Week 13 - Playoff Teams are Set!

Thirteen weeks of play in the books, and for the first time in a long time, playoff participants are set before the final week of the regular season.  Coming in to Week 13, there were four teams already qualified for a playoff spot:  Scottish Rebels, American BadAss, J LUV U LONG TIME, and sprouts.  There was still a battle for the wild card spots, with Big Sack No TDs and Luck of the Irish holding a fairly strong advantage.  Luck of the Irish won their game, moving to a record of 7-6 and thus securing one of the wild card spots.  The final wild card spot could come down to a tie between Big Sack No TDs and NASCAR Café Honey Mustard, who could both finish with a record of 6-7-1.  This would happen if BSNTDs loses and NCHM wins in Week 14.  In this scenario, the tie-breaker would come down to the head-to-head record between those two where Big Sack holds the advantage (1-0).  (Jens also has a big lead in points scored: 1,288 – 975).  So this means Big Sack No TDs will also qualify for the playoffs, meaning the only thing left to decide in this final week will be the seeding.  It also means both wild card teams will come from the South Division.

The seeds in the North Division are set, but the South Division is still open with a battle for first between American BadAss and sprouts, and final wildcard seeding between Big Sack and Luck of the Irish.  ABA holds the advantage for the top spot, but if they lose and sprouts wins, sprouts would claim the top spot.  Same goes for the wildcard seeds:  Luck of the Irish holds the advantage for 5th seed, but if they lose and Big Sack wins, they will switch spots.  So still quite a bit to play for and remember, all teams are eligible to win the Weekly High Score Prize every week.

Speaking of high scores, there are two Weekly High Score Prizes to give out!  First, in Week 12 Big Sack No TDs absolutely thrashed everyone with the highest score this season at 144 points!  The next closest score was 46 points away, not even in triple digits.  Jens was simply en fuego and had a monster game from Saquon Barkley (44 points) plus had Lamar Jackson and Courtland Sutton score over 20 (22 and 21, respectively.)  In spite of having a 6-6-1 record, Big Sack is the highest scoring team in the league this season!  What do you freaking know!?!?  Well done Jens!  This makes it 2 ½ Weekly High Scores this season.

In Week 13, there was also only one team able to crack the triple digits as Luck of the Irish led the way with 112 points!  John had solid performances all around with six players scoring in double digits, led by tight end Brock Bowers with 20.  Bijan Robinson was close behind with 19 and Jordan Love added 18.  This marks the second time John has snagged a Weekly High Score Prize, but this time it is a full one!  (He had a split high score back in Week 11).  Nice work señor!

Lastly this week, we have two Best Benches to hand out.  First, back in Week 12 we saw the fourth highest bench improvement-possibility posted, with a solid 36 points.  That one belonged to NASCAR Café Honey Mustard!  Timmy needed just three roster moves to get there:  J. Waddle for D. Samuel +17, B. Irving for K. Hunt +13 and J. Meyers for J. Williams +6.  This was Timmy’s 2nd Best Bench this season, having also captured it back in Week 4.

The Week 13 Best Bench was an impressive one, not for the point-improvement possibility but for the number of players to get there.  For the first time this season, we have a five player swap Best Bench!  With a 32-point-improvement-possibility, Week 13’s Best Bench goes to… Joe’s Pats!  Here is the laundry list of players Joe needed to swap to get there:  N. Harris for K. Walker III +14, Pittsburgh for Kansas City +6, S. Darnold for K. Murray +5, S. LaPorta for H. Henry +5, and D. Hopkins for A. St. Brown +2.  This was Joe’s third Best Bench this season, having claimed it Weeks 10 and 11 as well.

Two teams have yet to win a Best Bench this season, those being the two wildcard teams.  Can they hold on through the remainder of the season??

Just a quick write-up this week, so get those waivers in and get ready for Week 14!!

Week 11 is a Double-Double

This season just keeps on delivering… every week it seems like I’m pointing out some new occurrence or event that has never happened before, and we’ve done it yet again!  For the first time ever, we have a tie for the Weekly High Score Prize and a tie for the Best Bench.  A double-double!  First let’s get to the congrats on the high scores… coming in with a tie at 126 points (2^nd highest score this season) it was Luck of the Irish and Wyld Ass Monkeys!!  For John, he was out in front early with an impressive all-around performance on his team with 7 of 8 players scoring in double digits.  Amazingly, John’s scoring was led by his kicker, Chris Boswell, who finished with 24 points!  (Dude kicked 6 field goals for the Steelers on Sunday.)  After that he had scores of 19, 18, 18, 17, 15, 10 and 6…just great scoring from all positions.  

