Week 6 was a big week full of big things. In a shocking surprise, Gruden is out as the Raiders head coach. Some big name players sat out this week and others went off. And, the week was capped off with a big come-from-behind-win for the Ravens on Monday Night Football.
But big things happened in the Sagebrush Cactus League too.
For starters, the NH Bounty Hunters exploded for a season-high of 172 points and annihilated the only remaining undefeated team in the league, Baby Got Dak. In the biggest upset of the week, the Hunters took no prisoners. Led by Lamar Jackson (52 pts) and Mark Andrews (35 pts), they are now just two games off the lead in the Cactus division and are looking like they're back in the playoff discussion. But, there's a lot of football left to play.
And pulling off the big upset wasn't the only big news for the Bounty Hunters this week. But, I'll explain more about that later in the post.
Home field was not as kind to Christian McMingle who lost a high-scoring shoot-out against the Golden Tate Warriors. After scoring 120 points and winning in week 5, it looked like things were turning around for McMingle. And scoring 153 points in week 6 certainly adds to that case. But, defense wins championships and if you can't hold your opponent to less than 153 points, well, you'll lose just about every time.
Golden Tate's big win was so big, in fact, that it catapulted them 4 spots in the latest Power Rankings poll. With a power score of 147.8, we now have a new #1 team. Congrats.
Another team that showed up to play this week was Pork Chop Express. After sputtering for the past three weeks, the Chops appear to have found their groove again. Their All-Cleveland-All-The-Time backfield of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt garnered 52 points to add to a big day for Mike Evans, who tallied a season-high 27 points. Those impressive outings led Pork Chops to their highest score of the season with 138 points and the upset win. But who could've seen that coming?
"In a bit of a statement game, I expect we'll see the Chops play well at home, post their highest score of the season, and pull off the upset to get this rig back on the road toward the playoffs." - Commish
But the biggest news for the Pork Chop Express wasn't their victory over the defending champs, Who Is You. No. It was the loss of their starting QB, Russell Wilson, who ruptured a tendon in the middle finger of his throwing hand and will likely be out for the foreseeable future.
The biggest let-down of the week goes to, none other than, Badazz Bri. If I had told you at the beginning of the week that Bri's team would score 120 points, you'd probably give them fair odds to win. I mean, 120 points is usually a decent outing.
But in a week where the Sagebrush division, as a whole, scored 839 points for an average team score of 139.8 points, 120 just isn't going to get the job done. Yes, Bri's season-high of 120 was the lowest score this week in the Sagebrush division.
Had this been an inter-league week, Bri may have had the good fortune of facing one of the teams they did outscore: Thundabuddies or Los Perros Locos.
In the category of big-time luck, Thundabuddies posted the second lowest score of the week (111 points) but caught a big break in facing the lowly Los Perros Locos.
If you recall, I went out on a limb this week and picked Perros to win despite this being an odd-numbered week. And I got bit. In week 5, the toothless Perros posted only 80 points to take the lowest score honors for the week.
But as big as this week was, next week will be even bigger. Why? Because it's week 6, of course. And you all know what that means, right? Right?!?
If it's week 6, then it's time to tell you what the odds are that you'll make the playoffs and, potentially, win the title.
As you can see from the table above, next week could be a very important week for some. For example, if you're the Golden Tate Warriors or Baby Got Dak, moving up to 5-1, instead of 4-2, could mark a significant increase in the odds that you'll secure a 1st round bye in the playoffs and potentially win the championship.
And if you're Badazz Bri, you certainly don't want to fall into the 0-6 category unless you're planning on making league history. If Bri is able to win next week, they could potentially follow in the footsteps of Who Is You.
Before last season, there were two teams in history that started the season 1-5 and made it to the playoffs. But, neither of them made further than the first round. Who Is You would have none of that. They started the season 1-5, made it to the playoffs and, unlike the previous two, they made it to the SCL Championship game. And they won!
So, thanks to Who Is You, Bri now has a 3.8% chance of winning the championship if they can win next week.
But, that's a big if.
On a side note, if you're a math geek, you'll notice that after 16 seasons of results, shown in the table above, the number of teams at each record level represents an almost perfect normal distribution.
DEFEAT THE COMMISH
Well, well, well. Here we are again. Although this time, we have a winner!
With 139 points this week, my team beat all remaining contenders. All. Of. Them.
Admittedly, I did have a little luck on my side as several of you had McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook who were both out this week. That essentially guaranteed you a 0 for that spot in your lineup.
With 138 points this week, the winner of the Defeat The Commish contest is the NH Bounty Hunters. Congrats, Hunters!
Additionally, I'm thinking about starting this contest up again in week 7 if you're all interested. It would just be for fun this time, but could help you guys revise your strategy. Lord knows you all need the practice.
In the coming weeks, I will be sending out a survey about this contest. Since this was our first season trying it, I'm really interested in your feedback. Unless, of course, you just want to pout about getting your asses kicked by the Commish.
SURVIVOR CHALLENGE
For the second week in a row, the NH Bounty Hunters scored more points than any of the remaining teams in the Survivor Challenge earning themselves immunity again.
Despite being the second highest scoring team in the league this season, the Thundabuddies found themselves on the short end this week with 111 points. That leaves us with a field of seven remaining in the contest which includes the two of the three lowest scoring teams in the league, Badazz Bri and Pork Chop Express.
PIGSKIN PICK'EM
The top three teams this week were Jergoff Passout, Los Perros Locos, and Badazz Bri who all finished with 13 correct picks. Who Is You and Christian McMingle stay atop the leader board with 12 correct picks this week.
COMMISH'S PICKS
Yet another 3-3 week for me. With a 13-17 record so far this season, I need to turn things around. Get ready for some unexpected picks coming soon!
Good luck in week 6!
-- Commish
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