June 6, 2025
By Alex Rubin
The most notable rivalry in the UFA opens another chapter on Friday when the New York Empire travel south to take on the DC Breeze. Representing the East Division at every Championship Weekend since 2017, the battles between the Empire and Breeze are legendary, often coming down to the final moments of the game.
Some notable chapters of this storied rivalry include New York’s playoff wins in 2018, 2022, and 2023. The Empire have had the overall upper hand in this matchup, currently leading the series 17-13, but DC swept the regular-season series in 2024 and made it to Championship Weekend.
While New York has the historical edge, and DC has the recent advantage, this year it’s anyone’s game. Both teams are hovering around .500 and have looked subpar compared to the lofty standards set over the last few seasons. Both teams lost to Montreal–the team widely expected to finish last in a stacked East Division–over the last two weeks, and the loser of this game is staring at a losing record halfway through the season. That’s a remarkable sentence to write for two of the most successful franchises of the last half decade. For a midseason, regular season game, the stakes feel high as both teams try to turn their seasons around.
The Breeze will get a boost from Aidan Downey debut. Downey played eight games in recent seasons for the Atlanta Hustle, and just finished up a storied college career at the University of Georgia. His rangy throwing ability could blend in well on the small-ball heavy Breeze O-line or on the point-and-shoot D-line. With franchise mainstays David Bloodgood and Christian Boxley out for this game, Downey’s impact will surely be felt.
On the other sideline, New York’s Jack Williams in the lineup, but it is unclear what kind of impact he will have on the game. Last week, Williams suited up for the Empire D-line rather than his customary role on offense. With Calvin Brown doubtful to play, New York could be missing two crucial and creative players on an offensive line that has struggled to replicate the successes of 2022’s and 2023’s perfect seasons in the open field. Brown is third in the league in total yards despite having played in just five of the Empire’s seven games to this point.
That being all said, the Empire’s offense is still pretty good. New York is leading the league with an 88 percent red zone conversion percent. Ben Jagt is leading the league in goals, overall plus/minus, and receiving yards as he makes a case for another MVP trophy. With more question marks than usual surrounding the team, a throwback Jagt MVP performance would certainly be welcomed by the Empire as they look to extend their series lead over DC, continue to push for a playoff spot, and turn their season around.
As if this one game was not exciting enough, these teams face off again next week too in New York. You can watch this week’s game on the UFA YouTube channel.