For the Wyld Ass Monkeys, this marks two weeks in a row of snagging a Weekly High Score prize.  Rob pulled off the tie with a massive Monday night defensive effort from the Texans, scoring 27 points!  He also had another big performance from Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, who combined for 50 points this week.  Excellent work to the both of you!  For John this was the first Weekly High Score Prize he has won (or split) this season, and makes it seven different teams who have now won at least a piece of a prize this season.

As mentioned, there was a tie for Best Bench this week, which we will get to in just a bit, along with playoff scenarios and some quick hits.  Let’s do this!

BIG TIME

• Jared Goff, QB – American BadAss – 37 pts – The Lions looked like they took pleasure in demolishing the Jags, as they didn’t let up until like the 2 minute warning.  Goff had an outstanding game, throwing for 412 yards and 4 TDs, leading his Lions to a 52-6 victory.  Frankly, it wasn’t even that close.
• Taysom Hill, QB, TE – J LUV U LONG TIME – 32 pts – The guy is listed as a quarterback and tight end, yet did all of his damage as a runningback.  All told, he had 138 yards rushing and 3 TD’s, plus added 50 receiving yards.  His only blemish was a lost fumble.
• Joe Mixon, RB – American BadAss – 32 pts – Mixon ran straight through the Cowboys, amassing 109 yards and 3 TDs, plus added 44 yards receiving.  Mixon has scored more than 14 points in each of his last six games, including a 25-point and a 23-point performance.  He is now the 4^th highest scoring RB in fantasy.
• Saquon Barkley, RB – Big Sack No TDs – 31 pts – He had a season-high total of receiving yards, 51, plus had his 4^th highest rushing yardage total, 146, and added 2 TDs.  He is the 2^nd highest scoring RB, trailing only King Henry.
• Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR – Joe’s No Pats – 31 pts – Finishing with -4 rushing yards doesn’t really matter if you pair that with 161 receiving yards and 2 TD’s as St. Brown did on Sunday.  He has scored 125 points this season, ranking him 2^nd among WR’s.
• Joe Burrow, QB – Wyld Ass Monkeys – 31 pts – Over the last 3 weeks, Burrow has scored more points than any other player in the league.  He has an astounding 96 points across that span, which is more than Jalen Hurts (75), Lamar Jackson (69), Josh Allen (62), or anyone else by quite a bit.  The bye week in Week 12 may be about the only thing that can slow him down.

 

COME ON MAN

• Terry McLaurin, WR – Joe’s No Pats – 1 pt – Jayden Daniels threw it to nine different receivers on Sunday, so there wasn’t much left for McLaurin.  A single catch for exactly 10 yards is all he got.
• Pat Freiermuth, TE – Scottish Rebels – 1 pt – Well he did catch all the passes thrown his way.  Unfortunately, that amounted to 2 catches for just 14 yards.  D’oh.
• Travis Kelce, TE – NASCAR Café Honey Mustard – 0 pts – This game marked the 5^th time this season where Kelce has failed to get over 40 yards, and he didn’t even get close, as he had only 2 catches for 8 yards.  This has been a cruel season for Kelce thus far.
• Tucker Kraft, TE – American BadAss – 0 pts – No catches means no yards.  No yards means no points.
• Mike Gesicki, TE – Big Sack No TDs – 0 pts – What was the deal with tight ends this week?  Just a straight nothing-burger from Gesicki, which marks the 3^rd time he’s done that this season.
• T.J Hockenson, TE – 1^st to Worst – 1 pt – See this?!  Another freaking tight end!  Let’s get it together guys!!  I mean…Come on, man!

 

PLAYOFFS?!?  DON’T TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS!  PLAYOFFS?!?

Three more weeks of regular season games before the playoffs begin in Week 15. Before we dive into scenarios, a quick refresher on the rules:

-        Top two teams in each division automatically qualify, with the top team in each division receiving a first round bye.

-        The next two qualifiers are Wildcards, which are not division specific.  (i.e. Both Wildcard teams could come from the same division).

-        Teams who do not qualify for the playoffs are still eligible to win the Weekly High Score Prize.

-        Playoff results will determine the final finishes for positions 1 – 6.  Final standings at the end of the regular season (Week 14), will determine final finishes for positions 7 – 10.

-        Divisional standings are determined in this order:  Overall record, Division record, Head-to-head record, Points scored, Coin flip.

