Fernández combined for 24,5 sacks over the 2022 regular season, the most by any pass-rush duo. An astonishing 15,5 of those sacks were recorded by Fernández alone with which he ranked second right after 2021 Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Kitchens (16). 

With two pass rushers in the top five of the league’s sack leaders in 2022, the Dragons will look to disrupt the Erdmann’s timing and drop him for a loss of downs as often as possible. 

K Tavecchio vs. K Herz

Both matchups between the Dragons and the Vikings came down tot he wire. Their first matchup ended with a last second touchdown by the Vikings with a final score of 27 – 20 in Week 6. They latest game ended with a point difference of six points as the final score stood at 24 – 18 favoring the Austrian franchise. 

With that being said, the kickers will be tremendously important in this matchup to cash in on extra points and field goals. 

Former NFL player Giorgio Tavecchio looks to be the better kicker compared to the 29-year-old Austrian kicker Oskar Herz. However, both players produced on a high level this season. 

Tavecchio made nine out of 16 attempted field goals and 39 out of 46 attempted extra points. In comparison, Herz made just four out of his nine attempted field goals and nine out of his twelve attempted extra points. 

However, Herz and his teammate Dennis Tasic took over the kicking duties from punter Sebastian Daum who started the season as the Vikings kicker next to his punting duties. 

Long story short, the kicking game and special teams in general will be a huge factor in this game. Look out for made field goals and extra points when it counts!  

Who will come out on top on Sunday and make his way to the European League of Football championship game at the 28 Black Arena in Klagenfurt? Tune in at 2:45 pm via the Game Pass or other available outlets. 

Get your tickets for the playoffs and the 2022 Championship Game HERE! 

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