OH YEAH!!

When the lowest scorer on your team is a tie between a wide receiver and a tight end who both scored 11 points, chances are your team had a good week.  This was certainly the case for my team this week as I had five players score in the teens, two score in the twenties (Raheem Mostert 21 pts, and Dallas DEF 22 pts), and the man himself, Josh Allen, led my team (again) with 39 big points!  It all added up to an impressive 145 points, which not only is the highest score so far this season, but is the all-time highest score in my team’s history.  (My previous record was 144 points back in Week 7, 2020).  This marks my fourth Weekly High Score Prize this season, the most won by any team since the 2020 season when James took home five.  Six teams have claimed a Weekly High Score Prize this season.

For playoff standings there are five teams whose fate is known, and five still up in the air.  Much more on that below along with playoff scenarios, plus a check on the Top 5’s, and of course the Best Bench.  

BIG TIME

• Josh Allen, QB – OH YEAH!! – 39 pts – Allen threw a crazy 51 passes (completed 29) for 339 yards and 2 TD’s, plus added 81 rush yards and another pair of TD’s.  He now leads all fantasy scorers this season with 23.2 ppg (25.4 ppg over his last five games).
• Jalen Hurts, QB – Coors Light Drunk Guys – 34 pts – Hurts was dominant as usual, racking up 200 passing yards, 3 passing TD's and added 2 rushing TD's.
• Dak Prescott, QB – OH YEAH!! – 32 pts – The only player in the league hotter than Josh Allen over the last five weeks is Dak Prescott.  Since coming off his bye in Week 7, his lowest scoring week was Week 11 when he scored 15, but three of those weeks were over 30.  Weekly totals of 27, 30, 40, 15, 32 for an average of 28.8 ppg over that span.
• Kyren Williams, RB – Attack of Mahomes – 32 pts – This is the way a player should come off injured reserve!  After sitting out four games, Williams picked up right where he left off and racked up 143 yards rushing, plus added 61 yards and 2 TD’s through receiving.
• C.J. Stroud, QB – sprouts – 30 pts – Stroud is proving to be a weekly starter and currently ranks as the 4th highest scoring QB in fantasy.  Not sure anyone saw that coming.

COME ON MAN!

• Cooper Kupp, WR – Attack of Mahomes – 1 pt – All Kupp managed was three catches for 18 yards.  Yawn.
• George Kittle, TE – sprouts – 1 pt – The 49ers put up 31 points on Sunday, but all Kittle got was some bits… 3 catches for 19 yards.
• Riley Patterson, K – Coors Light Drunk Guys – -1 pts – For a kicker to score negative points in our league is not an easy feat.  Negatives are only awarded for a missed kick under 20 yards (-2), a missed kick under 30 yards (-1), or a missed Extra Point (-1).  Kickers don't usually miss those types of kicks, or make up for it with other makes.  In fact, in the last three seasons I only found two other instances where a kicker scored in the negatives, so to see this happen is pretty rare.  And the fact that Shawn had this guy as his starting kicker, well, that just makes it hilarious.

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

With only two games remaining, there are five teams with known outcomes:

Teams for sure in the playoffs: Coors Light Drunk Guys, Sofa King Great, and OH YEAH!!  (With 8 victories, there are no scenarios where these teams fall out of the top six positions).

Teams for sure out of the playoffs: Wyld Ass Monkeys and Attack of Mahomes (With only 3 victories, the best win total possible is 5, which won’t be enough to finish in the top six, even in a tie-breaker).

The remaining five teams are all still alive for playoff spots:

• American BadAss – Jason – Current record 7-5; Win one of next two games to ensure a playoff berth; Lose both remaining games and it may come down to a tie-breaker.
• Joe’s Pats – Joe – Current record 6-6; Win both of the next two games plus two losses from OH YEAH!! to finish in the top two in the division; Win one game to qualify for a wild card.
• Young Guns – John – Current record 6-6; Win both of next two games plus two losses from American BadAss to finish in the top two in the division; Win one game plus one loss from Big Sack No TD’s and one loss from sprouts.
• Big Sack No TD’s – Jens – Current record 5-7; Win both of next two games plus two losses from Young Guns to secure a wild card; Win one game plus two losses from Young Guns and one loss from sprouts and it will come down to tie-breakers.
• sprouts – Russ – Current record 5-7; Win both of next two games plus two losses from Young Guns to secure a wild card; Win one game plus two losses from Young Guns and one loss from Big Sack No TD’s and it will come down to tie-breakers.

TOP FIVES

-Dak Prescott and C.J. Stroud are new additions to this list, while Allen, Hurts and Herbert have been atop the scoring all season.

-CeeDee Lamb is the only new addition, as Hill, Allen, Brown and Diggs have been leaders all season.

-Since Week 6, the top two have remained the same, but the next three have all changed.  

-Hockenson overtook Kelce for the top spot and is the first tight end to score over 100 points this season.

-Dallas has been the top defense all season, while Baltimore has now jumped into the top 2.