-        Wildcard standings are determined in this order:  Overall record, Head-to-head record, Points scored, Coin flip.

-        In playoff games, there are no tie games.  If there is a tie in any game prior to the Championship game, the win will go to the higher seeded team.  If there is a tie in the Championship game, tie-breakers are used in this order:  1) Team with the highest scoring QB wins, 2) Team with the highest scoring RB wins, 3) Team with the highest scoring WR wins, 4) If still tied at this point, Co-Champions will be declared.

Prizes are the same as last season:  Champion = $400, 2^nd Place = $175 and 3^rd Place = $125.

Now in regards to which teams are in and which teams are out, here is what is known at this point.  The two teams with 9 wins (American BadAss and Scottish Rebels) will qualify for the playoffs.  It looks like getting to 7 wins should be enough to qualify.  This essentially means the next six teams in the standings are all still very much alive to get in.  J LUV U LONG TIME has the easiest route, already sitting at 7-4 (which may likely already qualify), and sprouts at 6-4-1 not very far behind.  One more victory from either of those teams should be enough to get in.  For the next two teams, Big Sack No TDs (5-5-1) and Luck of the Irish (5-6), finishing the season by winning 2 of the last 3 games should be enough to qualify.  For NASCAR Café Honey Mustard and Wyld Ass Monkeys, it’s likely going to take 3 victories to get in.  NCHM sits at 4-6-1 and WAM is 4-7, so running the table would get them to 7 victories.  As mentioned, 7 victories is the mark which should ensure a playoff berth.

But here is where it could get interesting… in spite of 1^st to Worst and Joe’s No Pats only having 2 victories, I’ve run scenarios where both could still qualify.  There is one scenario where three teams end up tied for both Wildcard spots at 5-8-1.  This three-way tie would be between NASCAR Café, Big Sack No TDs and Joe’s No Pats, so it would come down to the head-to-head matchups and points scored.  Currently Big Sack No TDs holds a big lead in points (1,055) with Joe’s No Pats at 882 and NASCAR with 804.  So BSNTDs would hold the advantage in that scenario, but it would be for two Wildcard spots.

For 1^st to Worst, there is a scenario where three teams end up tied for the last Wildcard spot at 5-9.  In this scenario, the tie would be between Wyld Ass Monkeys, Luck of the Irish and 1^st to Worst, so it would again come down to the head-to-head records and points scored.  Currently Wyld Ass Monkeys have 970 points scored, Luck of the Irish has 923 and 1^st to Worst has 812.  So as it currently stands, it’s looking like quite a longshot for James to defend his championship, but there is still a chance.  Just like Lloyd Christmas said, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance?  Oh YEAH!!”

Next week I’ll have full scenarios for teams still in the hunt to make it in.

 

TIME TO GO ALL IN WITH THE LIONS

In terms of fantasy scoring by NFL teams, there are the Lions and the Ravens and then everyone else.  As a team, Detroit is averaging just over 100 points per week, and Baltimore is averaging 97.3.  Cincinnati, the next closest team, is averaging 86.3 points per week.  (BUF is 4th with 84 points per week, and it really drops off after that.)  But Detroit was on a different level in Week 11, scoring 164 points which shattered the record this season of 144 points (also held by Detroit).  Check out the fantasy lineup you could’ve had by just playing Lions this week:

QB – Jared Goff = 37 pts

WR – Amon-Ra St. Brown = 31 pts

WR – Jameson Williams = 18 pts

RB – David Montgomery = 21 pts

RB – Jahmyr Gibbs = 17 pts

TE – Brock Wright = 6 pts

K – Jake Bates = 12 pts

DEF – Detroit = 12 pts

TOTAL = 154 pts!!

(@Joe – I’m thinking “Joe’s Lions” could have a nice ring to it! Some food for thought for next season... Lol)

 

BEST BENCH(es)

Completing the double-double this week, we have a double Best Bench to give out this week!  In a weird coincidence, the winning point improvement possibility this week is the same as it was last week… 34 points.  The first team snagging it this week made it a back-to-back Best Bench as it goes to Joe’s No Pats!  Joe needed a half roster swap to get there:  S. Darnold for R. Wilson +14, Z. Flowers for T. McLaurin +8, Pittsburgh for Kansas City +6, and N. Harris for J. Taylor +4.  This is Joe’s 2^nd Best Bench this season.  (I don’t think I had mentioned it last week, but Joe getting Best Bench last week was his first time since Week 6, 2021!  Quite a solid run there sir!)

