2025 Week Two Recap

What a great weekend of football. Sunday morning's slate was packed with high-scoring games, most of them coming down to one-possession finishes. Unfortunately, this weekend also encountered a long list of injuries. Every year, we sit here and say, "I feel like this year has more injuries than previous years". We quickly get reminded that this is an every-year reality, it's a next-man-up game, and depth matters. This directly correlates to fantasy as our rosters slowly get depleted before the bye weeks even start. Use your FAAB wisely. You could fight early on with a full budget or decide to end the season with 90% unused, a tradition unlike any other, if you're Ryan.

The one thing I want to emphasize this year is making trades. It's been over 18 months since we have seen a trade go through in our league. I remember the days when I flipped my entire roster prior to week 6. The days when "collusion" was being spam-texted to me in the middle of a busy work day and I had to reverse trades. The days when you would approach Nathan for an equal trade, only to open your phone and see "No, your players are trash". The days when I would have 3 trades working at once, waiting for the thumbs up so they all go through back-to-back-to-back. And of course, the days when you could convince Spencer to trade prime Julio Jones for Terrell Pryor and a bag of kale chips.

That feeling when the other team hits accept, it hits different...

We have a group text chat, boys. Use it. Roast someone. Call people slurs. This is not a safe space, and if you expect one, get the fuck out of my league. I want chaos, I want rumors of collusion, and I want feelings to get bruised.

The Chargers won while the Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders all lost. It's a great day. Let's get right into this shit.

WEEK 2 PAYOUT WINNER Sweet 16 - Team with any starting TE that finished closest to 16 total points (over or under)

Ryan, Trey McBride - 13.80pts

While Ryan lost his matchup and most of his bets this weekend (shoutout to our 2 parlays that hit though), his consolation prize is a $20 weekly payout courtesy of McBride. Is it just me, or did anyone else wake up surprised to see the Cardinals 2-0? The NFC West is a weird division. Are any of these teams actually good? They have three teams sitting at 2-0, but I am not sure anyone considers the Niners, Rams, and Cardinals as contenders. Once the divisional matchups begin, I would not be surprised to see these teams start to cannibalize each other, with the division winner finishing around 10 wins without having a wildcard team in the playoffs.

START OF THE WEEK

Jared, New England Def - 14.00pts

Jared gets back-to-back SOTW awards, this time by making a defensive change and rocking with the Patriots. This was a defense that got shredded by Geno Smith in week one, but did accumulate 10 TFL's. Not sure I would have felt comfortable rolling with them in week two, although anyone playing against Tua may be a good idea after seeing how bad Miami is. While Jared has won both of his matchups, his team has not been impressive. Scoring 104 and 105, respectively, in his matchups. It's only been two weeks, and the difference between Jared's points-allowed versus Probst's is 92pts. Some would say that's just good defense; others would say you're looking at a pretender. Power rankings come out next week, so that will give us a good idea of where Jared's team stands.

BLUNDER OF THE WEEK

Ryan, TreVeyon Henderson - 6.00pts

Ryan is a set-it-and-forget-it guy, and while thinking less can be more - unlike Cheeno's decision to start Egbuka over Keenan on the advice of his brother, which was also his weekly opponent - it did not work in Ryan's favor this week. I can sit here and reason with it, his last name is Henderson (known for excellence), and he's an electric RB who the Patriots want to try and utilize. The issue is that he came out of week one with only a 35% snap share. Fantasy is about volume, and seeing the field for less than 50% snaps is a natural fade spot. TreVeyon saw only a 32% snap share this week, leading to 6pts and costing Ryan a win. His other options, Nick Chubb or Jauan Jennings, would have been better suited to play this week over a backup running back.

