Round 1 Recap:
This was the highest scoring Round 1 in the history of our league.
BYE: 1. JD, 2. Tommy
5.Chase (7-7) 156.4 vs. 4. Moose (8-6) 141.4
Chase advances to face the 1 seed JD after defeating Moose in a shootout 156.4 to 141.4. Moose didn’t get Dallas Goedert back in time and the result was a shootout anyway. But chase got 37.4 from Kirk Cousins, 27 from Dalvin Cook in their epic comeback win against the Colts. He got a solid 9.5 or more from every starter in a complete game. Moose had 5 players score in single digits, but still hung around with gutsy performances from Josh Allen (38.7), Barkley (20.5), AJ Brown (25.6) and Stevenson (26.8).
6.Mike (7-7) 131.6 vs. 3. Brad (10-4) 145.1
Brad started off with a 99+ point lead as 7/9 starters played prior to Sunday. Mike came roaring back and threatened until the bitter end, but wind up falling by 13.5 points. Brad moves on to face Tommy. Mike got a monster 30.2 game from Jerick McKinnon. Brad was carried by his big three with Jalen Hurts getting 37.7, Justin Jefferson getting 27.3 and CMC getting 23.9. He also had a long td catch by Jaylen Waddle, which got the big play bonus and put him over 100 yards receiving where he finished with 23.9.
Bottom Bowl:
Kenny (6-8) 80.2 vs. Jen (6-8) 103.6
Jen wins and advances to Game 1 of Round 2. Great spot to be. Kenny moves on to Game 2 of Round 2.
Joe (6-8) 95.1 vs. Trey (6-8) 82.0
Joe continues his epic win streak. He moves on to Game 1 of Round 2 and will get at least 3 balls in the draft lottery. Trey drops to Game 3 of Round 2 and has already capped his ball potential for next year.
Katon (3-11) 93.6 vs. Scotty (3-11) 78.0
Katon defeats Scotty to move to Round 2 Game 2. Scotty is already capped to a max of 4 balls in the lottery since he will be playing in Round 2 Game 3.
Round 2 Preview:
5.Chase (7-7) vs. 1. JD (11-3)
Chase is coming off of the second highest opening round score in the history of the league and enters Round 2 as a complete team. Chase and JD have never met in the playoffs. This bracket is shaping up a lot like 2014 where JD was the 1 seed and played the winner of the 4/5 game that featured Moose and Chase. Moose won back in 2014, but this time it’s Chase’s turn. JD won in the final four matchup in 2014. Let’s see if history will repeat itself. JD is searching for his first Title after losing in back to back Super Bowls in 2014 and 2015. Chase is seeking back to back Titles and his 4th Championship this season.
Quarterbacks:
Chase has 8. Kirk Cousins is coming off of back to back 30+ point fantasy performances and this week he gets the Giants at home. JD features #2 Patrick Mahomes vs. Seattle. Seattle’s secondary is young, but they give up a lot of fantasy points to running backs and tight ends. Which benefits Chase who has Kelce.
Running Backs:
Chase has 8. Dalvin Cook vs. the Giants who are 23rd OPRK and JK Dobbins with a plus matchup against Atlanta. It’s going to be cold and miserable in Baltimore as it is in much of the US, so I expect a lot of runs in this game. JD will finish things off with #4 Austin Ekeler vs. Indianapolis in Indy on Monday Night Football. He will either start Bam Knight who faces Jacksonville in a bad weather game on Thursday Night Football or pivot to Raheem Mostert against Green Bay in Miami. Bam is fun to say, but not if he’s Banged Up.
Wide Receivers:
Talent all over the place. Chase with #7 Amon-Ra St. Brown versus a beatable Carolina team on Saturday. Weather looks to be freezing temperatures, but some of the best in the slate because everywhere else is garbage weather. #25 JuJu will be in the Seattle game. I mentioned earlier Seattle locks down Wideouts, but get’s destroyed by Running backs and Tight Ends. Chase will also have #23 Michael Pittman on MNF vs. LA Chargers OR DeAndre Hopkins vs. Tampa Bay on SNF. Indy has announced a Qb change from Matt Ryan to Nick Folk, which I’m not sure if that helps or hurts the Colts. Dizzle has #8 CeeDee Lamb in a pivotal divisional matchup against Philly on Saturday. He also has #17 Garrett Wilson vs. Jacksonville on TNF. Weather looks like shit, but Wilson has been a target machine in the last 4 weeks, averaging nearly 10 targets per game. JD also has Keenan Allen on MNF in a tough matchup against Indianapolis. Indy’s secondary is solid until they completely fall apart and give up 36 second half points.
Tight Ends:
Clear advantage to Chase with #1 Travis Kelce. Kelce is the equivalent of WR or Rb #5. He gets a great matchup against Seattle this week. He averages 17.7 points per game. Its like Chase rolling out Nick Chubb or Saquon Barkley in his TE spot. Dizzle has been streaming Tight Ends and just dropped Daniel Bellinger to pick up TD magnet Juwan Johnson. Johnson is projected to play in Cleveland this weekend with snow projected pregame and in game. Temps in the teens with 20-30 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 40 mph. Juwan has broken a lot of long touchdowns this season, we’ll see if he can do it while playing a game in Hell.