The second Best Bench goes to… 1^st to Worst!!  This marks the 3^rd Best Bench for James this season, as he also got it back in Week 5 and Week 8.  James also needed a half roster swap to get there:  B. Nix for J. Daniels +16, D. Njoku for TJ Hockenson +9, D. Swift for C. McCaffrey +5, and Baltimore for Miami +4.  Only two teams have not secured a Best Bench this season… we shall see if they can hold on.

 

Six NFL teams are on byes coming up in Week 12, so get those waivers in and make sure your roster is set!

Wyld Ass Monkeys are on fire!

Week 10 was the 2^nd lowest overall scoring week of the season (825 points scored), yet we had the highest scoring single team so far, and it wasn’t even close!  With an impressive 142 point performance, the Wyld Ass Monkeys took home the Weekly High Score prize.  In a truly unprecedented event, Rob basically won this game on Thursday night.  With four players in action on Thursday in the CIN @ BAL game, Wyld Ass Monkeys scored 99 points (Ja’Marr Chase 47, Joe Burrow 36, Mark Andrews 12, and Evan McPherson 4), and led Joe’s No Pats 99-3 going into the weekend games.  From there he had solid games from Tyrone Tracy Jr. (14 pts), David Montgomery (11 pts) and the Houston Defense (10 pts), to log the highest single week score since Week 12 of last season.  My archives aren't detailed enough to know if this is the record for most points scored by a team in a single game (I would think it is), but it is most certainly the most points ever scored on a Thursday.  Excellent work senor!  This is Rob’s first Weekly High Score and makes it 6 different teams who have won a prize so far this season.

In other league games, we had our second tie game of the season as NASCAR Café Honey Mustard and sprouts tied at 73.  Four teams now have ties on their record, with Big Sack No TDs and sprouts now tied for 2^nd place in the South division at 5-4-1, and NASCAR Café Honey Mustard in 3^rd place in the North division at 4-5-1.  American BadAss lost to J LUV U LONG TIME so the best record in the league is 8-2, belonging to ABA and my Scottish Rebels. 

There are two Best Benches to give out this week, and we’ll take a quick look at the Top 5’s through 10 weeks of football.  Let’s do this!!

 

BIG TIME FOOTBALL!

• Ja’Marr Chase, WR – Wyld Ass Monkeys – 47 pts – This is the most fantasy points scored in a week by a player this season, and goes down in the all-time records tied for 17^th best.  All told he finished with 11 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns, and did so on a short week!  This firmly establishes Chase as the top receiver in fantasy, and puts him 11th overall.
• Joe Burrow, QB – Wyld Ass Monkeys – 36 pts – The man throwing Chase the ball had himself a game as well!  Cool Joe completed 34 of 56 passes for 428 yards, 4 TD’s and no interceptions.  This is the 2^nd time Burrow has scored 36 points, and both times it has happened against the Ravens.  Burrow has their number from a stat perspective, but Baltimore has won the game both times.
• Lamar Jackson, QB – Big Sack No TDs – 32 pts – If you combine the scores from the two times the Ravens and Bengals have played this year, the score is 76-72 in favor of the Ravens.  Just like Burrow, Jackson had himself a game on Thursday and also just like Burrow finished with the exact same score as the last time they played! He scored 32 points in Week 5, and again this week. How freaking weird is that?
• Jalen Hurts, QB – J LUV U LONG TIME – 29 pts – Hurts did all his damage in only three quarters against the woefully inept Dallas Cowboys.  In just 75% of the available game time, he logged 202 yards and 2 TD’s passing plus had 56 yards rushing and 2 more TD’s.
• Kyler Murray, QB – Joe’s No Pats – 28 pts – Good bounce back for Murray after a 4 point stinker last week.  The Cardinals just walked all over the Jets, and Murray finished with 266 yards passing with 1 TD, plus added 21 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground. 

 

COME ON MAN!!

• Justin Tucker, K – sprouts – 2 pts – Playing in a 35-34 shootout game, and Tucker finishes with a stat line of 3 PAT’s made, 1 PAT miss.  Whaaat?
• DJ Moore, WR – Big Sack No TDs – 2 pts – Over his last four games, his point totals have been 2, 2, 3 and now 2 once more. 
• CeeDee Lamb, WR – J LUV U LONG TIME – 2 pts – He actually caught 6 passes, but they only went for 21 yards.  I guess that’s what happens when Cooper Rush is throwing to you.
• Brian Thomas Jr., WR – 1^st to Worst – 1 pt – The Jaguar rookie has had some good games this year, but this one was not one.  He saw only 3 targets, catching 2 for just 12 yards.  Oof.

