In case you didn't notice, we officially have our first signature-edition trading card. CMC may be on his way to an MVP and if so, that card could be worth billions. It feels like the NFL just started yesterday but after this upcoming week, we will officially be over one-third through the fantasy season. This week brought little surprises as good teams won, bad teams lost. The separation is already taking place and we officially are in an 8-man race with two teams 0-4 and out of the playoffs. Well, not technically but I think it's safe to say, but I hope to be proven wrong because I live for the storylines. We had another 200-point scorer this week, which is exciting, unlike his matchup which was a blowout. Meanwhile, I'm out here scoring 88pts and still winning which is actually more impressive if I'm being honest. Good teams win, great teams win on bad weeks.
Bye weeks are here! Turn up the heat because teams may go ice cold navigating their benches and waivers to find an adequate lineup, Ã la Commish this week.
Alright, here we go.
WEEK 4 PAYOUT WINNER
Sweet 16 - Team with any starting TE that finished closest to 16 total points (over or under)
Justin, Jake Ferguson - 14.7pts
Justin has now stringed together three consecutive weeks of payouts and already has a great opportunity to make it four in a row which you'll read later. I hope he's saving this money as being 1-3 the playoffs are out of sight at the moment. I was disappointed thinking we may have a little closer competition here but the TE position has been a letdown so far. The league leader Hockensen is only averaging 13.75pts a week at the moment. The big weeks from the start TEs are far and few between right now.
Records going into week five with the extra wins added. Nick: 6-2 Spencer: 6-2
Justin: 5-3 Jared: 1-7 Jere: 0-8 Nathan: 7-1
Worzie: 7-1 Commish:4-4 Probst: 3-5 Ryan: 1-7
START OF THE WEEK
Nick, Dallas Def - 29.00pts
Nick has been riding his defense to capture wins this year, and it is working to say the least. Right now the Cowboys' defense would be the 9th overall QB, one ahead of Mahomes, 3rd overall RB, 7th overall WR, and the 1st overall TE, blowing Hockensen away by over 30 points. This defense is a weapon for fantasy and it's helped lead Nick's team to a 3-1 record in the North division. I still remember when Nick kept the Bears defensive as one of his keepers a few years ago, if Dallas' defense was predictable I could actually see the value in that.
BLUNDER OF THE WEEK
Probst, Deebo Samuel - 0.60pts
Deebo essentially spent his Sunday doing a cardio and blocking session as he failed to see a target for the first time in his career outside of a 2020 game where he played one snap and got injured. When Probst needed him most, Deebo was nowhere to be found. He logged three carries for 9 yards and outside of that, it was the Aiyuk and CMC show. Deebo will bounce back though, he he was averaging 19 points a week before last week's showing.
GAME-CHANGING PLAY OF THE WEEK
Commish, Justin Herbert
Just realized as I was typing this that last week's happened to be a duplicate of the previous week's game-changing play. Hand up, that's on me. Commish isn't perfect, damn near close, but when mistakes are made, I'll be the first to admit it. I had no one mention this to me which either means no one reads these anymore or I've instilled enough fear that no one wants to call me out. This week's game-changing play comes in the final moments of the Chargers/Raiders game and in a close matchup between Commish and Probst. A low-scoring duel where a big play would mean pulling away and catching a victory. Those moments never came...until this happened. Commish down less than a single point, needing a comeback moment, Justin Herbert connected with Josh Palmer for a 51-yard gain on a 3rd and long with a fractured left hand. Sealing the victory for both the Chargers and Commish. It was an absolute dime.
THE LEAGUE POWER RANKINGS - GIF EDITION
No movement for the first time ever.
1) Me & Mahomies: Continues to hold down the top spot, but not by much.
2) LBJ = GOAT: Burrow continues to bury this team from the top spot in the rankings.
3) Romo's Revenge: Dallas' defense carrying this team.
4) Goodell 2.0: JayTay back? Could see an uptick.
5) Bed, Bath & Bijan: Consistent team, but has a ceiling.
6) Skyy's Out, Thighs Out: Pretender?
7) Aiyuken: Will Kupp come back to help this 1-3 team?
8) Mile High Magic: On the verge of death. Like his Broncos.
9) Mutant Njigba Turtles: Rumor has it, his team is for sale. Dead.
10) Hall of Shame: Fitting team name. Dead.
MATCH-UP FOR WEEK 5
Nick (3-1) vs Worzie (4-0)
Both these teams are contenders in their division. A non-divisional matchup to keep an eye on and may see each other in the playoffs later this year. Nick's team has some nice pieces but has weeks where it can fold if his top 3 players don't perform. Worzie has a more consistent team week-to-week but the bench is a question mark.
Commish finished with a 4-1 record, bringing his overall total to 9-6.
Week Five Predictions
Commish vs. Justin: Justin Worzie vs. Nick: Worzie Jere vs. Spencer: Jere Probst vs. Nathan: Nathan Ryan vs. Jared: Jared
WEEK 5 WEEKLY PAYOUT
The Bye Week - Team that wins with the biggest points margin of victory
Justin is a favorite to win this week, making it four in a row. Commish's team is down bad this week due to byes and injuries. He will rely on his defensive tactics to hold the other team to under 100 points because there is a good chance he doesn't break that number as well.
Good luck to everyone in week 5. Except you Justin. If they let JayTay loose, my team may be a sneaker to catch a dub this week. Bolt up.