Trevor Lawrence scored the sixth most points in Mortydome history. Amon-Ra had a career-high 35 for the second time this season. Saquon had his fourth best game of the year. Aubrey missed two field goals and still outscored Saquon. Hutch had a sack and a pick. Five players above 15 FP. Seven players below 8 FP. He had 181 FP and still would have lost to Spencer. But he would have beaten everyone else. So on behalf of Corey and myself, thank you to everyone who contributed to Cameron missing the playoffs. For the curious, seven of Cameron’s eight losses were to playoff teams. So the thanks is mostly for Brian.
Kennedy got bounced despite having a good week. It was a good week for pretty much everyone, but Kennedy would have won against Oliver, Shelby, and Coleman. Had he started Waller over Andrews, he would also have outscored Evan, Max, and me. On the bright side, he goes into the last place game facing the only team lower than him in total points this season.
Brian won by 51 to avoid the last-place game. After an 0-5 start, Brian has gone 6-4 to keep the fight alive for the #1 pick and the chance to “keep” Ja’Marr Chase. Major highlight: Oliver drops McCarthy to stash Brian Robinson, Brian adds and starts McCarthy for 30 FP. Brian’s team finally delivers on its promise with Marks, Henderson, Chase, BTJ, Loveland, and Godwin scoring in double digits. Brian also spot-started Ramsey for 10.5 (though Derwin had 15; Brian should have double-tapped DBU instead of sticking with Sherwood).
Oliver cannot possibly defend dropping McCarthy and holding Shedeur, but he’ll probably drop Shedeur, too, so it doesn’t matter. Burrow’s the keeper anyway, even after this stinker. I’d be nervous if I were Kennedy. Oliver’s team isn’t dog shit, so he’s pretty much guaranteed to score more points next week. He doesn’t even have to change anything. The Bengals going from facing the Ravens to the Dolphins will be a 30-point swing by itself, though Oliver will probably make moves in order to get ahead on some keeper stashes.
Evan, it was an honor to lock horns with you in the playoffs, and you can imagine my elation at taking you down on the backs of my IDPs, especially since I was backed into replacing three of my starters this week. My only regret is not having the balls to give Bill his redemption arc in the starting lineup. And I’m fully aware of how lucky I got in this one. Justin Jefferson had four end-zone targets, including a catch called back on a penalty. That plus Emmanwori’s “sack” (Philip Rivers slipped, got up, tripped, and rolled between two defenders before Emmanwori barely reached down first to touch him) would have been enough to flip this one. Baker also missed Egbuka on two shoulda-beens that would’ve added up to about seven points. Thankfully Trevor Lawrence scored six TDs, or else Cam Little would have flirted with 20. For those that look at this and only see the double-digit win, know that it was a couple bad bounces away from being a double-digit win in the other direction.
Corey flat-out cooked, and it’s crazy that Max even got back into it, but it’s even crazier that Boswell didn’t attempt one field goal in the Steelers’ cakewalk against Miami. Had Davante and Watson not been injured, Max would almost certainly have won. But don’t take anything away from Corey, who left 15-20 points on the bench. It had to be really hard to start Pitts over Evans, and that decision made the difference. Pitts had the second best TE game in Mortydome history. You just gotta hope that London misses another game. Tough pill to swallow for Max, who only even had to face Corey because Coleman and Cameron came up short in the Week 14 melee. I think this is the first time Josh Allen has failed to play in the Mortydome Championship? Let’s see: 2024 Sean traded for him and lost, 2023 I traded for him and lost, 2022 Evan drafted him and “lost” on the Damar Hamlin death, 2021 Corey kept him and won. In 2020, Corey drafted Allen and made the playoffs but lost in Round 1 (he also started Brady for most of that season, but it didn’t make a difference). So except for the season where Josh Allen first became relevant, this is his first time missing our finals. And poetically, he loses to the first person in our league bold enough to draft Josh Allen (jk, Spe drafted Allen in 2019 but dropped him in November and nobody picked him up). Also worth noting that if Corey had scored just 10 fewer points this season, Coleman would have been the 6-seed, and Max would have won by 40 this week. Following his 2-6 start, Corey has won seven of eight and is easily the third best team remaining, with a legitimate shot at the crown.
Of the four remaining contenders, I have the longest stretch since my last title. Sean won in 2023 and 2022, Corey won in 2021, Spe won in 2020, and I won in 2019. It’s really weird seeing it this way; it makes us look like four horsemen, but Sean is the only one of us who even made the playoffs last year. In fact, Sean and Max were the only teams to make the playoffs each of the last two years. And while I’m the dark horse underdog, Spencer is the one attempting to make Mortydome history by going from worst to first.
All right, so Spencer, Sean, Coleman, and Shelby are back in this week. Last week they scored 189, 175, 117, and 121 respectively. Spencer is at full strength, though suddenly Hufanga is trash. Sean’s got a handful of questionable tags, but I think only Cedric Gray’s carries any weight. Coleman lost Mahomes for the year and maybe a chunk of next year, so that trade was certified crap, plus it probably kills half the RB STAck since the Chiefs will likely pack it in and start the young guys. And Shelby is probably without Odunze for another week, and Justin Herbert is kinda dead for fantasy without anyone to block for him. FWIW Corey is phenomenally healthy, and my team is falling apart.
