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!