Week 9 - MOTW

So apparently my thing this year is that I'll be posting once every 3 weeks.

Just kidding (well, hopefully. Life has been crazy so I may accidentally post on this tri-weekly schedule without actually attempting to).

Anyways, it's been an interesting year. Other than Jon's dominant run to the top of the tables, everyone else is still in the playoff race. Even the 2-6 teams are only 2 games out with 6 games to go, which is plenty of time to catch up. Rich's team performance has been quite fascinating and although I do want to write about how he fares against Jon's undefeated team, let's focus on two teams trying to keep their playoff hopes alive.

MOTW

9. Buoyed by Jr(s) (David K) vs. 10. Jacked Up (Cho)

The last time Cho and David were written about in this forum, Cho was looked at as a favorite and I was left scratching my head on David's draft. Well, 8 weeks have flown by and they're neck and neck in the standings. So who can come out victorious to jump a few places in the standings? Let's go position by position.

QB: David ◯ 🟢 ◯ ◯ ◯ Cho

While Darnold has cooled off after a scorching start, he's still been a serviceable QB and should be even more so against a weakened Indy D that may turn things into a shootout with Joe Flacco in the picture. Normally, I would rank Stroud ahead but no Nico, no Diggs, and an o-line that is struggling to protect him against a Jets defense that's been underperforming but still has the talent to rattle him makes me predict a sub-20 point outing for Stroud.

WR/TE: David ◯ 🟢 ◯ ◯ ◯ Cho

Probably the one strength of David's lineup is his pass catchers. CD is CD, MHJ is finding a groove with K1, and Tank should be the focal point of the Texans passing offense (and offset most of Stroud's yardage points). Chase and Waddle have solid matchups that should help them stay competitive but Jeudy has yet to break out, even with Amari leaving. Stack that with the fact that he's also starting Njoku (cap on the points available in the Browns offense in what should be a shortened game against the Chargers that like to run a lot), David should win this positional matchup.

RB: David ◯ ◯ ◯ 🟢 ◯  Cho

Kyren is on an absolutely heater and better than any other RB in this matchup. That alone gives Cho a bump on his side. Achane is bouncing back since Tua came back and he dominated the Bills the last time they played, so maybe he can keep things close. B-Rob has been struggling with some injuries lately and if he can't go on Sunday, I see major issues for David's team. Cho's team's RB2 has questions too (Chubb struggling since return, Javonte in a negative game script, Hubbard in an overall low performing Panthers offense) but not as big as David's.

K/DST: David ◯ ◯ 🟢 ◯ ◯ Cho

I don't see any gamechangers here. Both defenses have solid matchups against depleted offenses and both kickers should get some opportunities to score points. The only interesting factor is that every kick McLaughlin makes could also be a double whammy by decreasing the KC D's score.

Winner: David K

If Kyren and Chase don't have a monster games, I can actually see this one being a bit lopsided. If Cho loses this, his destiny of fulfilling my prediction at the start of the year might be too far out of reach.

Good luck to all!

MOTW Record: 1-1