WEEK 14 RE-CAP

The regular season has come to an end, congratulations to everyone for making it through. All the playoff spots have now been decided, and of course it came right down to the wire. What a thrilling finish last night! Here’s what happened in Week 14…

It was “win and you’re in” for MARC’S FUNKY BUNCH who was taking on STRAIGHT OUTTA COUGHLIN. After being listed as questionable most of the week, QB Trevor Lawrence was good to go on Sunday and scored 17 fantasy points for Marc along with teammate RB Travis Etienne. The Bunch followed their game plan perfectly and got out to a much needed 69-26 lead after the 1pm games. It was a bit of a grind for SO-CO later that afternoon - TE Travis Kelce scored 14 points, but Dicker the Kicker and the Chargers Defence combined for just 5. It was the opposite story for Marc, his team opened up during the 4pm games and he was able to cash in on 3 great performances by Bills RB James Cook (25), Niners WR Brandon Aiyuk (17), and Broncos WR Courtland Sutton (15). Last Monday Matt was trying to hold on to a lead, this Monday he was trying to catchup with the Bunch holding a commanding 126-48 lead after Sunday. He still had QB Tua Tagovailoa, RB Saquon Barkley, and WR Jaylen Waddle to play… but 79 points was just too much to overcome. It’s time to play that funky music white boy… Marc and his Bunch off to the playoffs! SO-CO takes another loss falling 126-94. They had just a single player find the end zone all weekend long, and just like their last match they let some big performances go to waste on their bench. They’re sort of limping into the dance as the 3rd seed, having dropped 2 of their last 3. 

Another playoff spot was up for grabs between bitter rivals J-OSHAWA ALLEN and PURDY GOOD. Each had a player in action Thursday night - Steelers RB Jaylen Warren got 8 points for Shawn, and Mike got 15 from WR Dionte Johnson giving him the slight edge going into the weekend. It stayed close for most of Sunday - both teams had 5 players in the early games who scored exactly 49.8 points for each team, keeping Mike’s 7 point lead intact. The 4pm games is where things turned ugly for Shawn. After finally getting his best weapon Justin Jefferson back after so many weeks on the IR, he goes down early in his game with a chest injury… and then his second best player QB Justin Herbert broke his finger and had to leave his game after scoring just a couple points. The remaining 3 players in his lineup scored only 12 points that afternoon, while Mike added 21 with just WR Keenan Allen alone. The Shwa piled on 18 more in the Sunday nighter thanks to TE Jake Ferguson and WR Brandin Cooks… and they cruise to a comfortable 103-69 victory. It’s a season low in points for Shawn, and the second time he’s scored less than 70 points in 2023. Mike sweeps the season series and is now 3-0 lifetime against Shawn, outscoring him by 114 points in the process. If this dominance continues Shawn might have to change his name to “Shwan”. Celebrations erupted in all the far corners of The Shwa as J-Oshawa Allen is going to the Bundy Bowl Playoffs! With his rival moving on, Shawn would have to sweat it out and wait to see how things went in Crystal Lake where his playoff fate was now in the hands of The Slashers.

That left just one last playoff spot still to be decided… and it led to possibly the most dramatic finish our league has ever had. 3RD AND LONG was looking to make history by winning their 12th match of the season against the CRYSTAL LAKE SLASHERS who controlled their playoff destiny and could clinch a spot with a win. Glen seemed to catch a break early when Ryan forget to sub in for Jags WR Christian Kirk who landed on the IR last week, but The Bottles wouldn’t need to play a man down for long because Texans WR Nico Collins went down to a first quarter calf injury also shortening the Slashers lineup. RB Joe Mixon was great for Glen scoring 22, but TE David Njoku was better for Ryan with 27 - and 3&L led after the early games 52-42. Ekeler and Metcalf helped extend the lead to 86-48, but then in the prime time game Glen was able to close the gap to within a point and a half with QB Jalen Hurts, WR D’Andre Swift, and Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey who had 23. The Slashers’ season was going to come down to Monday night. With Ryan having the most dynamic player in the game Tyreek Hill plus the Miami D, this one should’ve been a done deal. Most people would’ve expected Ryan to easily walk away with the win… but that’s not how things played out. After scoring a few early points, Hill banged up his ankle on a tackle which would force him to spend most of this game on the Miami sidelines. This allowed Packers WR Jayden Reed to bring the Slashers closer. By the time Tyreek returned just before the 4th quarter, it was getting very close - within a couple of points. Both Shawn and Glen must have been holding their breathe when Reed was targeted in the end zone in the 3rd quarter, and then again in the 4th - but he was well covered both times. A late Titan’s touchdown against Ryan’s Miami D cut the lead to just 0.06, but that’s as close as they would get. Unbelievable… the Slashers are knocked out by the slimmest of margins, the closest ever finish to an ICLAFF match! Ryan just barely hangs on for the record setting win, while fans in Crystal Lake have their hearts ripped out. The Slashers are done, or at least their chances at the Bundy are. Even tho they scored the fewest points in the league, Purdy Good slips in and steals the very last playoff spot. Just like last year, Shawn gets in taking advantage of a questionable rule that we plan on changing the following season. Moving forward we will decide the tie breaker by points.

The STAND ALONE AMERICAN had their offence in high gear this week against HOOKED ON A THIELEN. The Purple T’s got great early performances from Bears QB Justin Fields (25 points) and Bucs RB Rachaad White (22)… but it was Rick who would take the early 17 point lead after Jets RB Breece Hall answered with 27, and Lamar Jackson put up the best fantasy score of any QB this week in 32. The lead was extended from 17 to 40 during the next set of games thanks in big part to WR Deebo Samuel and his 34 points - the highest Week 14 fantasy score. Eagles WR Devonta Smith put it out of reach on Sunday night night adding 10 more, helping the Lone American walk away with a 166-199 win. Rick’s lineup was once again a powerhouse, scoring the most points he ever has. Based on the way he’s racked up points lately it’s hard to believe he’s not going to the playoffs… good luck to the three other teams in the Finkle Four Playdowns who have to face him. That’s 307 points Rick has put up against Don in their two matches this season. It seems like everyone always saves their best performances for Don - that’s two weeks in a row his opponent had scored over 160 points, and the 6th time this season he’s faced more than 130. He finishes out the regular season at 8-7 and goes into the playoffs as the 4th seed.