Week eight is officially in the books, and wouldn't you believe it - we're more than halfway through the regular season. Just seven games left, and the race for those elusive four playoff spots is still very much up in the air.
Speaking of "in the air" - how about Sam Howell's week eight performance? His 397 yards passing and 4 TDs earn him player of the week. He racked up 38.98 fantasy points en route to leading BDB's team to a major upset win.
BDB's Jet Setters (4-4) 148.18 vs The Killing Fields (4-4) 127.44
The Killing Fields is in a bit of a free-for-all following a hot start. They have now lost three in a row. Hard to think this team was in first place just two weeks ago. Now they're 4-4 and in a five way tie for fifth. If the playoffs started today, they'd be on the outside looking in.
In addition to Sam Howell's big numbers, BDB's team was paced by Travis Etienne (24.4 points), Patrick Queen (17), and Saquon Barkley (14.3). The Killing Fields had a day to forget, as Patrick Mahomes was abysmal with 5.64 points. Davante Adams had 1.6 points and Gerald Everett laid a goose egg in the loss. The Killing Fields IDP continued to shine, however, combining for 72 of their 127 points. So just 55 points came from the offense and kicker. Ouch. They'll look to bounce back against the suddenly dormant My Team - who come in having lost 5 of 6 games.
Dynastic Dan (4-4) 165.97 vs Tbone's Terrific Team (3-5) 150.76
Whoomp! There it is. I'm officially back in the race with my 3rd straight win after starting the season 1-4. Not out of things yet! I've climbed into 6th place and am just one game in the loss column out of the playoffs. A big factor in my turnaround have been the play of my big three: Justin Herbert (30.02), Jaylen Waddle (21.6) and Ja'Marr Chase (20.2). This is what I drafted these guys for: to put up big numbers. They're all young, too. Hopefully they can keep it up for my team for years to come.
Tbone's team suffered a big blow when Kirk Cousins was lost for the season with an injury. He put up 23.86 points in the loss. Tyreek Hill had 22.7, and Derrick Henry had 14.2.
The real story for this game came down to Monday night. I was up by a tiny margin, but Timmy was favored to win because he had Amon-Ra St. Brown going up against Jahmyr Gibbs for my team. I was prepared to take the tough luck L because every time I've gone up against St. Brown in fantasy this year he's had a big game, while Jahmyr Gibbs has only had one fantasy relevant game all season long. BUT - it turned out to be the opposite. Gibbs had a massive game with 27.4 points, while St. Brown was held to 13.8. It ended up being a 15 point win for me, but this game was much, much closer than the final score would indicate. I had two separate "down to the wire: lead change" notifications from Yahoo as the Monday night game was going on. Hats off to Timmy for driving me to the absolute brink this season. Beat me in week one, and lost a nailbiter in week eight. Since our season series it tied 1-1, if we wind up tied in the standings the tiebreaker goes to whoever has the most points.
Turd Ferguson (4-4) 168.96 vs Alice in Horns (5-3) 158.82
I think this qualifies as a fairly large upset. Alice's team has been on a roll this season. They are the third highest scoring team in the league, and have had at least a share of first place almost all season, it seems. Turd Ferguson was 3-4 and coming off a blowout loss to Show me the TDs.
But it was Turd Ferguson who pulled away in this one. AJ Brown continued his stellar play with 29 fantasy points. Dak Prescott (37.56) and Kareem Hunt (13.2) led the offense in scoring, while Crix's IDP combined for a mammoth 53.5 points.
Alice had to endure a poor showing from Puka Nacua who only had 5.8 fantasy points in the loss. Darren Waller left with an injury, scoring only 0.9 points - which definitely hurts. Joe Burrow and Alvin Kamara had big games to keep things competitive, but it just wasn't enough as Alice drops to 5-3.
Alice looks to bounce back in week 9 in what should be a fantastic game against ned's rollers, who are the first team to sit solo in first place all season long. Turd Ferguson plays Dynastic Dan in a brotherly rematch of their week two affair, where Dynastic Dan eked out a five point win. Whoever wins will improve to 5-4 and will be in great shape down the stretch, while the other team will sit at 4-5 and have a lot of work to do. Should be an absolutely pivotal game for both team's playoff chances.
ned's Rollers (6-2) 201.26 vs Show me the TDs (5-3) 162.86
Show me the TDs' luck finally ran out as they had a great scoring game but still lost by 40 points. Hard to win when your opponent scores 200!
ned moves into sole possession of first place with the win and with Alice's loss. ned got 70 points from two players - Jalen Hurts (35.36) and CeeDee Lamb (35). The rest of the roster exploded, too, as Jordan Addison, Chris Godwin, Mark Andrews, Dalton Kincaid, Jake Elliott, Bobby Wagner, Fred Warner, and Montez Sweat all scored in double figures. Sheesh!
Show me the TDs had a pretty good offensive showing, despite the L. Tua Tagavailo, Josh Jacobs, and David Njoku all had big games. Michael Pittman, Mike Evans, and the IDP showed up too. Just wasn't good enough, unfortunately, when your opponent scores 200. They have a great chance to bounce back against BDB's team next week.
Thunder Thighs (1-7) 152.19 vs TDs or Bust (4-4) 132.13
Thunder Thighs is finally off the schneid as they pick up their first win of the season. It comes at the expense of TDs or Bust, who is now just 4-4 after a 3-0 start to the season. The good news for Perry's Team? Because of the logjam at the top of the standings, they are still only a game out of the playoffs.
Only one offensive skill player failed to crack double figures for Thunder Thighs - and that was Nico Collins with 5 points. DeVonta Smith (19.4), Austin Ekeler (19.8), and Taysom Hill (21.96) led the way for Thunder Thighs.
It was a bit of a down game for TDs or Bust. Garrett Wilson (14.1), Rachaad White (14.4), and Sam LaPorta (15.7) had big games, but Trevor Lawrence continues to have an underwhelming fantasy season, scoring 4 points below his projected average.
Thunder Thighs looks to make this a winning streak next week when they take on TBone's Team. TDs or Bust has a tough challenge in front of them as they take on second place Bluth Company.
Bluth Company (5-3) 192.01 vs My Team (3-5) 127.08
It's been a weird season for Bluth Company, as they are the highest scoring team in the league, but they also give up the second most points in the league. After a 1-3 start, they've now won four in a row to put themselves firmly into second place in the league.
Their blowout win against My Team was a much needed breather for them. Eight players scored 14 or more points for them, led by Josh Allen with 33 and Christian McCaffrey with 27. This is a team that does not look like it is slowing down anytime soon.
My Team continues to sputter after a strong start out of the gates. They have now dropped three in a row and sit in 11th place in the standings, only one spot ahead of 1-7 Thunder Thighs. Statistically, this was an okay game for them. They overperformed their scoring projections and have good performances up and down the lineup. The goose egg at the linebacker spot hurts, though. And it is tough to win a game when your opponent scores 192 points.
An updated look at the standings is provided below. Ned stands alone in first place at 6-2, despite giving up the most points in the league - which is quite impressive. Following ned in the standings: a three-way tie for 2nd at 5-3, a five-way tie at 4-4, two teams tied at 3-5, and a 1-7 team. So it is still (almost) anyone's game!
I am still liking Bluth's chances to win this entire thing here in year one, but as we've seen so far this season: literally anything can happen! Next week should provide a little clarity on the big picture, as several of these ties in the standings look to be broken. In such a tight race, every loss moving forward is going to loom large for these teams.
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