Cipher Lynx 42, Pulse Jackals 33
Week 5 · Regular season · round 17 · Thursday 29 October 2026
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPH Cipher Lynx | 7 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| PLS Pulse Jackals | 10 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 33 |
Game recap
Down but not out, the Cipher Lynx rallied past the Pulse Jackals for a 42-33 win in round 17 of Week 5. They trailed by as many as 10 points, and their chance of winning dropped as low as 26%.
The Jackals opened the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Adrien Esposito with 3:37 left in the first quarter. The Lynx led 28-20 at halftime. In the fourth quarter: a 1-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Hart for the Lynx (2:04 left, 42-33).
The key moment arrived with 0:19 left in the third quarter: Extra point good. It moved the Lynx' chance of winning from 49% to 70%.
Player of the game: Ezekiel Hart (RB, Lynx), with 16 carries for 98 yards and 2 TD; 3 catches for 32 yards. Elsewhere, Rio Castellanos (Jackals) had 29 of 46 passing for 319 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT; 2 carries for 21 yards; Fabian Lachance (Jackals) had 10 carries for 78 yards and 1 TD; 2 catches for 28 yards; Adrien Esposito (Jackals) had 9 catches for 92 yards and 1 TD; Kai Navarro (Lynx) had 17 of 24 passing for 214 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 7 carries for 11 yards and 1 TD.
Before kickoff, the Jackals' game plan was on offense: quick game vs the blitz, attack the zones, target Cassius Achebe; on defense: bracket Luca Benedetti (Cassius Achebe finished with 6 catches for 69 yards and 1 TD). Meanwhile, the Lynx' game plan was on offense: attack the zones, stay underneath, target Bram Pellegrini; on defense: bracket Tavi Nkemelu.
The Jackals move to 8-9 and the Lynx to 8-8-1 this week. The coaches went for it on fourth down twice, converting 1.
Scoring summary
| Time | Team | Play | CPH-PLS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 3:37 | Jackals | A 7-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Adrien Esposito (extra point) | 0-7 |
| Q1 1:52 | Jackals | A 46-yard field goal by Roman Zamora | 0-10 |
| Q1 0:54 | Lynx | A 3-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Luca Benedetti (extra point) | 7-10 |
| Q2 3:50 | Jackals | A 22-yard field goal by Roman Zamora | 7-13 |
| Q2 3:02 | Lynx | A 7-yard touchdown run by Pavel Draven (extra point) | 14-13 |
| Q2 2:39 | Lynx | A 3-yard touchdown run by Kai Navarro (extra point) | 21-13 |
| Q2 1:40 | Jackals | A 9-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Tavi Nkemelu (extra point) | 21-20 |
| Q2 0:34 | Lynx | A 5-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Hart (extra point) | 28-20 |
| Q3 2:31 | Lynx | A 2-yard touchdown pass from Kai Navarro to Zane Lachance (extra point) | 35-20 |
| Q3 1:56 | Jackals | A 7-yard touchdown run by Fabian Lachance (2-pt try failed) | 35-26 |
| Q3 0:19 | Jackals | A 5-yard touchdown pass from Rio Castellanos to Cassius Achebe (extra point) | 35-33 |
| Q4 2:04 | Lynx | A 1-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Hart (extra point) | 42-33 |
Team stats
| CPH | PLS | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 455 | 489 |
| Passing yards | 214 | 319 |
| Rushing yards | 241 | 170 |
| Completions | 17 of 24 | 29 of 46 |
| Offensive plays | 60 | 72 |
| Third downs | 4 of 7 | 3 of 9 |
| Fourth downs | — | 1 of 2 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Sacks allowed | 0 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 9:00 | 7:00 |
Cipher Lynx box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kai Navarro | 17/24 | 214 | 2 | 1 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Achebe | 8 | 101 | 0 | 26 |
| Ezekiel Hart | 16 | 98 | 2 | 16 |
| Pavel Draven | 2 | 15 | 1 | 8 |
| Kai Navarro | 7 | 11 | 1 | 10 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luca Benedetti | 6 | 90 | 1 | 8 |
| Zane Lachance | 4 | 56 | 1 | 6 |
| Ezekiel Hart | 3 | 32 | 0 | 3 |
| Pavel Thorne | 3 | 24 | 0 | 4 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonas Sandoval | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Elio Varga | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonas Ingram | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bastien Oyelaran | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Elio Coventry | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wendell Kincaid | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orson Thorne | 0/0 | 0 | 6/6 |
Pulse Jackals box score
Passing
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Castellanos | 29/46 | 319 | 3 | 2 |
Rushing
| Player | CAR | YDS | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabian Lachance | 10 | 78 | 1 | 14 |
| Jonas Lachance | 10 | 71 | 0 | 13 |
| Rio Castellanos | 2 | 21 | 0 | 16 |
Receiving
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrien Esposito | 9 | 92 | 1 | 9 |
| Tavi Nkemelu | 9 | 75 | 1 | 12 |
| Cassius Achebe | 6 | 69 | 1 | 9 |
| Pavel Eriksen | 1 | 34 | 0 | 1 |
Defense
| Player | TK | SK | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elio Oyelaran | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tariq Coventry | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Quentin Norcross | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yannick Draven | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Achebe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quentin Delacroix | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | LNG | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Zamora | 2/2 | 46 | 3/3 |
Watch the replay
Every play of this game can be replayed on the big screen, with the play calls, the win probability and the commentary: replay Cipher Lynx 42, Pulse Jackals 33 on Snapline. More about the teams: Pulse Jackals · Cipher Lynx.