-The only free agent on the list, Blake Grupe is tied with 3 kickers for 4th… the one not listed here is Justin Tucker who also has 107 points on the season.  Since the last check in back in Week 6, the only kicker still in the top five is Brandon Aubrey, who was the 5th ranked kicker at that time.  The other four are all newcomers to the list.  Freaking kickers!!

EVERYONE NEEDS MONEY, THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT MONEY

Just a reminder on the prizes for this season:

Weekly High Score Prize = $50/week (all weeks through Week 17)

Playoffs:

Champion = $400

Runner-up = $175

Third place = $125

Current tally on Weekly High Score Prizes:

• OH YEAH!! – Jerry – 4
• Sofa King Great – James – 3
• Joe’s Pats – Joe – 2
• Wyld Ass Monkeys – Rob – 1
• Attack of Mahomes – Timmy – 1
• sprouts – Russ – 1

BEST BENCH

Sometimes it only takes a couple players.  That was the case this week as only two players were needed for a solid 32-point-improvement possibility.  The Week 12 Best Bench goes to… Attack of Mahomes!  Swapping K. Williams for D. Montgomery +17 and R. Rice for C. Kupp +15 was all it took for Timmy to get there.  This ties for the 4th lowest bench improvement possibility this season, and is Timmy’s 2nd Best Bench, having claimed another back in Week 1.  There are 5 weeks of games left and 3 teams still have avoided a Best Bench.

Get those waivers in and get ready for Week 13!! 

Thrice is nice!

Oh yeah!!  In each of the last three weeks there has been only one team to break into triple digits.  Prior to that, five teams posted triple digit scores in a single week, and four teams did it the week before that.  But this week, it was my team barely making it, finishing with a 100-74 victory and taking home my 3rd Weekly High Score Prize this season!  Three players did all the heavy lifting for me this week:  Brandon Aiyuk (24 pts), Josh Allen (22 pts), and the Dallas D (21 pts).   Three high scores ties me with Sofa King Great for the most this season.  Six different teams have claimed a high score so far this season, and remember those extend through the playoffs for all teams.

In league standings, the Coors Light Drunk Guys still hold the top spot with a 7-3-1 record, followed by Sofa King Great and OH YEAH!! at 7-4.  The South Division is starting to show their dominance as they lead in both total wins (28-26) and total points (4,715-4,580).  Only three weeks remain until the start of the playoffs, so we’ll jump right into playoff scenarios.

As a reminder, here are the rules for playoff qualification.  The top two teams in each division will automatically qualify.  Two additional teams will qualify as wild cards.  Both wild card teams can come from the same division.  Divisional standings are determined by the following criteria:  Overall record, Divisional record, Head-to-head record, Points scored.  Wild card standings follow the same criteria, except Divisional record is removed.  In both cases, if there is a tie on points scored (how crazy would that be), I will settle it with a coin flip.  

Three teams currently have 7 wins, and to fully guarantee a playoff spot will only take one win.  It is likely that teams getting to 7 wins will qualify anyway, but getting to 8 wins assures a playoff spot.  I ran a couple scenarios where two teams finished tied at 7-7 for the final wildcard spot, which would mean one of those teams misses the playoffs.  I'm thinking this will be pretty unlikely.

The worst record in the league belongs to the Wyld Ass Monkeys at 3-8, meaning the best finish possible is 6-8.  There is a scenario where four teams could finish with that record for the final wild card spot, which would mean it would come down to points scored.  The Ass Monkeys trail in that category, but you never know what can happen.  For Attack of Mahomes, with a record of 3-7-1 there is a path to the final wild card spot without going to tie-breakers, but it means winning the next three games and having a lot of help.  For all of the remaining teams, getting to 7 or more wins should be the goal.  Next week I’ll have team specific playoff scenarios. 

INJURIES

Perhaps it is recency bias, but sure seems like this season has had more than its fair share of injuries to significant players.  Here is just a quick list I pulled together of players who are either out or on injured reserve:

Deshaun Watson, QB, Browns

Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Jets

Anthony Richardson, QB, Colts

Kirk Cousins, QB, Vikings

J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ravens

Kyren Williams, RB, Rams

Nick Chubb, RB, Browns

Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals

Mark Andrews, TE, Ravens

Not to mention the countless players who have missed a couple weeks here and there due to injuries.  Just seems extra this year.

WHERE’D THAT COME FROM?

The New York Giants are not having what one would describe as a “good season”.  They currently sit with a 3-8 record, with opponents outscoring them by 136 points (149-285).  From a fantasy perspective, coming into Week 11 the Giants were the lowest scoring team.  The Giants defense was absolutely abysmal to start the season, scoring a sum of 1 point through the first three weeks of the season, and it took them until Week 6 to score 25 points TOTAL for the season.  

Prior to this week, their highest single week score was 16 back in Week 7.  But then something strange happened this week, where these same Giants led all teams in defensive scoring with 23 points.  They did it thanks to 6 turnovers, 4 sacks and 1 defensive TD.  Adding 23 points to their season total increased it by 38%!  My question is…where in the frick did that come from?!

