We're at the end of the season and still can't seem to escape crucial injuries to starting players. Romo out again, McCown out (essentially taking Barnidge out), CJ?K out for fantasy purposes, Gronk even had his annual scare (though likely will only miss a week or so). If it weren't for deep benches, this would be a difficult year to battle through for most teams.
As we've come down to the last week of the regular season, the playoff picture looks pretty clear. Land O' Nutts, Show Me Your TDs, and Runner Runner have been eliminated from contention. Sicarios need a statistical-anomaly kind of miracle to take a wildcard spot (scoring over 200pts more than Arrogance Can't Lose). All that's left for week 12 is finalizing the rankings going into the playoffs. Colorexico's bye is still in contention between The Futures and Julio and Friends, while Newizona's top two spots are locked up. ACL and BgDkDdy will fight over which side of the playoff bracket they'll be placed.
Week 12 Review
We might just have to rename the Joe Philbin Award, as Show Me Your TDs loves them some inactive players! Baldwin's surprising 40pt performance was almost enough to overcome the started TE, and looked to be a lock going into halftime Monday night. BgDkDdy wasn't gonna quit, though, and Benajmin made the match-winning TD catch in the fourth quarter. Fun fact: even Fleener's lowly 4pts would have been enough for TDs to take the win.
Flying in the face of the experts' choices and in spite of their inability to make the playoffs, Land O' Nutts absolutely dominated E-Munnies while putting up the week's high score. Looking at Lacy's and Peterson's points, you would have thought this was a game from two years ago. An even bigger surprise, Sammy Watkins went off against the Chiefs, ensuring the Nutts' success. It might have been a closer game, if not for the difficulties New England faced in Denver. Controversial ref calls combined with Gronk's head injury held big E back from a more competitive score. As a result of the loss, Newizona's top two positions are locked in, as a tie with tEDDy bEARs would go to the latter.
Runner Runner's team manager has been surprisingly quiet, despite the horrible rush of bad luck the team has faced the last three weeks. Even with Landry's 32pts, every other player just struggled to put up double digits. Hurns left the game with a concussion, and DT almost seemed like a different person in the snow. Going into Monday's game, The Futures only needed a single point from Barnidge, who was able to get 12 before McCown's injury spelled his end-of-production. The loss eliminates Runner Runner from playoff contention, though the young team will need very little work to remain dominant next season.
Sicarios' late season run had to come to an end sometime, and it's not surprising the tEDDy bEARs were the ones to do it. After the Thanksgiving games, everything seemed to be going Sicarios' way, with Forte and DeMarco only putting up 9pts between them, the prophetic decision to sit Romo, and Rodgers held to a sub20 score. Sadly, the luck wouldn't hold through Sunday as CJ put up 31pts before his injury while LaFell, Cooks, and Gostkowski were all held to single-digit scores. The loss likely eliminates the dark horse team from playoff contention, while solidifying the bEARs position atop Newizona division.
Which brings us to the nailbitingly close match between ACL and Julio and Friends, which concluded with Sunday night's game between the Seahawks and Steelers. Most would bet on Big Ben versus Wilson, but most wouldn't count on Russell's biggest fantasy game to date. Ben put up his own high scoring game with 450 yards and a TD, but he pulled himself out of the final push, which was all the Friends needed to secure the 4pt lead and keep a hold of their tenuous position at the top of Colorexico.
Week 13 Preview
This match reflects last week's Nutts match vs. E-Munnies, in that you would think this would be an easy call for the opponent. Unfortunately for Runner Runner, the Nutts have been on an upward track lately, with all of their underperforming players finally figuring things out (albeit a bit too late). This should still be a close game with Cam poised against the laughable Saints defense, especially if Freeman returns from concussion protocol.
The E-Munnies find themselves on the precipice of complete disaster following their string of badly timed injuries. They find themselves relying on backup Chandler, Wright, and a Luck-less Moncrief this week in place of what was once a seemingly unbeatable team. They face the last place Show Me Your TDs, who have seemed to not even check their roster, yet still keep finding themselves in position to play spoiler. Projected as only a 2pt spread, this game may be closer than the experts predict.
It's a good thing BgDkDdy won last week to secure the wildcard spot, because this week would be a tough game to even pull an upset. The tEDDy bEARs, who have still yet to suffer a single season-ending injury, look dominant going into the end of the season and playoffs. Their biggest setback has been Forte splitting carries with Langford, but even that hasn't stopped him from putting up points. From here on out the Ddys will play a form of Russian Roullette as they choose between Anderson and Hill, which have each proven capable of putting up big scores but rarely at the same time. Is this a CJ week?
I would say this is a must-win match for Sicarios, but it's so much more than that. This is a must-absolutely-dominate-with-unprecedented-scores match. Julio and Friends, on the other hand, are still fighting to maintain their hold on the Colorexico bye. The big question for them will be if Ware impressed enough last week to overcome West as the starter in Kansas City. Otherwise, they don't have much to worry about.
Game of the Week: With only 1/10 of a pt spread projected between the two, this should be the closest match of the week. The Futures need a win to make a claim on the Colorexico bye, and ACL needs to put up enough points to keep Sicarios from taking their wildcard spot. ACL's biggest decision this week is which Bryant to start, as each find themselves in a bit of a QB dilemma. Dez lost Romo, and has only put up one semi-decent game without him, while Martavis seems to toss a coin when Landry is throwing. The Futures will be hoping Freeman sits out one more week so they can take advantage of Coleman, otherwise they'll be looking through their bench for a suitable flex. The match may very well come down to Monday night, and whether Dallas decides to rely on the throw or the run.
Seasonal Stats