Defense & Special Teams:
Chase is rolling with 14. Cleveland D/ST in the winter hell game. Look for a lot of runs and for people to try and get the hell out of there. Low scoring, slippery football. Could be great for a D/ST. JD has Ten D/ST against Houston. Houston has been formidable the past couple weeks against Dallas and Kansas City. Hanging in games they shouldn’t. Not sure if it will continue as the way to exploit Tennessee is to pass against them. We’ll see.
Kicker:
#5 Brett Maher for Chase in a great game against Philly. Could very well come down to a field goal or two. JD has #10 Graham Gano in a dome in Minnesota. A favorable situation give the weather this weekend.
3.Brad (10-4) vs. 2. Tommy (10-4)
Super Bowl 3 Rematch. Brad defeated Tommy by 1 point on a last minute play in which Drew Brees broke the touchdown record on a touchdown to Brad’s Darren Sproles. Brad is 3-10 against Tommy all time. 2 of those wins have come in the playoffs.
Quarterbacks:
Brad HAD #1 Qb Jalen Hurts who had scored at least 30 points in 4 consecutive weeks. Then it was determined that he hurt his shoulder in his game against Chicago. Hurts is saying he might still play this weekend, but it looks like it’s going to be Minshew this week against Dallas. Tommy had saved up his FAAB and smartly picked up the Top 3 backup Qb options putting #15 bids on each one as Brad only had #14 FAAB remaining. Brad is horrible at managing FAAB specifically in this league. This led him to pick up Brock Purdy against a really tough Washington Defense. Purdy has thrown 2 touchdowns in each of the last 3 games. Brad is hoping for a miracle to have Hurts available, if not he’ll roll with the Purdy-CMC stack. Tommy has his choice of Joe Burrow or Justin Fields…. Or Aaron Rodgers or Zach Wilson or Gardner Minshew lol. He’ll most likely roll with #4 Joe Burrow against New England. They are pretty good against the pass, but Burrow is Burrow.
Running Backs:
Brad has all 3 of his Rb’s starting on Saturday with #5 Nick Chubb vs. New Orleans in a snow game, Isaih Pacheco against Seattle’s #31 OPRK, and #3 CMC against a stiff Washington Defense. Nick Chubb is nursing a foot injury and hasn’t practiced as of this write up. If Chubb misses that could be disastrous for Brad since Tommy holds Kareem Hunt who would become an instant starter. Tommy has #2 Derrick Henry vs. Houston. In Henry’s last 4 games against Houston he has rushed for: 32-219-2, 34-250-2, 22-212-2, and 32-211-3. And Tannehill is projected to miss. Houston is #32 OPRK. I’ve scribbled in 30 in this spot. Tommy will also have #14 Leonard Fournette against Arizona. He took a 2/3 snap share last week over rookie Rashad White, which I’m sure Tommy would love to see continue this week.
Wide Receivers:
Brad has a dynamic duo in #1 Justin Jefferson against the NY Giants and #6 Jaylen Waddle vs. Green Bay in Miami. JJ has a chance to break Calvin Johnson’s receiving yardage record, so look for his normal studly amount despite him working through a chest contusion. Tommy features the top Dolphin wideout #2 Tyreek Hill. Tyreek has been more consistent and has been balling out all season for the Dolphins. Classis Waddle vs. Tyreek matchup this week. Tommy also has #14 WR DK Metcalf against KC’s #27 OPRK. Tyler Lockett broke a finger last week and will miss this game, meaning more targets for Metcalf. Things are looking up for Tommy. He also has #19 WR Zay Jones playing on TNF as of this write up. Zay has been on fire lately and has scored 4 touchdowns in the past 2 weeks. He may be matched up against rookie phenom Sauce Gardner in a bad weather game. Tommy could pivot to #21 Brandon Aiyuk who has a tough matchup against Washington.
Tight Ends:
Brad has either David Njoku in a terrible weather game against a tough New Orleans team or Greg Dulcich against the Rams. Greg was looking good, but his volume has dropped. Tommy gets #5 Greg Kittle who is coming off of his best game of the season last week. But this week he faces Washington who are the best team in the league in stopping opposing Tight Ends. This position looks to be a disaster for both teams this week.
Defense & Special Teams:
Brad has #6 Bills D/ST with injuries, bad weather, and Justin Fields on the opposite side of the field. Bills D/ST hasn’t scored a touchdown since week 2. Tommy has #2 Dallas D/ST They were looking amazing until the past couple of weeks where Houston and Jacksonville were able to score a bunch against them.
Kicker:
Brad has #2 Tyler Bass against Chicago as of this write up. He might pivot since it will be so cold in Chicago that when Bass tries to kick the ball it might crack in half. Tommy has #7 Greg Zuerlein who will be playing in rain and wind, but it won’t be as cold. I have very little expectations out of this group as well.
Bottom Bowl Preview:
Round 2
Game 1:
Joe vs. Jen
Winner moves on to Game 1 of Round 3 and is guaranteed 5 or 6 balls. Loser goes to Game 2 of Round 3 and is guaranteed 3 or 4 balls.
Game 2:
Katon vs. Kenny
Winner moves on to Game 1 of Round 3 and is guaranteed 5 or 6 balls. Loser goes to Game 3 and will be playing in the Bottom of the Bottom Bowl with only a chance to win 2 balls.
Game 3:
Scotty vs. Trey
Winner moves on to Game 2 of Round 3 and is guaranteed 3 or 4 balls. Loser goes to Game 3 and will be playing in the Bottom of the Bottom Bowl with only a chance to win 2 balls.
Thanks,
Commish
fantasyfootballbrad 