The Fishers Freight will try to snap a five-game losing streak Sunday when they visit the Arizona Rattlers at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
What looked like a breakout season has turned into a fight for survival. The Freight opened 2026 by winning five of their first six games, but haven’t won since a 53-31 victory at Iowa on April 25. At 5-6, Fishers sits below .500 with five games left and little margin for error in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
The frustrating part for head coach and fans alike: this streak could easily look different. Four of the five losses came by a combined 11 points, including a 36-34 heartbreaker at Jacksonville on May 30, when a blocked kick in the final seconds sealed the loss, and last Saturday’s 45-44 overtime defeat to Tulsa at the Fishers Event Center.
There is reason for optimism heading west. The Freight handled these same Rattlers 63-42 in Fishers on April 5, the high point of the season’s hot start. That game remains Arizona’s most lopsided loss of the year.
Repeating that result in the desert is another matter. The Rattlers are 7-3 and a perfect 5-0 at home this season. Arizona reached the championship game of the league’s midseason IFL Cup tournament in May, falling 48-44 to the Vegas Knight Hawks, and bounced back with a 56-32 win over the Northern Arizona Wranglers in their last outing.
Sunday opens a closing stretch that will decide the Freight’s postseason fate. After Arizona, Fishers hosts Iowa on June 20 for Medieval Night, travels to Green Bay on June 27, visits Quad City on July 11, and closes at home against Orlando on July 26. Three of those four are conference games against teams the Freight will likely be chasing — or holding off — in the standings.
The math is simple: keep losing, and the first playoff berth in the franchise’s young history slips away. Win in a building where Arizona hasn’t lost all year, and the Freight head home with momentum and a statement.
The game will be streamed live on the Yahoo Sports streaming service.