Honorable Mention

Michael, Devonta Smith - 9.30pts

Cheeno, AJ Brown - 7.70pts

Common sense here. Does Jalen Hurts throw the ball? No. He is a product of three things: an elite offensive line, the tush push - which will be banned next year - and Saquan Barkley. What am I doing starting a WR2 on a team that doesn't even like to pass the ball? This dude will be on my bench until further notice, absolute waste of a draft pick. What's worse is that Cheeno drafted AJB in the 2nd round. In case you missed it, AJB had an interview a few weeks after they won the Super Bowl, and while I am paraphrasing, he essentially said that the feeling of winning a Super Bowl wore off after two days, and what matters to him the most is his individual statistics and watching DBs hang their head after losing a matchup. Well, don't be surprised if you hear AJB complaining soon, because I cannot imagine that 6 receptions for 35 yards to start the season is up to his standards. He is currently ranked as the 84th WR in points scored, getting beaten by Michael Wilson. Spencer may be one of the few who is familiar with that name, as he added and dropped him three different times over the past two years.

GAME-CHANGING PLAY OF THE WEEK

Cheeno, Justin Herbert Fumble (Technically)

For the second week in a row, Justin Herbert ends up with the play of the week, unfortunately for the wrong reasons. While the Chargers were kicking the shit out of the Raiders (Fuck The Raiders), they couldn't help but go back to their old ways of Chargering. Fumbling twice in the 4th quarter when up two scores when trying to close out the game. The first came on a 4th and one, which looked like a QB Read Option with Darius Davis motioning across the left side. The snap was late, which caused a fumbled handoff, giving the ball right back to the Raiders. The second fumble is where the game changed for Cheeno's matchup. After getting the ball back, the Chargers opt to run on first down, but Tyler Conklin couldn't get the block on Maxx Crosby quick enough. Hampton ends up reaching for the ball as he sees Maxx right in his face, and the handoff is jumbled, leading to a turnover. In my opinion, this is on Hampton, but the letter of the law states the handoff was not completed, so it automatically goes to Herbert. The game was over prior to the stat change, and Cheeno was winning by half a point. Post-game, Herbert was credited for the fumble and that swapped the outcome; Nick ends up winning.

Honorable Mention

Nick, Cedric Tillman TD

Cheeno got fucked every which way here. It's fantasy, shit happens. Twenty plays happen every week that can change the outcome of your matchup, but it's always the close losses that sting the most. In case you missed it, Nick had Cedric Tillman playing against Cheeno, and even though this play happened on Sunday morning, your gut will always say, "Yup, I'm just destined to lose this week". Watch below for Tillman's TD catch, which saved Nick's week.

THE LEAGUE POWER RANKINGS

LOADING... COMING AFTER WEEK THREE.

MATCH-UP FOR WEEK 3

Jon (1-3) vs Worzie (3-1)

This is a full North vs South slate. Jon, who's team is off to a rough start after what looked like a promising roster, will try and get back on course against Worzie, who wants to build off a fast start. I'm predicting this matchup to be the highest scoring of the week.

Commish went 2-3 in week one, should have been 3-2, but Cheeno threw his matchup.

Week 3 Predictions

Commish vs. Jared: Commish Jon vs. Worzie: Jon

Spencer vs. Ryan: Ryan Nathan vs. Nick: Nathan Cheeno vs. Probst: Cheeno

WEEK 3 WEEKLY PAYOUT

Chicks Dig the Long Ball - Team with the QB with the longest pass

Always a fun one. You have Herbert vs Nix this week, but no chance Nix gets the payout against a suffocating Chargers defense. Jalen Hurts doesn't actually throw, so he's ruled out. Caleb Williams? Painted fingernails and a little too zesty for this payout. Mahomes has been awful at throwing deep shots; he's out. Probst has Dak, but the Cowboys? Nah. We are left with Herbert, Allen, Lamar, Goff, and Baker. Good luck to those qualifying QBs.

Good luck to everyone in week 3, except you, Jared. 2-2 to start the season is... respectable, given your squad, but that's about to move to 2-4. Bolt up!

Oh, and Madison Beer drops a new single on Friday... Chargers by a billion this weekend.