BEST BENCH

Week 11 saw my team capture a third high score prize this season, and we also have a team claim their third Best Bench.  With a very impressive 48-point-improvement possibility, nearly double any other team, the Week 11 Best Bench goes to… Young Guns!  John needed just three roster moves to get there:  C. Ridley for S. Diggs +21, T. Lawrence for T. Tagovailoa +14, and S. Barkley for B. Robinson +13.  The 48 point improvement is the second highest we’ve seen this season, as my 57 point improvement from Week 2 still holds the mark.  Three teams (Joe’s Pats, Wyld Ass Monkeys and the Coors Light Drunk Guys) have yet to claim a Best Bench this season.

Hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and eats lots of food!

Week 10 is sprouting!

Sprouts comes alive in Week 10!  After a low scoring week last week (60), sprouts more than doubled it this week with an impressive 126 point performance!  Russ had big games from Amon St. Brown (24 pts), C.J. Stroud (21 pts), Jason Myers (21 pts), plus Kenneth Walker III, Bijan Robinson and George Kittle combined for 51 points.  If you can get 21 points from your kicker, you’re gonna have a good day!  Sprouts was the only team to crack triple digits this week, and the 126 points is the 2nd highest weekly total this season.  Russ becomes the sixth different team to take home a Weekly High Score Prize.  Nice work sir!

Last week it was Joe’s Pats as the only team capable of breaking the triple digits, with a solid 121-point performance.  Joe did it thanks to his Cleveland defense scoring 26 points, plus having five players score in the high teens (Sam Howell 17, Amari Cooper 19, Austin Ekeler 18, Jake Ferguson 15, and Younghoe Koo 19).  This was Joe’s 2nd Weekly High Score Prize this season, having also won back in Week 1.  Nice work Joe!

The best record in the league is 7-2-1 held by the Coors Light Drunk Guys, followed by four teams at 6-4 (Sofa King Great, American BadAss, OH YEAH!!, and Joe’s Pats), and one at 5-5 (Young Guns).  If the playoffs started this week, those would be your six teams.  But fortunately, we still have four weeks to go before the playoffs start.  In the last five seasons, there have only been three teams to qualify for the playoffs with less than 7 wins.  And with the extra week of the regular season the year, it will probably take 8 wins to guarantee a playoff spot.  Next week I’ll start looking at playoff scenarios.

BIG TIME

-Dak Prescott, QB – OH YEAH!! – 40 pts – In Week 1, when the Cowboys beat the Giants 40-0, Dak scored 5 fantasy points.  This week when the Cowboys beat the Giants 49-17, Dak scores 40 fantasy points.  He tallied 404 passing yards and 4 TD’s, plus added a rushing TD.

-Keenan Allen, WR – American BadAss – 32 pts – Great day for Allen, racking up 175 yards and 2 TD’s on 11 catches.  He now ranks as the 4th highest scoring WR this season.

-CeeDee Lamb, WR – Coors Light Drunk Guys – 31 pts – Through the air and the ground!  CeeDee went for 151 receiving yards and a receiving TD, plus ran for 14 yards and a TD.  Gotta be the hottest receiver in the league as he’s scored 82 points over the last 3 weeks.

COME ON MAN!

-Diontae Johnson, WR – sprouts – 1 pt – DJ managed just 1 catch for 17 yards.

-Evan Engram, TE – American BadAss – 1 pt – Amazingly, Engram caught 4 passes, but gained a mere 12 yards.

-Taysom Hill, TE – Big Sack No TDs – 1 pt – Hill’s scoring streak for the last three weeks (12 pts, 20 pts, and 16 pts) came to a screeching halt, as he netted 2 catches for just 17 yards.

-Cade Otton, TE – Coors Light Drunk Guys – 1 pt – Two catches for 10 yards.  Yeck.

-Trevor Lawrence, QB – Young Guns – 1 pt – Forgettable day for Lawrence, as he amassed only 185 passing yards and had 3 turnovers—2 interceptions and 1 lost fumble.

-Detroit, DEF – Wyld Ass Monkeys – -2 pts – Lions gave up 38 points and managed just a single sack.

BEST BENCH(ES)

Last week’s Best Bench is this week’s winner!  As mentioned earlier, sprouts more than doubled their score from last week, because last week they were all on the bench.  With a very solid 38-point-improvement possibility, the Week 9 Best Bench goes to sprouts!  Just three roster moves needed to get there… C.J Stroud for D. Watson +26, J. Ford for K. Walker III +6 and Philadelphia for NY Jets +6.  That was Russ’ first Best Bench this season.

In Week 10 we had a repeat offender, and for an impressive 40-point improvement possibility!  For the second time this season, and for the second time at 40 points, the Week 10 Best Bench goes to… American BadAss!  Jason needed a half-roster swap, 4 positions, to get there… San Francisco for Buffalo +17, J. Williams for D. Henry +14, D. Metcalf for R. Rasheed +6 and L. Thomas for E. Engram +3.  This is Jason’s second Best Bench, having also claimed it back in Week 3.

Get those waivers in and get ready for Week 11!!