Let me start by saying sorry, last week got away from me, and I did not get out the Week 14 Preview for all the divisions. But here comes the preview for the big Week 15. One week remains for teams to get into playoff position in the Family and First Divisions. Let’s begin with the Family Division.
Family Division
Here is what we know for sure. The Farmville Furies (Maddie) are in the Family Division’s Week 16 Championship Game. The big question is who will join them.
It all comes down to the Platoon and the Alligators. It is always fun when it comes down to the wire. Let’s check out their Week 15 matchups.
9-5 Poultry Platoon (Erika) versus 6-8 Ocean City Flockers (Diane)
The Platoon suffered a setback last week in losing to the Furies. That slid them back into a tie with the Alligators for 2nd place. Unfortunately, the Alligators own the tiebreak advantage over the Platoon. So, the Platoon needs to win, and have the Alligators lose, to get one last chance at taking down the Furies. The Flockers are looking to play spoiler this week against the Platoon.
9-5 Allegheny Alligators (Cody) versus 2-12 London Snitches (Amy)
This is as simple as it gets for the Gators. Win and they are in the Championship game. Their opponent is 2-12, the lowest-scoring team in the league, and the Alligators have already won their two previous matchups. The most likely result, UPSET! Why do I say that is the most likely result? Have you all not played fantasy football very long? Just when something seems likely in fantasy football is when everything goes sideways. Hey Cody, go and ask Greg how these things can turn out in these situations. He can tell you about that Reapers game last year. I can’t wait to see who gets to play the Furies next week.
Good luck to both of you.
First Division
Things are getting fun in the First Division as well. We already know three of the teams going into the playoffs next week. The 11-3 Woodsboro Corn Snakes (Michael), 10-4 Louisiana Lycanthropes (Kiley), and the 9-5 San Antonio Reapers (John) have their spots reserved.
The seedings are still up in the air as the Lycanthropes can catch the Corn Snakes for the #1 seed. And, the Reapers can catch the Lycanthropes for the #2 seed. But the important thing is that all three teams will be in the playoffs.
However, that 4th playoff team is still extremely competitive, with four teams battling for that last spot. Let’s look at the matchups.
8-6 Fruitland Fruit Flies (Tanner) versus 4-10 Baltimore Bulldogs (Katie)
The Bulldogs will look to make things interesting with a win because it is simple for the Fruit Flies. Win, and they are in the playoffs. The Fruit Flies currently sit alone in 4th place, but three teams are lurking a game back, just waiting for the Fruit Flies to stumble.
But, those three teams will need to get their victories to have a chance at catching Fruitland. And two of those teams play each other.
7-7 West Virginia Rednecks (Wayne) versus 7-7 Salisbury Auto Drafts (Dakota)
This is a fun game. It is not really a play-in game because the winner will need the Fruit Flies to lose. However, it is an elimination game. The winner has a chance, the loser is eliminated. These two teams come into this game on two completely different trajectories. The Rednecks are on a four-game winning streak while Salisbury is on a five-game losing streak. However, Salisbury crushed West Virginia by 50 back in week six. It’s gonna be fun to watch.
7-7 Kobe Beef (Kobe) versus 4-10 Coastal Waves (Abbey)
We already know the Beef’s situation. Just like the Rednecks and Auto Drafts, Kobe needs the win for a chance at getting into the playoff tiebreak. But this is not an entirely disinterested Waves squad. At 4-10, the Waves sit tied for the second spot in the relegation game. After winning the Family Division Championship last season, the Waves are not planning on getting relegated in their inaugural First Division season. They need a win to avoid the relegation game next week.
Next week is the big week for the first division with two playoff/promotion games and one relegation game. But this week will determine who makes it there. I cannot wait to see who gets to compete in those contests. Fun, fun, fun!
Dynasty Division
The Dynasty Division is already one round into their playoffs and playdowns, and what a week. Two of the three playoff games were up in the air until late in the Monday night game.
The Montana Mountaineers (Chuck) came into the Monday night game down 16 pts to the Phoenix Heat (Steven). But, the Mountaineers had the explosive Lamar Jackson. The Heat also had a key player going with JK Dobbins.
Early on, Montana was reeling Phoenix in with Lamar Jackson putting up big points. After Lamar’s second TD, the Mountaineers closed the gap to one point. But then Dobbins punched in a TD for the Heat, and the Mountaineers did not keep pace the rest of the way. When Lamar Jackson did his Willis Reed imitation it again got exciting, but while he saved the game for the Ravens, it was not enough for Montana. Phoenix held on in a thrilling fashion to move into the semis.
