Round 3

There's no two ways about it...the end of the fantasy football season is filled with pain. 11 of 12 teams experience some sort of gut-wrenching pain to end their season. The scary part is some of us have a tough, frustrating loss in week 6 and that pain is actually the season drifting away. For one team, that pain comes with the force of a freight train sometime between Thursday and Monday Night this week. For one team, the fear of that pain warms into the glory of victory. Grab your tums, wrap your gifts, and play Green Day's "Good Riddance" in the background, its time for the Write Up.

Joe Buck Yourself(#1) 149.70 - Powderhoundmals(#6) 114.08

If I would have told you last week that Joe Buck Yourself only got 6.9 points from Josh Allen you probably would've assumed that they got bounced from the postseason. I would've agreed with you. But zoom out and you see the bigger picture. Puka Nacua, despite being the consensus #2 idiot in the league currently(only recently passed by DK Metcalf), had a MASSIVE game on Thursday Night Football. 12 catches for 225 yards and 2 TDs for 40.5 points. Added on to that was Chase Brown who finished with 3 total TDs and 30.9 points. Powderhoundmals made the questionable at best decision of not starting a defense. I assume this was the classic "pick up and forget to move" scenario. Usually this falls under the "wouldn't have made a difference" category. This time is no different...if you're just looking at the defense. Minnesota would have added 15 points and had Powderhoundmals started Justin Herbert instead of Jordan Love, in an alternate universe we're celebrating Powderhoundmals' first Superb Owl appearance. That's the kind of "what if" that keeps you up in July. But here in reality, we send our congrats to Joe Buck Yourself, who return to the big game in hopes of getting the Owl shaped monkey off their back.

Trash Pandas(#4) 130.46 - The Salty Spitoon(#2) 108.32

The star players, as a whole, let the Salty Spitoon down this week. CeeDee Lamb, De'Andre Swift both finished with just 8 points. The Lions running game was absent and the only reason Jahmyr Gibbs had a big game was going 10 for 66 and a TD in the receiving game. Gibbs and Montgomery combined for 11 carries for 16 yards. In a word? Pathetic. The Trash Pandas nearly fell victim to the RB quadfecta finally failing them. Kyren Williams was outscored by Blake Corum again, and TreVeyon Henderson left the game early with concussion. The Pandas were led by their stoic workhorses, Bijian Robinson and Joe Burrow both exceeded 25 points, which was enough to make up for down games from others. Congrats to Trash Pandas on yet another Superb Owl appearance.

Muddy Bananas(#7) 150.26 - Peeping Thomas(#11) 114.10

The Battle for Hartford goes the way of Muddy Bananas. Trevor Lawrence has been huge in back to back weeks. This week was a 31.16 performance against a stout Denver defense. Ashton Jeanty finally looked like the running back that had the fantasy world licking its collective lips, finishing with 128 yards rushing and 2 total TDs. Jaylen Warren had 28 points and Alec Pierce really sealed the deal Monday night with 4 catches and 2 TDs from Pawpaw Phil. Peeping Thomas was, once again, burned by their team namesake. Brian Thomas had just 2 catches for 18 yards. I suspect we'll see a new team name next year. Muddy Bananas took this match despite going with the "start Davante Adams when he's out" strategy.

The Bearded Clams(#8) 123.10 - Pack Attack(#9) 94.26

This game was closer than it appears until Monday Night, that's when All World RB Christian McCaffrey played and he went off. 21 carries for 117 yards, and 6 catches for 2 TDs. A total of 29.6 points for CMC. Josh Jacobs is clearly banged up and The Clams balanced that risk out a bit by starting both Packers RBs. They weren't great, but combined for 12 points. Kyle Pitts continued his hot streak(15.2 points) and should be very interesting to see where he's playing next season. The unsung star for the Clams has to be Kai Fairbairn who had 17.4 points in a tight win over the Raiders. On the losing side, starting injured players isn't wise. James Cook had a big game against a very tough Cleveland defense and Dak Prescott had another servicable game for the Cowboys.

We'll move on to the previews for the Superb Owl and the Draft Control final. While these matchups haven't finalized on Sleeper yet, we know what's happening.

Joe Buck Yourself(#1) - Trash Pandas(#4)

We've got ourselves a Superb Owl rematch. Last year's game was a barn-burner. The final ended 163-74-161.08 in favor of the Trash Pandas. This season has been a similar story for Joe Buck Yourself. A dominant regular season, dominant in their playoff game, but hopes for a different ending to the story. For the Pandas this is becoming routine. An unprecedented 5th SEWIFFL Superb Owl title is what's on the line for Trash Pandas.

