Playoffs Week 2

Working from the bottom up. Jim had a handful of players show up and give their all. Davante Adams, Terry McLaurin and David Njoku all scored 20+. the 60 point base gave him a fighting chance, but everyone else save for his defense let him down. To quote Jim "I will never draft Najee Harris again as long as I live." On the opposite side, Zach survived a dud game from Dak, who may have played himself out of MVP contention, as well as disappointment from DeAndre Hopkins and starting Riley Patterson who wasn't active and then cut after the game. 

In the other matchup, Bill went HAM. I don't say this lightly, but everyone in the playoffs should be thankful that Bill had a slow start this year, because his team is built for success at the end of the year. Unsung preseason heroes like Ty Chandler, Baker, Puka, Rashee Rice and James Cook are all coming alive right now. Almost all of George's players underperformed. Achane and Henry didn't do much with the touches they got and Devonta Smith was efficient with his 5 catches, but efficient tends not to win in fantasy. 

The Superb Owl Playoffs had one nailbiter and one blowout. Starting with Chris and Randy's matchup. Chris picked a really good week to have his highest scoring week of the year. He overcame a bad week from Justin Fields and Austin Ekeler. Its easy to overcome those weeks when you get massive scores from CMC, Chris Godwin(anyone found Jaire Alexander yet?), Sam LaPorta, Amari Cooper and the Miami Defense. That's a recipe for success. Randy's quality season comes to a screeching halt off of dud weeks from Saquon, Tyler Lockett and Evan Engram. Amon-Ra St Brown, Curtis Samuel, Raheem Mostert and Lamar all performed but it just wasn't enough for Pack Attack.

Jeff and Andy had one of the closest matchups in SEWIFFL Playoff History. I think if you told any of us during the presason that Zeke would score 7 in the playoffs we'd think "oh good Zeke vultured a TD" not "Zeke had 16 touches and did almost nothing with it." D'Andre Swift had a good NFL game, 18 for 74, but again that doesn't get it done for nerd football. CeeDee hit his projection and Waddle balled out without Tyreek, but it wasn't enough. Andy overcame a handful of disappointing scorelines as well, Pollard continued his up and down ways, JaMarr Chase got hurt AJ Brown was inefficient with his targets and Hollywood goose-egged. But Goff and Rachaad White put up big games and that was enough to carry Andy through.

#1 Sam vs #6 Chris. 

My players to watch for Sam are Bijan Robinson and Kyren Williams. Arthur Smith should be arrested for war-crimes. I don't understand how you are giving the 8th overall pick 8 touches against the worst team in the league WHEN YOU'RE STILL ALIVE IN THE FIGHT FOR THE DIVISION TITLE. Arthur Smith is trash and should be fired immediately if not sooner. Kyren Williams could provide a big cushion on TNF if he has a score like he's been doing the last month.

On Chris's side the obvious pick is Christian McCaffery. The other player to watch is Sam LaPorta. CMC is both elite and consistent. He's having one of the greatest fantasy seasons ever. For reference, LaDainian Tomlinson holds the record for half point PPR scoring with 453.1 points in his legendary 2006 season. CMC currently has 324.6 points so that record is within striking distance. Sam LaPorta is TE1 right now, which I think says more about the TE Position than it does LaPorta, but he's showing why he was so highly regarded coming out of Iowa. Without setting the bar too high, LaPorta is looking like the next Travis Kelce.

#2 Ben vs #4 Andy

Ben comes into the playoffs with MVP Frontrunner(because we all know that CMC and Tyreek aren't going to get any real attention for MVP) Brock Purdy, which is a great story in and of itself. Mr. Irrelevant to MVP. Pretty Purdy has a tough matchup in the Shannahan Bowl on Monday Night, but there's nothing to indicate he won't continue his quality play. Tyreek is the other player to watch. I'm a believer that if the Dolphins weren't playing the lowley Jets last week that Tyreek could've played if needed. Not that Waddle wasn't a threat before, but now teams will need to give him a little more attention, which means half an eye less on The Cheetah. Danger!

Andy touts Rachaad White, who again is having the quietest top 5 RB season ever. The guy does it all and does it all well. Games where he can't get things moving on the ground he'll kill his opponents through the air. The Bucs have a special player and are letting him lead that team to a much better season that expected. The other player I'm keeping my eye on is Isaiah Likely. Likely has FINALLY coming into his own in Baltimore with Mandrews out. He's averaged 15 points per week over the last 2 weeks and should continue to serve as a favorable target for Lamar against the tough 49ers defense this week. 

#7 Ryan vs #10 Bill

Ryan nearly made the big dance at the end of the year. One more game against the median and we'd be looking very different in the postseason. Patrick Mahomes has been turning the ball over...a lot. Just 4 games without a pick this season. Las Vegas defense isn't awful, but they've been much better at home. The weather looks like its going to be unseasonably warm, but potentially wet. The other player I'm keeping an eye on is the Packers D/ST. They've got a dream matchup against the Panthers. Carolina can't throw the ball, they can barley run the ball and they don't score...as a cynical Packers fan that tells me they're gonna put up 35 against Joe Barry.

I still maintain that Bill has possibly the most dangerous team in the entire postseason. James Cook  should continue to get a lot of work against the lowly Chargers, even if game script goes the way of Buffalo. Will it be 179 yards again? Not likely, but another 20+ point performance is well within reason. Rashee Rice might finally be the WR threat that Kermit Patrick Mahomes has been needing. Imagine if you paired up Mahomes with an elite deep threat like, oh I don't know..., Tyreek Hill or something..imagine.

#8 Dan vs #9 Zach

Unbiased beat reporter...I'm rooting for Dan here. I'm a steadfast Mike Evans truther. Guy is in his 10th year, some would say ancient for a wideout, and he's WR6. 6! Save for week 14, he's been red hot, posting double digits in 7 of 8 weeks. Guy is a future Hall of Famer and does nothing but produce. I'm also very curious to see what the heck happens with Breece Hall. I know the J-E-T-S are A-S-S , but how are you giving your RB 8 touches? Woof.

Things could get hairy for teams going up against Dallas players this week if that game turns into a shootout. Game script will rule all and I can fully see a 42-35 scoreline. If that's what happens Dak is going to have a big number next to his name. Cooper Kupp has come alive int he last few weeks. He certainly looks healthy again and his numbers tell the same story. Matthew Stafford is targeting him and targeting him often. New Orleans has an elite passing defense, so something will have to give.