The first week of the playoffs saw an upset, one of the hottest teams in the league continuing to roll, a player left in a starting lineup that didn’t play, and two teams keeping their championship dreams alive.
Let’s check it out.
HIGHLIGHTS
#3 CBDD defeats #6 The PM Team…Team 121.62-101.14
CBDD (Cale Berger, Dorin Dickerson) is a machine right now.
They overcame disappointing performances from Ja’Marr Chase (0.80 points) and Myles Gaskin (5.40 points) to still score more than 120 and get the victory.
Aaron Rodgers chipped in with yet another solid performance at 23.82 points, while Hunter Henry may have been the surprise and the hero of the week. His two touchdowns on Saturday night and 22.70 points were instrumental in the win. A well-timed matchup against the pitiful Giants for the Cowboys defense helped out as well, to the tune of 16 points.
On the other side, The PM Team just didn’t get enough from key contributors Alvin Kamara (4.10) and Amari Cooper (1.80), despite playoff-caliber numbers from Justin Herbert (24.04) and Brandin Cooks (25.70).
What’s worse is that Amon-Ra St. Brown (19.50) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (18.30) had big games on the bench. They’ll finish 8-7 overall on the season.
#5 Bishop Sycamore defeats #4 Suba’s Sackers 97.80-70.60
The midday squad of Joe Starkey, Joe “Horse” Kapp & Andrew Brncic kept their season alive with a gritty performance. As has been the case most of the year, they go as Patrick Mahomes goes and Mahomes went off for 30.60 points while running back’s Jamaal Wiliams and Leonard Fournette each chipped 10 points and Dallas Goedert put the finishing touches on the victory on Tuesday night with 17. But, they did get some help.
Suba’s Sackers somehow kept Lamar Jackson, who was out with a sprained ankle, in the starting lineup. They could have replaced him with Jalen Hurts, who had 28.64 points on the bench. Quick math and…yep…if you put Hurts in for Jackson, it’s a 98.64-97.80 victory for the Sackers. Instead, they pack their bags on the season after having scored the most total points during the year but finish at just 8-7.
ON TO THE SEMIFINALS…
#1 The Fan Morning Squad vs. #5 Bishop Sycamore
The morning show’s team ripped off an 8-game winning streak before losing the last game of the season heading into the playoffs. They’ll have some things to clear up before kickoff, as Travis Kelce is currently on the COVID list and both Elijah Mitchell and DJ Moore are questionable. They do have Kyler Murray and Deebo Samuel back and healthy, while Jonathan Taylor has been a fantasy beast this year.
Meanwhile, Bishop Sycamore will need to replace the now-injured Leonard Fournette which they’ve already done by picking up Ronald Jones, his backup in Tampa Bay. Before final lineup changes are made, The Morning Squad is a 7-point favorite.
#2 Kosher Nostra vs. #3 CBDD
Kosher Nostra has been steady all season long, even beating the top-seeded morning show in the last week of the season to finish the year at 11-3. Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook are a formidable one-two punch along with Josh Allen. They could also get Tyler Lockett back from the COVID list this week.
CBDD took a hit with Chris Godwin going down with a torn ACL after last week, but they may be able to move Keenan Allen into the vacant WR spot and insert Saquon Barkley into the W/R/T (flex) spot that Allen occupied last week. If they make that move, they will actually be 4-point favorites over Kosher Nostra heading into the matchup.
It’s down to the final four. No room for error, no room for “off games.” No room for losing. Who will win it all? Tune in next week to find out who makes it into the championship game.