It took all year, but Brian’s team is finally good. Coleman’s team has slowly eroded. Coleman needs a QB for this week. His best options are Rodgers @DET, Bryce vs. TB, and Minshew @TEN. His best stash option is Cam Ward, and the #1 pick is certified cursed. Doubs, QJ, and Keenan should all be dropped for some keeper stashes. Best available are Matthew Golden, Jayden Higgins, and the Broncos WRs.
A lot of bad matchups on both sides here. More potential for Brian’s players to blow up, with Chase and Henderson leading the way. Coleman needs some serious chaos to break his way. On paper, none of his players should score above 15 FP, with half of them more likely to fall into single digits.
Brian by 30.
QB matchup right now is Trevor vs. Herbert when it should 100% be Nix vs. Brissett. It looks dumb, but this is a dumb game.
This matchup boils down to three head-to-heads: SunGod vs. Gibbs, Saquon vs. Chase Brown, and Aubrey vs. Dicker. Everything else is pretty even. If they end up starting, Olave vs. Reed would be a fourth.
I believe more in Saquon and SunGod this week and Aubrey every week, so I’m giving Cam the slight nod. Closest game of the week, with Cam winning by less than 10.
Lowest scoring game for sure but somehow also a blowout. Burrow and Purdy cancel each other out, as do Vidal and Monangai. Pearsall is likely out, Zay Flowers is going to be blanketed by Christian Gonzalez. Sutton and Jennings cancel out. Kelce is a weird one. You could understand him resting up for next year, but this is also a prime opportunity to pad that Hall of Fame resume, climb some leaderboards. I have no read on how the Chiefs will handle it. They probably do a little swan song for the vets this week and turn to the young dudes for the final two. Harvey and Tracy cancel out. Metcalf is probably the X-factor, especially compared to Addison. Bobby Wagner is hurt and should be iced anyway. Assuming that move, IDP is pretty much a wash. Myles Garrett makes history, but Danielle Hunter outscores him this week. Oliver can get a little edge by upgrading DB.
So Oliver gets the blowout when Metcalf and McPherson and that DB lotto ticket score more than double whatever Kennedy gets from Addison, Loop, and Campbell.
Baker @ CAR has potential. The Panthers D should be ready for everything the Bucs throw at them in terms of scheme, but the talent disparity probably leads to a 3-TD game for Baker.
Josh Allen @CLE in December is bad news from a passing standpoint, but Josh Allen doesn’t need to throw TDs. He just has to run them in before James Cook does. Goff vs.PIT is interesting, but I’d bet on the Lions RBs scoring all of Detroit’s TDs before I’d bet on the Bills RBs scoring all of Buffalo’s.
Evan can’t bench Cook or Gainwell, so he has to choose between Aaron Jones and David Montgomery with Rice likely too concussed to play. Jones has the volume and the matchup, Montgomery has the efficiency. I’d probably chase TDs and start Montgomery, and I’d probably be wrong.
Justin Jefferson and Emeka Egbuka have been real bad for fantasy, but nothing busts a slump like facing Max. I think they combine for 40. Not just the Max thing, but they’ve been the victims of a bunch of near-misses and eventually those things just start breaking the right way for no reason.
Max is screwed unless Allen, Jacobs, and Nico repeat last week.
Lamar is back to normal: he’s missing practice not because he’s injured but because he has the immune system of a toddler.
Sean has Dak in the lineup, but that can’t stand, man. The Chargers are a brutal matchup, and Dak has been hit or miss against good defenses. I’d rather get the 20-point floor from Maye.
Puka’s a Nazi, McBride peaked last week, Pickens peaked three weeks ago, Taylor is capped at 20, Dowdle has lost the magic and the grip on the starting job, and Sean is starting two IDPs from the same team.
Meanwhile I have Swift and Bill taking back their starting jobs, DJ Moore the last man standing among Bears WRs, Derrick Henry breaking off 50-yarders again, Jameson Williams living up to the first-round pick, and an all-time name-brand IDP crew.
I’m going to lose by 50.
These will be the top two scoring teams this week, which absolutely sucks for whoever ends up losing.
A bunch of elite players on both sides. A bunch of ideal matchups. Corey’s problem is that he’s too loaded. He’s gotta squeeze Evans in the lineup, and the most logical move is to bench Michael Wilson with Marv coming back. Bowers and Pitts stand out because of the TE next to their names, but these are WRs. Wilson is the only player in the lineup who isn’t the top receiver or RB for his team. His per-catch numbers are nothing special. He’s making a living off volume. Wilson has four double-digit scores. All of them required double-digit targets. His two 20+ games required 16 and 18 targets. Evans can score 20 on like six targets. He’s the better player in the bigger game.
Spencer’s problem is that this season has been too easy. But it’s also that the Colts D will have a solid plan for the 49ers, and Travis Etienne has to play in Denver. We’re talking about lopping 25 FP off of Spencer’s score. Against Corey, that’s a significant swing, and there’s nothing Spencer can do about it.
Corey, it’s going to be up to you to take down Sean.