Montana outscored every playoff team last week except Phoenix, which is brutal. Bad break getting the defending champs in the first round. The worst part was the tease. The Mountaineers got within a point early on Monday night before the carpet was yanked out from under them.
But that shootout was not even the most thrilling game of the week. Remember when I said just when things seem likely in fantasy football is when it all goes sideways. Well, let me tell you about the ending of the Minnetonka Chippewas (Greg) and New Orleans Hurricanes (Jamie) playoff game this week.
Going into the Monday night game, the Canes had an 11-point lead. The Canes had been up by much more early on Sunday, but the Chippewas had rallied to close the gap to eleven. The Chippewas had Kareem Hunt playing Monday night, while the Canes had Myles Garrett. The Chippewas also have John Harbaugh of Baltimore as their coach. If the Ravens win the game, the Chippewas get 3 points, and they would lose three points with a Ravens loss. The result was far from decided, but the Chippewas probably needed at least two Kareem Hunt TDs to pull out a victory.
Well, in the second quarter, Hunt scores a TD. Now, things were getting interesting. One more score by Hunt and the Chippewas would be right there for the come from behind victory. But time begins ticking away.
With six minutes left in the game, Baker Mayfield scrambles into the end zone to put Cleveland ahead. The Canes breathe a sigh of relief. Not only did the Canes fade a Hunt touchdown on that drive, but with Cleveland in the lead, the Browns would probably use more Nick Chubb if they could get a stop against the Ravens. And the best news of all, Lamar Jackson was in the locker room leaving Trace McSorley at QB for the Ravens. Things were looking good for the Canes, but they would get better.
On the ensuing drive, the Ravens manage a few first downs, which was great because the clock kept ticking. Then, just before the 2-minute warning, on a 3rd down play at midfield, Myles Garrett takes down McSorley in the backfield. Garrett picks up a point for the stuff to add just a little more cushion for the Canes.
All the Canes need is for the Browns to get this 4th down stop, kneel on the ball a few times, and the game will be over. Plus, McSorley gets hurt on the play. Right before the commercial, the announcer actually states, “I wonder who will play QB for the Ravens now?” It was all going perfectly for the Canes.
Remember when I said just when things seem likely is when they go sideways in fantasy football? For the Canes, advancing to the playoff semis looked extremely likely at that moment, if not assured.
But wait, here comes Willis Reed out of the tunnel. Sorry, I meant Lamar Jackson. I remember looking at the live scoring and thinking, damn, if Lamar runs another one in, Chuck will make an improbable last-second comeback on Steven. That would be really painful for Steven. I should have been more concerned about my own potential come from ahead loss. But still, that just did not seem “likely.”
We all know the next play. Jackson completes the bomb to Marquise Brown and the Ravens take the 5-point lead.
No worries, all the Canes need is for the Ravens to hold, or for someone other than Kareem Hunt to score for the Browns. Well, here we go.
I mean, what an incredible drive by Cleveland and a great play by Hunt. But ouch, that hurt!
However, despite that improbable string of events over the last minute of football, everything is still not lost for the Canes. The Chippewas are only leading by three points after the Hunt touchdown. As long as Cleveland pulls out the victory, the Chippewas would get the -3 from the Raven’s loss, and the game would end in a tie. The Canes would still advance due to being the higher seed. Despite that crazy minute of football, success was still available for the Canes.
Butch keeps telling me how Lamar Jackson cannot win games at the end when they are behind. Jackson has already come out of the locker room to complete a 50-yard pass on a 4th down. What is the chance he will lead a drive with only a minute remaining to win this game? Very unlikely, right, Butch?
Here is the whole final sequence if you want to watch.
https://youtu.be/3xYOB7kSCIk?t=734
And there it was. UGH!
As the Tucker field goal goes through the uprights and my loss is secured, I am just sitting there shaking my head and smiling. Smiling, you ask? Why would I be smiling after that crazy string of events caused my elimination from the playoffs? Because we play fantasy football for fun, and that was a lot of fun. Plus, what is more fun than a great story? I’ll take a great story over a win any day.
What an incredible, improbable, last second, come from behind victory by the Chippewas. Congrats on an awesome win! Last year, the Chippewas had a devastating loss to the Reapers in week 13. So, this was just a balancing victory provided by the fantasy football gods.
What may have been the best game of the year in the NFL was also a great story for our league. Absolutely awesome!
Now, on to this week. Since we are already talking about the playoffs, we will do the semi-final matchups before discussing the playdowns.
