High scores across the board set a great tone for the concluding week of our inaugural season! Even though the playoff positions were largely set before the games started, each team still put their best foot forward, putting up a collective league-high in total points scored! Only one team missed the 100pt threshold; unfortunately Land O' Nutts couldn't have foreseen Lacy having too much to drink the night before the Lions rematch. With such high scores the week before the playoffs, the stage is set for an exciting finish!
Week 13 Review
Runner Runner had a rough go of it in the last half of the season, losing crucial matchups that left them out of the running pretty early. That didn't stop them from keeping their foot on the gas, though, and they put up the 4th highest point score this week. Land O' Nutts' season ended largely the same way it started, with a disappointing showing from their Green Bay players. Lacy sat most of the game as punishment for missing curfew the night before, and Cobb's only saving grace was a recovered fumble in the endzone. Luckily for the team, those same players will still be in powerful positions next year, after the team has had time to recover and gets Jordy back to spread the field.
Fantasy is supposed to give us the ability to "play NFL coach", wondering what we would do if we were in charge of our favorite teams and players. In practice, this often doesn't work out as well as we'd think. But every once in a while, fantasy and reality mimic one another. This week the Patriots played the Philadelphia Dumpster Fires Eagles, in what should have been an embarrassment of epic proportions. It did turn out an embarrassment, but for New England instead as they crumbled in the face of the underdogs. Why spend all this time talking about Tom Brady's deflated play? The E-Munnies faced a similar opponent, as Show Me Your TDs has been at the bottom for most of the year. What should have been an easy walk into a final win before the playoffs turned into a 21pt loss, with TDs putting up a franchise record score of 150pts! The results of the match have little practical effect on the playoff picture, but the Munnies have to be worried about their endgame chances now.
Bloggers and experts, what do they know? BgDkDdy didn't take lightly to being predicted against. Up against season-long favorites with little to gain, the team still put up a dominant performance and won the match by 21pts. Once again, the playoff picture was unchanged, but implications have been made. The bEARs are beatable.
When Big Ben is healthy, ACL is a difficult team to overcome. With his 300+yards every week and OBJ good for at least one deep TD every game, they remain favorites in the playoff picture despite their low standing rank. Robinson did what he could to give The Futures the chance to take the Colorexico bye with his 41pts, but the rest of the team struggled to break double digits. They are still comfortably second in the division, but will need better performances out of their players the next few weeks.
While Sicarios needed a miracle for a win to get them into the playoffs, they still had spoiler potential going against Julio and Friends who were still fighting to secure their hold of the Colorexico bye. In the end less than 3pts separated the two teams, but the Pats poor showing held star player Gostkowski to only 4pts, which was enough for the Friends to take the win and the playoff bye. Hats off to Sicarios for their amazing comeback after an abysmal start to the season!
Playoffs Round 1 Preview
Will New England recover from their string of defeats when the E-Munnies need them most? Will ACL's ragtag team of backups remember that they are second-stringers when the pressure is highest? If you just look at the names on each roster, this looks to be in the bag for ACL, but when you consider matchups things aren't quite so clear. The majority of big E's players are going against New Orleans, Jacksonville, Houston, and Washington, all incredibly juicy matchups; while ACL's big 3 Steelers face Cincinnati's daunting defense. In a league without D/STs, defenses might end up a bigger role in the playoff picture than expected.
Despite their sheer unpredictability, BgDkDdy always seems to show up in the pivotal moments when it matters most. The Futures have had their own up and down season, with injuries taking them down but 3rd stringers becoming starters picking them back up again. The early season seemed to have them in a long-term build, but as it happens they've found themselves in good position to make a run for the first league win. Can Palmer carry the team to take down the TE factory? Or will the dark horse Ddy's add another notch to the belt?
Final Seasonal Stats
