In a big week for playoff implications, the four teams on the bubble stayed alive, while only two of the four teams that could clinch a spot did. This was a much higher scoring week than last week. Only one team was under 100 points (and that was by less than a point), whereas last week, we had 5 teams under 100. Last week only saw two teams score over 120 points -- this week had ten teams score over that same mark.
Game Recaps
Skyler vs Tommy: The front runner for the battle of ineptitude ended up being the weekly bonanza by having a combined score of 280+. Skyler had one 30+ point scorer, and an additional 20+ point scorer as well. Tommy had three players score 20+. Skyler was able to get the win by the strength of his middle-tier guys. He had four players score 15+, and most of his team hit double digits (only two players had <10 points, but they still had 9+ points) while Tommy had only one other player score 15+ and had four players with <10 points.
Brady vs Chad: In the battle for North supremacy and a bye week, Chad was able to get a solid win by 16+ points in the battle of ineptitude. He was led victory by a combined 50 points from Mahomes and Dalvin, while also getting 20+ from Lockett. Brady had the leading scorer of the game with Keenan Allen nearly putting up 35, but only one other player on his team had more than 13.5 points. The win guarantees Chad makes the playoffs -- he is still not guaranteed to win the division though. Given their schedules, it will likely be hard for Brady to make up ground on Chad, but he should clinch the playoffs net week.
Rob vs Matt: Everyone in the league had an eye on this matchup. If Matt won, it would have eliminated Skyler, Tommy, and Jordan, and no one would have clinched the playoffs. Rob made half of the league very happy with four players having a good game with 19+ points. Matt was let down by most of his team. He was the only one to not break 100. His bench had 91 points. He would have been crazy to start Taysom over Kyler (the only starter to score 18.5 or more for Matt), but Taysom did outscore Kyler this week (by less than a point, but still). I think that's just a sign that it wasn't Matt's week. With the win, Rob becomes part of the 5 win club, which means that another win by him will eliminate all of the 3 win teams (Matt is already part of this club, and Tyler is there as well).
Trevor vs Brandon: Brandon's win over Trevor essentially locked up the division and a bye week for Brandon -- and he did it with a Monday Night Miracle in the nail-biter of the week. Brandon got his win on Monday night with a combined 48 points from Woods and Godwin. He was able to stay in the game thanks to 20+ points from Henry and Wilson on Sunday. Trevor took the early lead by getting big (but not big enough) games from Tannehill, Tyreek Hill, and ::double checks notes:: the Cleveland Browns. They all scored 23+ points. Trevor was, unfortunately, let down by Travis Fulgham. From weeks 4 (when he became a starter/had stats to look at) to week 8, Fulgham was averaging around 19 points a game. Then the bye happened, and he has hit 3.6 points combined in weeks 10 and 11, on a total of 12 targets. It was a slight dip in targets, but not enough to justify such a big drop in points. If Fulgham hits his season-low from weeks 4 to 8 (12.3 points) Trevor gets the win. That's back to back weeks of a key player letting Trevor down -- and those back to back losses have knocked him from contending for a bye to not even guaranteed a playoff spot.
Jordan vs TJ: The second favorite matchup for the battle of ineptitude ended up being second on the bonanza list. The winner of this game was guaranteed to still be alive for the playoff hunt, while the loser could have been eliminated based on the other games. TJ got the win and inched to a game back of the 5 win club, while Jordan was forced to wallow in the 3 win club. Jordan had the best player in the matchup with 33+ points from Herbert, but the rest of his team struggled and no on else scored over 18 points. TJ's best player was Curtis Samuel with 21.4 points, but he was able to overcome Jordan thanks to 20+ from two other players, and 15+ from four more players.
