Did anyone else wake up on Sunday morning ready to give up on the sport of football? Or was that just me…

To address the elephant in the room: no, I’m not ok. My favorite commentary from yesterday: “The Fighting Irish managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.” (One Foot Down). Will I finally learn my lesson, or will I recommit to this abusive team-fan relationship all over again? It was a heartbreaking game: for the good guys, for me, and for your future Fantasy rosters (ND & OSU alumni account for 95 currently active NFL players–you will almost certainly have at least one player from that game on your Fantasy roster some day).

To address the other elephant in the room: at the age of 22, Mike McDaniel was hired as an intern by his hometown NFL team; 18 years later, he welcomed that hometown team into his new digs and brutally curb-stomped more than one career into the afterlife. This frustrated our Fantasy league’s Broncos fans while simultaneously delivering a metric shit ton of Fantasy points to those same fans. Football giveth, football taketh away.

Anyway, perhaps several of us woke up with that all-too-familiar fandom emptiness, looking to our Fantasy teams to make up for the sadness caused by 19-yr-old athletes. If this was you, I hope it worked.

Games In Review:

JOSH (0-2) vs KAYLA (1-1)
What Happened: Weeks of slow, patient management gave Josh an edge as he nears his first Fantasy win over Kayla’s talented roster.
JOSH: All-in on the Raven’s passing game? No problem. As his bench continues to slowly percolate through injuries, there was finally enough juice in the lineup to put up a fight.
KAYLA: Kayla struggled with lackluster performances by usually-reliable stars from Detroit & Tennessee. She still has 3 players waiting on Monday night games, but the mountain is high and the air is thin.
Prediction: Barring an insane set of circumstances, Josh avoids a headfirst dive into depression by finally getting a W

BLAKE (1-1) vs CHELSEA (2-0)
What Happened: What an even matchup! Each position group sqaured off almost perfectly to their counterpart. This game will be decided by the kicking rhythm of the Birds v Bucs.
BLAKE: Gotta love Love’s home-opening comeback, keeping Blake competitive against Chelsea’s 2-time Super Bowl MVP. A trade for Kelce gave Blake a big boost in the TE slot.
CHELSEA: Should she have played a NE defense that was sure to pummel an armless Jets offense? Everything is clearer in hindsight. Who would have guessed that Arizona would put up 28 points on a seemingly invincible Cowboy’s D? But the depth of her roster came through, with skill players keeping her alive to the last whistle.
Prediction: Blake will sneak up from behind on Monday night to deliver Chelsea her first loss (more on this in Blake’s Monday Night Miracle below)

VERONICCA (0-2) vs JOE (0-2)
What Happened: Don’t let the score fool you into thinking this one is over–there is still LOTS of football waiting on Monday. It’s Sunday Night and this one is still waaayyyy to early to call.
VERONICCA: V is this week’s primary beneficiary of that 70 point beatdown in Miami, with half of her points so far coming from Raheem Mostert and his 4 TDs, 7 receptions, 142 total yards! She still has 4 fantasy monsters left to play on Monday (three of them are in the Top 5 for their position, and the fourth is ranked 11th), so this one is far from over.
JOE: Davante Adams lives in the penthouse of Football Night in America. It’s wild to think that Joe could put up 160+ points by the end of Sunday and still isn’t assured a win. The bright side: Joe has more talent than he can use, with 10 players in the double digits (and almost half of them scoring 20+ fantasy points).
Prediction: This is still anyone’s game, but if you put my feet to the fire I think that Veronicca has too much dry powder left to ignite. Despite Davante Adams’ best attempt to spoil, Veronicca gets her first win tomorrow

JEAN (2-0) vs ZAC (2-0)
What Happened: In a stats line that almost looks like a playoff game, both of these Fantasy teams had atmospheric performances that would have silenced any other foe in the league. Zac’s playoff express train continued to roll, however, as he had a legit shot at 200 points this weekend.
JEAN: It’s hard not to love a top 3 performance from a player who wasn’t a Dolphin. Shockingly, the Herbert-to-Allen connection was the single best QB-WR duo of the week, and would have been enough to beat anyone but Zac.
ZAC: Yes, Mike McDaniel dialed up the second best offensive performance in NFL history, and Tua-to-Tyreek is the burning core at the very center of that offensive heat giant. But can we talk about that Bills D? 4 turnovers and a pick 6, in the modern NFL…wut?
Prediction: Even though Jean’s WR1 has yet to lace up, this one is already over: by Tuesday morning, Zac will be our league’s only remaining Unbeaten

Monday Night Miracle?

KAYLA: She has 3 players left to play, but it’s not looking good. If Josh didn’t have 2023 breakout rookie Puka Nacua waiting to play, a miracle might have been possible. Barring an injury, the goal posts won’t stop moving out of Kayla’s reach.
BLAKE: I see a miracle coming. In the first 2 weeks, Tampa Bay has stopped 50% of opposing red zone visits. What does this mean? Philadelphia is likely going to kick a few field goals. With several guaranteed PAT attempts thrown in, Jake Elliot (K – Phil) has a great shot of getting Blake the 11 points he needs to win. Gotta love when it comes down to the uprights!
VERONICCA: I believe that Veronicca will win this one, but it’ll hardly be a miracle with Jalen Hurts, Joe Mixon, AJ Brown, and Kyren Williams left to play.
JEAN: Ja’Marr Chase is no joke, but this deficit is more serious than he can handle. 60 points is too much of a miracle, even in a week of runaway performances.