Week 11 - MOLW and MOTW

David K might be out of the playoff race but he's made the last 3 last weeks interesting for the playoff teams fighting for a bye.

MOLW:

Dan vs. David K

David had what looked to be a relatively comfortable 21.62 point lead going into Monday night with only a receiver left for Dan against a formidable Bears defense. I thought to myself "as long as Jefferson doesn't catch a TD, David should be okay." Jefferson started the night off with a couple decent chunk gains to gain first downs but wasn't really a threat to David K until late in the third when a HUGE 50+ yard gain (basically a TD) got Dan within striking distance of stealing the win. Jefferson got them to within the 10 yard line to get the TD that would earn Dan that win. Unfortunately for Dan, Thielen picked up his 2nd TD of the night and the Vikings stopped throwing the ball as they protected a lead. David K gave Dan only his 2nd loss of the season but allowed myself, Jon, and Mike to get in position to knock him further down the standings and lose his bye. (Interestingly enough, Dan has only lost to Jung and David K, the 2 lowest ranked teams in the league, each of who do not average 100 ppg).

So the MOTW of this week features 2 of those teams that will be fighting for that #1 playoff seed (with apologies to Cho and Biggie in a huge fight for 6th place).

(One last note: the playoff race is basically down to 7 teams, although Paul, David, and Chris could theoretically make it if Biggie loses this week and they run the table. If Biggie wins this week, the playoff field is all but set with just the positioning to be left to be determined. This seeding is even more important than most years due to the possibility of a cancelled season)

MOTW
2. BEST TEAM vs. 3. Fe-Brees

This is literally for at least the #2 seed, possibly the #1 seed if Dan also falters this week. That bye is ever so tantalizing for the reason stated above, as well as being able to relax for week 14 while other managers have to duke it out in the wild card round.

Studs: Thielen vs. Cook

This is an interesting answer to the question: How will the Vikings try to destroy the Cowboys? Will they demolish a secondary that hasn't been able to stop any QB, even making Mayfield and Daniel Jones look like competent QBs? Or will they run them to death, against a front 7 with more holes than my 14 year old Jordan shimmer shorts? I think somehow the answer will be both as Thielen and Cook should both feast. The matchup may be decided by who feasts more.

Duds: A.J. Brown vs. Godwin

Duds were tough to pick this week but A.J. Brown will most likely be shadowed by Humphrey, resulting in a bigger day for Corey Davis than Brown. That game is expected to be a slog, with 2 run dominant teams in a low scoring game. Godwin on the other hand should be able to avoid the wrath of Jalen Ramsey but with AB, Gronk, and Mike Evans, I'm worried about his overall targets, not just in this game, but for the rest of the season.

X-Factors: Anderson vs. Watson

Robby Anderson is quietly having a monster year. 5th in yards, 5th in receptions, 5th in targets, and 9th in 20+ yard plays. He's cooled down after a scintillating start but if he can find his form again against a weak Lions secondary, he could explode for a 20+ point performance. Watson surely misses Hopkins, but he's still been a force. If you take out last week's game in Cleveland, which was played in a hail-tornado-cane, he's posted 28+ points every week since week 5. Last year, he dominated the Patriots defense but the 2 previous times he's thrown as many INTs as TDs. In what can be seen as a down year for the Patriots, that allowed Joe Flacco to re-live his glory days as a Raven, we'll see if Watson can bounce back from a disappointing showing in Cleveland.

Key Players on Bye:

Mike - None (McKinnon and Brown have not been factors for Mike's team in recent weeks)

Jon - Allen - Thankfully Jon has Watson, in a relatively favorable matchup, to cushion the blow of missing Allen. If anything, it might save him the headache of needing to choose between the two.

Winner: Jon

Honestly, this week is very favorable for Jon. None of his players have a truly terrible matchup and should be involved in very high scoring affairs. Much of Mike's production is based on the Tennessee offense and while they should be able to move the ball, their ceiling is limited against a top tier defense. He's got enough talent to compete but I see his grasp on the bye slipping away this week.

Good luck to all!

SPECIAL PAYOUT NOTE:

Going forward, I will also be updating the table below to keep everyone reminded of the payout structure at the given moment in case there is an abrupt end to the season. Anything grey and crossed out are no longer possibilities and the highlighted text is what the current payout would be if an abrupt cancellation were to happen:

Cancelled or season shortened abruptly after <10 regular season games: All money is returned to owners.
Cancelled or season shortened abruptly after 10-12 regular season games: Top 6 seeds (playoff teams) receive $150, Bottom 6 seeds receive $50.
Cancelled or season shortened abruptly after 13 regular season games (aka we are in the fantasy playoffs): Seeds 1 and 2 receive $250, Seeds 4-6 receive $175
Cancelled or season shortened abruptly after 14 regular season games (aka second round): All 4 remaining seeds receive $300
Cancelled or season shortened abruptly after 15 regular season games (aka championship): 2 teams in championship will receive $550 each. 2 teams in consolation will receive $50 each.
Season shortened prior to start of season 11+ games: We will have to adjust to however Yahoo changes things. If there is a way to adjust it myself, I will work backwards and make room for the playoffs as we currently do (3 of the last 4 weeks, not including the final week of the season). For example, if the season is cut to 12 games, I would try to adjust it so that the regular season is weeks 1-8, and the playoffs are weeks 9-11.
Season shortened prior to start of season <11 games: With the randomness of fantasy football, any fantasy regular season that is less than 7 weeks is too short to determine a proper winner. If this happens, I will return HALF the money back to all participants and we will be playing the shortened season for a smaller prize (Total prize pool of $600).