The Arizona Rattlers will continue their quest for a third consecutive Arena Football League championship on Sunday when they host the Portland Thunder in the first round of the league playoffs.
Kickoff is at 3 p.m. at US Airways Center.
The Rattlers enter the playoffs on a down note, having lost three of their final four regular-season games, following a 14-0 start to the season. But they still take a 15-3 record into the postseason against the Thunder (5-13) and are unbeaten (9-0) on their home turf.
Quarterback Nick Davila leads the Rattlers into the postseason after leading the Arena league in yards passing (4,778), touchdown passes (127), completion percentage (65.5) and efficiency rating (125.3).
Davila's three favorite receivers -- Rod Windsor, Maurice Purify and Tysson Poots each has exceeded 1,000 receiving yards for the season. Windsor leads the way with 124 catches for 1,685 yards and 44 touchdowns.
The Rattlers played the Thunder three times during the regular season and swept all three, winning 61-32 and 70-59 in Portland and 65-55 in Phoenix on July 20.
The Rattlers are averaging 63.9 points per game, while Portland is scoring only 45.3 per game. Portland quarterback Kyle Rowley has passed for 2,060 yards and 39 touchdowns.
