The Portland Thunder were the second incarnation of the AFL in Portland. AFL veteran Matt Sauk coached the team, promising to teach the game to a team of mostly rookies. As expected, a team of rookies did not win a whole lot of games, but did compile five and earned a playoff spot in a weak National Conference. Danny Southwick and Darron Thomas quarterbacked the first half of the season, combining to throw 52 touchdowns and 26 picks. After that, Sauk brought in veteran Kyle Rowley, who passed for 2,060 yards, 39 touchdowns and nine picks. The team produced no 1,000 yard receivers, but Jeffrey Solomon did get to 995 yards and 15 scores. Eric Rogers caught 27 touchdowns. Eric Crocker, Varmah Sonie, and Bryce Peila combined to pick 27 passes. Opponents converted 20 of 36 fourth downs. Portland earned a playoff berth at Arizona and nearly upset the Rattlers. However, Kyle Rowley was picked off with fifteen seconds left in the game on what could've been a game-winning drive. Arena football veteran Kyle Rowley led the Thunder for most of the 2015 season, but it was a near mirror of the first year. Rowley passed for 3,651 yards, 71 touchdowns and 21 picks in the 5-14 campaign. All five wins came at home. V'Keon Lacey led all receivers with 1,158 yards and 29 scores, while Jared Perry also scored 29 times, amassing 1,297 yards. At the end of the year, the Thunder were not slated to make the playoffs, but were given the final spot when Las Vegas was forced to cease operations with no ownership to fund them. Portland would travel to San Jose and be defeated soundly. Shane Austin led the team into 2016 with the departure of Rowley. He threw for 2,531 yards, 48 scores, and 19 interceptions, with Tom Gilson, Jared Perry, and Tyrone Goard being the main targets. Portland defenders made just ten picks, while quarterbacks for the Steel threw 30. Portland turned the ball over 41 times on the 3-13 campaign where all teams qualified for the playoffs. A first round playoff loss came at Arizona, 81-40, as Portland eclipsed the 50 point mark in just two games all year long. The team folded following the 2016 season.