The sun has finally set for the Ciano brothers, Nick and Justin, as their hopes have faded and any good memories will live in the empty cups of past championships. Commish laid it on Nick with big performances from Stafford, Waddle and Miami Def. Nick made a late afternoon run when Terry McLaurin hauled in a long TD pass followed by another catch that was downed at the 1-yard line. His final pieces, Lamar and OBJ, did not come through on SNF to complete a comeback. Worzie's team balled out this week, leaving little chance for Justin to truly compete. Some solid drafting and key waiver pickups have put Worzie's team in a position to win a second championship while Justin failed to defend his 2022 fantasy title.
The bye weeks are over, Spencer and Nathan are back into the mix. Let's get right into this week's matchups.
SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
Commish vs Nathan
Split at 1-1 on the year, these two teams will meet for a third and final time. Nathan's team has been marred by injuries all season but still managed to get the first-round bye. With Justin Jefferson back in his lineup, along with CMC and Etienne, he has the capabilities to win any matchup. However, he does have weaknesses at depth and QB/TE position which has been his achilles heel. No pun intended for the Jets fan. His secret weapon this week? Bills defense going up against an awful Chargers team that is now under new leadership. Commish, with his A- draft, is the obvious underdog in the matchup. With no consistency at any position and injuries to Herbert and JayTay, he will need to find the optimal lineup if he wants to find himself in the Championship. The depth is there, but at the end of the day if you leave points on the bench, your season will come to an end quickly.
Overall, the advantage does lean towards Nathan, but as they say, the hungry dog runs faster. I like the underdog to fight his way to the finals in this semifinal matchup.
Worzie vs Spencer
Spencer comes off his bye to face a team that just put together a 188pt week behind guys like, Purdy, Chandler, Rice, and Cook. Names that you wouldn't expect preseason to all be playing for a postseason team but now could be league winners. Titled a pretender all season, Spencer now has the opportunity to show why he may be a true contender. A team starting a handful of rookies, he will need to rely on Bijan, LaPorta, Addison and Puca to make it to the championship. The toughest decision Spencer will have is deciding between Hurts or Dak. Both have good matchups but making the right choice may be the difference between winning and losing. Worzie is averaging 153pts over his last three weeks, making him arguably the most dangerous team left. He will also face a QB decision. Does he go with Purdy, the MVP frontrunner, albeit against a great Baltimore defense? Or with Tua, who should have Tyreek back in the lineup but faces a Dallas defense that has been great all but a couple of games?
The advantage is leaning towards Worzie. His players are peaking at the right time and I like his matchups this week.
SEASON PREDICTIONS
I went 1-1 last week, bringing my season total to 39-28, one game worse than last year's totals. Here are my predictions this week:
Commish vs Nathan: Commish Worzie vs Spencer: Worzie
Good luck to everyone this week, except you Nathan. In this trilogy of matchups, I won't let some little bitch stand in my way of that cup. Also, we're rooting for the Titans, Bears, Jets, and Giants this week so the Chargers can land a top 5 draft pick.