Players to Watch:
Josh Allen(Joe Buck Yourself) Allen had a rough week and is banged up. And he's got a relatively tough matchup against Philadelphia. That said, JBY has a strong backup in Brock Purdy ready to go if needed.
Whomever starts next to Chase Brown(Joe Buck Yourself): A decision will have to be made about who gets the nod at the 2nd RB spot. Tyrone Tracy, Woody Marks, and Ken Walker are all viable options. Options are nice, but also bring the stress of making that correct decision.
Kyren Williams(Trash Pandas) Kyren is losing touches to Blake Corum. It remains to be seen if this is for wear and tear or if the Rams are believers in Corum. Either way, its got to make fantasy owners nervous.
The Waiver Wire(Trash Pandas) assuming a move will be made to have an extra option to cover for TreVeyon Henderson, we're all sitting on the edge of our seats to see who gets picked up and possibly played in the championship game.

Why They'll Win?
Joe Buck Yourself: Its been said before. Depth. This is a well built team and there is cover at every skill position. There's very few fantasy teams that couldn't improve with the addition of guys like Davonta Smith, Ken Walker, or Brock Purdy.
Trash Pandas: The Superb Owl Championship experience. That's not to take away from the battle Trash Pandas had to get here this year, but they seem to have a Superb Owl mojo that most other teams in the league haven't unlocked quite yet.

Why They'll Lose?
Joe Buck Yourself: Too many good options. Its rare that every player on a team plays well, but when you're flush with startable options decisions have to be made and there comes the potential for human error. Avoid the duds, win the Superb Owl.
Trash Pandas: The RB quadfecta falling apart. I suspect TreVeyon Henderson will miss this week and what the Pandas lack is depth, relative to their opponent this week. They're still very much live, but will need big games from their stars.

Muddy Bananas(#7) - The Bearded Clams(#8)

Its rare we see top seeds make it all the way to the final on either side of our postseason bracket. The Bananas and Clams are changing that narrative this season.

Players to Watch:
Davante Adams(Muddy Bananas): He's banged up, but he's been so good that the Bananas started him last week despite being out. We'll see if he can be started and score points this week.
Whomever starts at TE(Muddy Bananas): TE is such a tough position in fantasy. It seems like if you have options, the bench will outscore the starter. Colston Loveland has been solid, but has struggled to have a big game. Hunter Henry has had big games but low ceiling otherwise. A classic TE controversy.
Josh Jacobs(The Bearded Clams): Jacobs has been a workhorse for the Packers this year, and it shows. There's a chance the Pack are down to a 3rd string QB, and if that's the case you'd expect to see a run heavy gameplan. If Jacobs is in and healthy he could benefit.
Kyle Pitts(The Bearded Clams): He's been great lately, but we've all seen and laughed at the bad games he's had. He's got a relatively tough matchup against the Rams this week too.

Why They'll Win?
Muddy Bananas: A red hot Trevor Lawrence leads the way. T-Law has had back to back huge weeks, and he gets a match that he could see a lot of the football going against Pawpaw Phil and the Colts. Another big game goes a long way to securing draft control for the Bananas.
The Bearded Clams: Christian McCaffrey. Same story for CMC. As he goes, the Clams go. He's been so good this season and has a juicy matchup against the Bears. He should get plenty of touches on the ground and in the passing game.

Why They'll Lose?
Muddy Bananas: Ashton Jeanty looks like the 6.4 point RB against a beatable NYG defense. Jeanty destroyed a tough Houston Defense, so logic would say he does the same against the Giants. But this is fantasy, which isn't logical.
The Bearded Clams: Josh Jacobs is out. Jacobs has lived in the endzone this season, but if he's out that forces a lot of movement in the Clams lineup, which might get tricky.

I would feel like I'm missing a part of me if I didn't let Kevin MacArthur from The League share my (pretend) thoughts on being Commish of this league.

Current Draft Control for 2026:
1/2: Zach/Jeff
3/4: Becker/Randy
5: Ben
6: Cotch
7: James
8: Bill
9/10: Dan/George
11/12: Sam/Andy

I think that's all I have for this week. Thank you all for another amazing season. Best of luck to everyone who has something to play for this week. Expect one last wrap up Write Up article next week. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you, safe travels if you're traveling. I hope Santa brings you everything you put on your Christmas list.

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