10-3 West Virginia Blacklungs (Rob S) versus 8-6 Minnetonka Chippewas (Greg)
The Chippewas are developing a habit of dramatic, down to the last second victories. In week 13, they secured a one-point win over the Virginia Pioneers when the Ravens won on Tuesday night. The Pioneers needed just two more points in that game from either Marquise Brown or Yannick Ngakoue to hold off the Chippewas. But as the buzzer sounded, the Chippewas had the one point victory thanks to that final three points from the Ravens victory. That one-point win put the Chippewas into the playoffs, leading to the big win against the Canes. Back-to-back last-second victories to advance. Does anyone think that this matchup will be decided in the final seconds of the Monday Night game? Man, let’s hope so.
The Blacklungs roll into this game with an impressive 10-win season. But one of their three losses was to the Chippewas back in week eight. We have had first-time champions in three of the last four seasons, including the previous two in a row. The Blacklungs are the only franchise remaining that does not have a championship. Maybe the Lungers can make it three straight years of teams breaking through for Super Bowl victories. That would be fun.
9-5 Minnesota Blizzard (Geri) versus 9-5 Phoenix Heat (Steven)
Wow, what a matchup. These two teams are 1st and 2nd in points scored on the season. Is there any doubt that this will be a shootout? The same two teams are also 1st and 2nd in the number of transactions this year. So they have outworked everyone to get to this point. But only one team can earn a victory this week and a trip to the Super Bowl.
The Phoenix Heat are the defending champs. Last year, they were the highest-scoring team during the regular season and the highest-scoring team in every round of the playoffs. They dominated their way to the Championship. So, what have they done this season? Well, they repeated as the top-scoring team during the regular season. And, they put up the most points in the first round of the playoffs last week. This beast just keeps on rolling. Can anyone beat this team?
Well, the one thing we know for sure is the Blizzard are not intimidated by the Heat. The Blizzard are one of the most storied franchises in the league, and they know how to compete at the highest level. Plus, the Blizzard lost to the Heat in the semis last year, so they are motivated. The Blizzard have waited a year for a chance to avenge that loss, and now they get it.
Will the grasshopper defeat the sensei again this year? I have no idea, but I know it is going to be fun to watch.
Okay, the playoffs are fantastic so far, and some great teams are competing in the semi-finals, trying to advance to the Super Bowl. But dang, look at the rosters of the four teams in the playdowns. It is ridiculous how strong these teams are. The depth of fantasy producers these days is amazing. Despite their rosters’ strength, two of these teams will lose this week and advance to the Toilet Bowl.
5-8-1 Saskatchewan Speedsters (Zach) versus 4-8-1 Myrtle Beach Wave (Rob D)
The Speedsters put up 56 points in their loss to Oregon last week but still advance. That is rough. This team continues to catch every lousy break. They are due to catch a few good breaks and need it to be this week to end their slide and avoid the Toilet Bowl.
The Wave’s season pretty much mirrors their best player, Ezekiel Elliott. They have talent but just are not getting the results. Is this the week they breakthrough? Minshew is back for the Jaguars, so maybe DJ Chark finally starts to produce as expected. But I am pretty sure the Cowboys offensive line is still going to suck, so getting production from Zeke may be asking a lot. The Wave definitely need these guys to step up and be the producers they were expected to be.
Look, these are both good teams. But, I think these teams better get a win this week because winning next week will be even more challenging. The two rosters in the other matchup are stupidly strong.
6-8 Louisiana Lightning (Denny) versus 4-9 DC Braves (Shehbaz)
How do the top two overall Dynasty assets end up in the playdown semi-finals?
Well, let’s start with the Lightning. Christian McCaffery misses most of the year, and the team only misses the playoffs by half a game. Then, in the first round of the playdowns, they score enough points to win two of the three playoff games played that same week. But somehow, another team in the playdowns scores even more because they are also loaded. NUTS!
Now, the Lightning gets to play a team with Alvin Kamara, Tyreek Hill, Terry McLaurin, Adam Theilen, Cooper Kupp, David Montgomery, et al. Holy crap! Diesel, love you cousin, but you may need to go and do some volunteer work because Karma is kicking you in the arse. I have no idea what you did wrong, but you cannot catch a break.
And Shehbaz, the remaining playoff teams are pleased you are in the playdowns because no one wants to play this roster. Excellent job building a roster; now you need to get a win.
The shame of it, two of these four rosters will lose and be in the Toilet Bowl next week. I say again, NUTS!
Good luck to everyone. The all-important Week Sixteen is next.