I haven't talked as much this year about week to week performance. By this point in the season, I often feel I'm just repeating myself, and anyway I like playing with analytics a lot. The upside to this approach is that I hopefully haven't exhausted anyone with weekly talks yet. Last week I took a bye week, but between that week and this, there were some interesting head to heads worth diving into. I won't go over every match, but there was plenty among just the close ones for everyone to be vested in.
Week 10 Recap:
Half the league was biting their nails this week, with three matches decided by 2.5 or fewer points.
In probably the least widely impactful close game of the week (though still with plenty of implications), Dak's Track Attack secured their second win of the season by 0.65 points over Wushu Waddle. At 4-7 after a win this week, that loss did basically put Wushu Waddle out of the playoff running, where they would be one of two 5-6 contenders instead. With a 5-6 record, Wushu Waddle would have still had a chance at a positive final record and a spot in the playoffs. Now with an even record as the best hope, Wushu Waddle has a huge uphill climb in points if they want any chance since they currently sit at 11th in the league there. With 8 losses and the fewest points by far, Dak's Track Attack is safely out of playoff running, but with the narrow win in Week 10 here, and the one they secured this week as well, they've trippled their wins, which has got to feel good. A 3-8 record now also allows the chance at a 6-8 final record and possibly a bye to avoid the Hen. Even winning out won't guarantee anything though, as those byes will likely be decided by points in the end.
With Lamarathon Runners a few games ahead of almost all the competition, especially at the time before Wushu Waddle knocked them down a peg this week in Week 11 (way to go Wushu!) another win from them doesn't really mean much change for the standings. Similarly to Wushu Waddle's situation, The 49ers Gold Medal Miners also secured what is probably a fruitless Week 11 win after a narrow Week 10 loss made it meaningless. Also at 4-7 after Week 11, and just one place above Wushu Waddle, The 49ers Gold Medal Miners also have quite the climb left, at only 9th in points and requiring wins the rest of the way to even think about using them for tie breaking. It's tough to see the Lamarathon Runners continue getting away with it, especially by such a small margin, while knocking another team out of playoff contention, but at this point, the rest of the playoff contenders not gunning for a bye might all be a bit more comfortable with less competition.
Also, I think this must have happened Week 10, since Lamarathon Runners lost their Week 11 game, but we have our first official playoff clinch (Yahoo is very conservative about those, so it's the real deal). Unofficially, I'd say Purdy Good Olympics has clinched too, with a guaranteed positive record and the most points in the league.
Finally, we have the closest match of the week, and likely of the season (it would at least share that spot, since you can't get closer without a tie). Pole Vaulter's Chubb needed one more yard from Cooper Kupp on a Monday night game. This thing really came down to the wire. This outcome was impactful on both sides. For Purdy Good Olympics this win, combined with the Week 11 win has put them comfortably in second place for the bye. Yusuf DiKelce is still right behind and technically any of the 6-5 teams could take it by winning out and getting the right circumstances otherwise, but the points and extra win keeps Purdy Good Olympics well entrenched for now. On the other side, any loss from Pole Vaulter's Chubb likely means other teams vaulting this one in the standings. With the 3rd lowest point total in the league, Pole Vaulter's Chubb's 6th place position is still tenuous even after the Week 10 and Week 11 loss. The Week 10 0.05 point loss alone takes Pole Vaulter's Chubb down from a potential 4th place to 6th. Suddenly Pole Vaulter's Chubb finds themselves right on the bubble.
Week 11:
While there weren't nearly as many very notable close calls this week, and none with as widescale implications, there was another match that came down to the Monday night wire. In fact, a dubiously accepted penalty by my new nemesis Mike McCarthy brought back successful 64 yard field goal, removing 3 of their own points from the board just to fail putting up 7. (With field goals adding 17-18 extra yards from field position, the Cowboys were still 46 yards out, almost at midfield!). This outcome did have potential consequences for Pukaing Up Siene Water, with every win counting near the end of the season, and could ultimately be important for any of the contending teams since the playoff race is tight again this year, but the standings difference between a win and loss ultimately amounted to 1 position (only overtaking Ja'Marr SteepleChase for 4th). On the other side, as addressed in the previous week's close game, The 49ers Gold Medal Miners got the win but still ultimately have a near-impossible route to a playoff run. Still, it helps them in their hunt for the consolation bracket bye to avoid the Hen. From a stress standpoint, I'm sure the owner of The 49ers Gold Medal Miners will be glad if they can finally have some normal weeks where the game's aren't all so close.
Whether you're trying to secure your playoff bye, just make it into the playoffs, or want to guarantee you don't get the Hen. Everyone is still in striking distance of one of those three, and even if that door closes, the waiver wire and free agency still have time to produce gems for next year's keepers. Then of course there's also spite to play for, especially if you're playing against Lamarathon Runners. I don't think there's anyone who can't have a goal for the last three games of the year. Good luck everyone in the final three weeks of the fantasy football regular season!
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