The Bay Area Panthers commenced their weekend by making a 3,000+-mile journey to wage the indoor war on with the Massachusetts Pirates. Entering as 3.5-point road favorites, the top-seeded Panthers embarked with goals aplenty in the 2025 regular season finale.

Despite the fact that Bay Area had already clinched the Western Conference's No. 1 playoff position, the Panthers took to the Tsongas Center with conviction, ultimately emerging victorious by a score of 45-30. The Week-19 win gives Bay Area the IFL's best record of 2025 at 13-3.

For a plot twist, the Pirates started former-Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa: Big Ten all-time passing yardage leader and brother of the Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa. Regardless, the younger Tagovailoa got off to a tough start after his first two IFL plays resulted in a one-yard sack and an interception by Bay Area defensive back Joe Foucha.

The Panthers sent out starting quarterback Josh Jones for just one play, to which the 2024 IFL Rookie of the Year connected with Bay Area receiver Tyrese Chambers for a 31-yard touchdown. That gave Chambers a team-high 14 receiving touchdowns on the season (more from him later) and would be Jones' only pass attempt of the evening.

Unfortunately for Tagovailoa, his second possession ended the same way his initial drive did: a Foucha interception. The Panthers then took over with Liam Thompson at signal caller, who did a brilliant job mixing in keepers, tosses and pitches all evening. Eventually, Bay Area wideout Trey Goodman found the end zone on a three-yard scoring run, which was the first TD of Goodman's IFL career.

With the Panthers up 14-0 in a flash, Head Coach Rob Keefe did well to mix up his lineups, using depth for the remainder of the game. Still, Massachusetts managed some momentum after a booming kick return from tailback Pooka Williams Jr.; one play later, he punched in the football for a three-yard tuddy, putting the Pirates on the board.

For the ensuing possession, Massachusetts kept things rolling by registering a safety (Pirates defensive lineman Mike Mason) on Thompson. However, Bay Area turned up the energy from there.

The Panthers went on to string together back-to-back touchdown drives. The first came on a nine-yard run from Thompson. On the next possession, Thompson found Chambers for another score, bringing the speedy wideout's annual TD reception total to 15.

The Pirates were kept off the board until the final play of the half. Tagovailoa tossed his inaugural IFL touchdown to receiver Teo Redding, leaving the figures at 28-15 heading into the locker rooms.

To commence the third quarter, the Panthers churned out a methodical drive via several short runs and passes to march down field. Additionally, Massachusetts drew multiple penalties (a prevalent theme on Friday night). From there, Thompson ran for his second rushing score of the night.

Tagovailoa responded with a confident drive capped by a rushing score of his own. However, the Pirates took a safety on their next possession after being flagged for holding in the end zone; that gave Bay Area a 14-point advantage at the start of the final period.

The fourth quarter featured another touchdown on the ground by both respective signal callers, leaving Thompson with three rushing (and four all-purpose) scores in the contest. Tagovailoa's romp was particularly impressive, as he reached the end zone from 20-yards out.

To land on the Panthers' final point total of 45, Perez followed Thompson's third TD run with a deuce. Considering the low positioning of the scoreboard at Tsongas Center, it was only the second registered deuce in venue history.

Bay Area did well to thwart Massachusetts' last drive when Panthers safety Tyrese Wright intercepted a deep pass at the goal-line wall, which felt like a fitting end. In all, the defense logged six takeaways—three picks, one missed FG, one safety and one turnover on downs—versus the Pirates. Massachusetts finishes the campaign at 7-9, resulting in their first ever losing record.

With the regular season now complete, Bay Area will turn attention toward their upcoming playoff bid on Sunday, August 3 (5:05 PM PT) at San Jose's SAP Center. Postseason tickets—including single-game, season, group, and suite experiences—are available now through Ticketmaster. 

The Panthers must await this Saturday's results for their opening-round opponent, which will be the San Diego Strike Force or Vegas Knight Hawks; tune into the IFL Network to scope all the Week-19 action!