After watching you clowns struggle and fumble your way to a .500 record for most of the season, I have to admit that you didn't disappoint in the final week. And, to be clear, it wasn't that there were a number of close matchups that came down to the wire. It was the effects of those games on the playoff race that made the final regular season week exciting.
In my weekly recap post last week I described, in detail, what each playoff-eligible team needed to do and some of you clearly paid attention.
The closest race to the finish line was in the SCL Segundo League where We're on to Cleveland!, Ohio State Gunkeyes, and Keenan and Kel-ce were all battling for the third, and final, playoff spot.
Heading into the weekend, Cleveland! held the upper hand: win and they would get in. But with the Gunkeyes and Kel-ce hot on their tail, there was no room for error....more on that later.
After the Sunday games were finished, it seemed likely Cleveland! would fall short and leave the door open for their divisional rivals. To get in, Kel-ce would need to beat The Real Slim Brady and score approximately 129 points since the Gunkeyes had already defeated the Tator Tots.
Heading into the Monday Night Game, the stage was set: Cleveland! looked like they were headed anywhere but the post-season, the Gunkeyes were in the lead, and Kel-ce needed the Cardinals D/ST to score about 14 points - something they've done three times this season.
But after it was all said and done, Kel-ce came up 8.7 points short and Cleveland! missed the mark by 8.8 points. The Gunkeyes were headed to the playoffs by a margin of less than 10 points. Incredible!
The action in the Sagebrush Cactus League wasn't near as close, but there was some excitement to be found.
In the Cactus division, Baby Got Dak almost blew it with their loss to the Warriors. Although the Los Perros Locos failed to mount any kind of challenge, the Bounty Hunters were working to put themselves in a position to earn a playoff berth.
Heading into the Monday Night game, the Hunters were in a position to beat the Consolation Kings and overtake Dak. Sitting with 75 points, the Hunters would need to see Rhamondre Stevenson, Marquise Brown, and the Patriots D/ST score a total of 49 points. The average of those three players this season adds up to 36.7 points which meant they would need to outperform their averages and their projections, but it was within the realm of possibility.
Knowing that, you might imagine the heartbreak the Hunters probably felt when Stevenson left the game after only three carries. By the time the game was finished, Brown would score 3 and the Patriots D/ST would finish with 27, leaving the Hunters 14 points shy of making the playoffs.
What seemed like a lock for the Consolation Kings in the Sagebrush division quickly took a turn for the worse at the onset of Monday night.
Needing only 2 points to punch their post-season ticket, the Kings still had Kyler Murray and James Conner left. And if you watched the game, then you already know that both players went down early sending the Kings into a bit of a panic.
Fortunately, though, Conner had already given them the 2 points they needed and he even returned to the game to finish with more than enough to get the job done.
After all those close calls this week, the herd is finally sorted and the playoffs can begin. Along with those that earned the #1 seed and a first-round bye, I'll be watching closely at what I expect should be some good games this week.
And finally, I want to clarify a question that came up this week. I was asked whether We're on to Cleveland! should have had to automatically forfeit because they had Hayden Hurst in their lineup and he was ruled out before the game.
After researching more, everything I could find showed that he was ruled out on Friday afternoon which was within the 48-hour rule for our league. However, you should recall from above that Cleveland! only missed the playoffs by 8.8 points and had they replaced him with the best available free-agent TE in the league, Okonkwo, they would be preparing to face Jalenhouse Rock in the first round of the playoffs this week...that's how close it was.
GOLDEN TICKET CHALLENGE
The Thundabuddies remain comfortably in the lead and I've already begun etching their name onto this award. It would be a miracle if anyone were able to catch them at this point.
PIGSKIN PICK'EM CHALLENGE
While the Thundabuddies maintained their 1-game lead over the field this week, those in pursuit mixed it up a little. A rough week of picks for Badazz Bri saw them fall four games back while the Golden Tate Warriors and We're on to Cleveland! both gained a little ground keeping the pressure on the Buddies. Additionally, Jalenhouse Rock and NH Bounty Hunters both sit five games off our leader and one good week could see them jump into the mix.
WEEKLY SCORE WINNERS
Highest Score: Who Is You (123 pts) and Chubby Chase (143 pts)
Highest Score - Loss: Badazz Bri (90 pts) and The Real Slim Brady (116 pts)
Lowest Score - Win: Golden Tate Warriors (83 pts) and Shiva Kaminis (98 pts)
COMMISH'S PICKS
A 4-2 record in each league this week was a nice followup to my 9-3 overall record in week 13. It only took 12 weeks, but I think I'm starting to figure you guys out. However, there are still a few of you that are problematic. For example, I've only been able to correctly pick outcomes for Jalenhouse Rock and Consolation Kings 21% of the time which is a far cry from the likes of Who Is You (79%), The Real Slim Brady (79%), and Los Perros Locos (86%).
Good luck in the post-season!
-- Commish
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