Kyle vs Tyler: This was a competitive game, but what it represented on a larger scale (the battle for the West) is better categorized as a pillow fight. The West has limped towards the playoffs the last 3-4 weeks, meaning the top division 'battle' was between a 6 win Kyle and a 5 win Tyler. Kyle came through victorious with a 16 point win on the backs of Thielen, Andrews, and the Panthers DST -- all of whom scored 20+ points. Kyle's real MVP though may have been Taysom Hill though. Kamara had his season low points (10.5) with 0 receiving yards and 0 receptions. However, Kamara hitting his average (24 points) wouldn't have been enough to win this week, so he wasn't the only one to let Tyler down -- he can also thank Gronk for that. Gronk scored <5 points, which has happened two times in the last three games. Before this three game stretch, Gronk's last 3 game stretch, he scored 18, 17, and 14 points. If Gronk bounces back, Tyler will be fine -- if not, he may miss the playoffs entirely. At least Elliott looked good for Tyler, and hopefully turns his season around. Kyle took a 2 game lead on the division, but is behind a lot on points to Tyler -- so if everything goes wrong, Kyle could lose the division, but it would take a lot to get there. Starting that journey on the wrong foot though is Burrow going on IR, and Thielen going on the Covid list. Thielen tested positive, and then negative the next day, so sho knows what will end up happening with him.
Award Season
Pick 'em: Skyler won this week, 6-5 over Tommy. Tommy now leads the season by 4 over Tyler, which likely only happened because Tyler gave up this week.
Highest Scorer of the Week: Now that his team is on life support and were seconds away from getting the plug pulled, Skyler's team finally showed their potential and scored the most points of week.
Lowest Scorer of the Week: Matt was the only one who didn't break 100 points this week. I think Chad would say Matt was a...well we won't go there.
Luckiest Team of the Week: Speaking of Chad, he was the 8th highest scorer this week, yet he still managed to get a win.
Unluckiest Team of the Week: Trevor is coming for Matt's record of Unluckiest Team, as Trevor wins this in back to back weeks. He was the highest scoring loser. More on that losing in a minute.
MVP: I want to give this to Deshaun Watson as he was the highest scoring player on the highest scoring team, but Skyler could have started any QB who scored over 7 points and still won his game. The MVP needs to be someone irreplaceable. The award this week will go to Robert Woods. He averaged 13.4 points a game (before this week) but led Brandon to a narrow win by dropping a season high 30 points.
LVP: Trevor has a player win this award again. Go back and reread his game matchup to see why Fulgham gets the LVP this week.
Game Previews
Skyler (12) vs Chad (2): Skyler has five players on Thursday and one player in primetime. He has no players on bye. Chad has one player on Thursday and four players in primetime. He has no players on bye. With the amount of players in primtime, this could be the Monday night miracle/nightmare
Brady (4) vs Tommy (10): Brady has two players on Thursday and two players in primetime. He has no players on bye. Tommy has no players on Thursday and one player in primetime. He has no players on bye.
Matt (7) vs Brandon (1): Matt has two players on Thursday and one player in primetime. He has no players on bye. Brandon has one player on Thursday and one player in primetime. He has no players on bye. Based on standings, this looks to be the bonanza.
Trevor (3) vs Rob (8): Trevor has two players on Thursday and no players in primetime. He has no players on bye. Rob has one player on Thursday and one player in primetime. He has no players on bye.
TJ (9) vs Tyler (6): TJ has no players on Thursday and one players in primetime. He has no players on bye. Tyler has two players on Thursday and one player in primetime. He has no players on bye.
Kyle (5) vs Jordan (11): Kyle has no players on Thursday and two players in primetime. He has no players on bye. Jordan has no players on Thursday and one player in primetime. He has no players on bye. He currently has no defense. Based on standings, this if the front runner for the battle of ineptitude.
Playoff Previews
Skyler, Jordan, Tommy, TJ- Eliminated with a loss OR a Matt win OR a Tyler win OR a Rob win.
Brandon - Clinched the playoffs, clinches a first round bye with a win OR a Trevor loss.
Chad - Clinched the playoffs, clinches a first round bye with a win AND a Brady loss.
Trevor - Clinches the playoffs with a win, eliminated from the division title with a loss OR a Brandon win.
Brady - Clinches the playoffs with a win OR a Matt loss and a Tyler loss and Rob loss.
Matt, Tyler, Rob - Cannot clinch or be eliminated this week.
Kyle - Clinches the division title with a win OR a Tyler loss. Clinches the playoffs with a Matt loss AND a Rob loss
Good luck to me, Brandon, TJ, and Trevor this week so I can still mathematically not be eliminated.
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