 

 APPLE FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS

When Apple first released the line of “i” products, do you think Spanish speakers thought there was just a missing exclamation point at the end?  iPhone! iPad! iWatch! iEstá chingón!

 

TOP FIVES

	Name	Pos	Team	Total	Owner
1	Lamar Jackson	QB	Bal	249	Big Sack No TDs
2	Joe Burrow	QB	Cin	210	Wyld Ass Monkeys
3	Baker Mayfield	QB	TB	208	American BadAss
4	Jalen Hurts	QB	Phi	200	J LUV U LONG TIME
5	Josh Allen	QB	Buf	191	Scottish Rebels

Lamar Jackson has just been an absolute point monster this season.  And how about Baker holding on in the top 3!?

	Name	Pos	Team	Total	Owner
1	Derrick Henry	RB	Bal	207	Scottish Rebels
2	Saquon Barkley	RB	Phi	162	Big Sack No TDs
3	Alvin Kamara	RB	NO	151	J LUV U LONG TIME
4	Bijan Robinson	RB	Atl	140	Luck of the Irish
5	Jahmyr Gibbs	RB	Det	134	Luck of the Irish

Wild to have the top scoring QB and RB on the same NFL team, and for both of them to be leading by such wide margins.  Shout out to Luck of the Irish for having two runningbacks in the top five.

	Name	Pos	Team	Total	Owner
1	Ja'Marr Chase	WR	Cin	161	Wyld Ass Monkeys
2	Justin Jefferson	WR	Min	109	American BadAss
3	Terry McLaurin	WR	Was	101	Joe's No Pats
4	Drake London	WR	Atl	99	sprouts
5	Garrett Wilson	WR	NYJ	98	sprouts

For QB, RB and WR, there is the top dog and then there is everyone else.  And look at that lead Chase has over Justin Jefferson…52 points!  Shout out to sprouts for having two receivers in the top 5.

	Name	Pos	Team	Total	Owner
1	George Kittle	TE	SF	94	Scottish Rebels
2	Brock Bowers	TE	LV	66	Luck of the Irish
3	Cade Otton	TE	TB	64	Scottish Rebels
4	Trey McBride	TE	Ari	64	sprouts
5	Tucker Kraft	TE	GB	63	American BadAss

Shout out to me for having two tight ends in the top 5!  Not sure how that one helps.

	Name	Pos	Team	Total	Owner
1	Minnesota	DEF	Min	132	J LUV U LONG TIME
2	Buffalo	DEF	Buf	119	American BadAss
3	Denver	DEF	Den	113	Scottish Rebels
4	Detroit	DEF	Det	110	NASCAR Cafe Honey Mustard
5	Pittsburgh	DEF	Pit	103	Joe's No Pats

These five defenses are the only ones so far this season to score over 100 points.

	Name	Pos	Team	Total	Owner
1	Ka'imi Fairbairn	K	Hou	116	J LUV U LONG TIME
2	Chris Boswell	K	Pit	106	Luck of the Irish
2	Austin Seibert	K	Was	106	Free Agent
4	Brandon Aubrey	K	Dal	104	American BadAss
5	Tyler Bass	K	Buf	90	Joe's No Pats

Kickers.  I mean, right?

BEST BENCH(es)

Week 9 had two teams in the running for Best Bench.  The Wyld Ass Monkeys put up a decent 34-point-improvement possibility, but that wasn’t enough to top sprouts who had a 40-point-improvement possibility.  Russ needed three roster moves to get there:  G. Wilson for M. Nabors +16, C. Brown for J. Cook +15 and J. Herbert for C.J. Stroud +9.  This was sprouts 2^nd Best Bench this season, having claimed it back in Week 3.

For Week 10, there was really only one team in the running.  Whether it was due to good team management or bye weeks, the nine non-Best Bench teams this week averaged just a 7.3 point-improvement possibility.  But taking home his first Best Bench with a 34 point-improvement possibility, the Week 10 Best Bench goes to… Joe’s No Pats!  Joe also needed three roster swaps to get there:  K. Murray for S. Darnold +23, T. McLaurin for Z. Flowers +8 and Pittsburgh for Kansas City +3.  Eight different teams have now claimed a Best Bench this season.

 

Only four more games until the playoffs begin (first week of the playoffs is Week 15).  Next week I’ll start running some playoff scenarios.  Get those waivers in and get ready for Week 11!!