Week 3 Game Preview vs Oregon

APR 22, 2026 · Alex Pause

Week 3 Game Preview vs Oregon

This Saturday, the Albany Firebirds (2-0) go across the country to visit the Oregon Lightning (1-0) for a 9pm eastern kickoff. This is the first time that the two teams have met ever in the league so there will be a lot of fresh faces to each other. The game is primed to be great with both quarterbacks, Joshua Kulka and Dalton Cole, leading high-flying offenses for each team.

The Firebirds are coming off a dominant win in Beaumont with a final of 55-27. Quarterback Joshua Kulka was on fire this past Saturday racking up 281 yards, and 6 touchdown passes earning himself AF1 Co-Offensive player of the week with his brother Tyler Kulka of the Kats. Kulka was in tune with receivers Tyrese Chambers and Darrien Townsend, both with 3 total touchdowns this past weekend. He will look to continue the recent success and grow his league lead in passing touchdowns, facing a challenging test with the Lightning.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Firebirds have looked electric through the first two weeks after allowing 23 and 27 points in the game respectively. Linebacker Drew Singleton is coming off of a monster performance against the Renegades where he had 8 total tackles as well as 2 interceptions and a sack in the stellar performance that would earn him AF1 Defensive Player of the week honors. The rest of the defense added another 7 sacks as a team and the unit will look to stay in form this weekend in Oregon.

After a strong 33-16 victory over the Washington Wolfpack, the Lightning look to continue their defensive success that they saw against Washington. Oregon was able to rack up 7 sacks through the game and also had a defensive touchdown in the first half to set the tone against the Wolfpack. The Lightning are also led by the lefty quarterback Dalton Cole who led the league in passing yards for the 2025 season. With a strong defense and an experienced quarterback, the Lightning are looking to play spoiler to the Firebirds and get rid of aspirations for another perfect season.