Washington Wolfpack Playbook: Battling to the End
June 12, 2025 - Arena Football One (AF1)
Washington Wolfpack News Release
Heading into Week 14, the final week of the AF1 season, the Washington Wolfpack sit at 2-9 on the season. Although that record isn't going to put them in the playoffs, they've shown a lot of grit and guts down the stretch - far beyond the record that's posted in the standings.
Coach JR Wells embraces the struggle of the tight games they've been in and the rough spots they've been in. In fact, he points out that it is a huge piece of figuring out what the franchise needs moving forward.
"Every game that we went in was a David and Goliath fight. And we fought to the end, and we're definitely blessed to have the caliber of guys that we had going against the caliber guys that we did," Wells said. "Like Nick Saban said, right now in year two, going into year three, our job is to get the wrong guys off the bus and the right guys on the bus. That's the important thing for us. And not everybody fits and or belongs on this bus."
From day one, determining who is right and wrong for this team has been about one thing: culture. Even in close losing efforts, having the culture of players who never give up and give you their absolute best is what he believes will keep this group moving in the right direction for years to come.
This final showdown with undefeated Albany will help him make some determinations in that realm.
"[This week] is huge, you know, and we evaluate everything from body language to the way you respond to text messages, the way you show up to team meetings and to training," he said. "You see most of the time when, when teams are at the final whim, not going into playoffs, you can see that they're kind of like checked out already. That's not happening with our guys. And again, that's a true testament to the culture that we're building out here."
And Coach Wells wants it to be clear that he's not just here for a moral victory at the end of the year. He's fully prepared to play spoiler on a perfect season in Week 14.
"This is our Arena Bowl and we're going out there to what most people would say is shock the league or shock the world," Wells said. "It's not going to be shocking to us. If we do what we say, we continue wanting to do, which is just play good football, execute, do our job and we can come out victorious. Yes, it is another David and Goliath fight, but it's arena football."
You can catch this most recent fight this Saturday on EVERGREENNOW. That game with the Firebirds will take place at 7pm EST in Albany.
Arena Football One Stories from June 12, 2025
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- AF1 Player of the Week Honors: Week 13 - AF1
- Washington Wolfpack Playbook: Battling to the End - Washington Wolfpack
- June 12 Transactions Update - AF1
- Arena Football One: Week 14 Preview - AF1
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