A few running backs came alive this week! Among them was Austin Ekeler who’s 31.9 points was only half a point less than the sum of the points he scored in the first three weeks. It was impressive. Also coming alive this week were Josh Jacobs (32 points), Miles Sanders (28.6 points), Rashaad Penny (28.2 points), and Christian McCaffrey (21.3 points).
Miles Sanders scored 28.6 points, his highest total since week 15 of the 2019 season. Photo curtesy of AlexanderJonesi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The biggest performance this week was not a running back, wide receiver, or even a quarterback. It was tight end T.J. Hockenson. His career day of 33.9 fantasy points helped the No-Bell Prizes put up 170 points this week. Hockenson may not be an every week starter like Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews but showing the Lions he can handle a massive workload might help get him there in the future.
It is really difficult to find a photos of players that are licensed for free use. So here is a photo from an interview on draft day in 2019. Hockenson’s hair is a little bit longer now. Photo curtesy of Fox Sports, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In this league there were a trio of close matches. At the top of the rankings Jolly Roger barely held on to beat Wizard Of Oz. The Wizards took an early lead on Thursday and held on most of the day until an almost 70 point Sunday night gave Jolly Roger a 22 point lead. Wizard Of Oz still had Deebo Samuel who almost managed to close the gap on Monday, but ultimately fell 1.68 points short! White Hart Bobby Layne felt a very similar pain. After taking an early lead, Dan managed a comeback. The White Harts still had Cooper Kupp left for Monday night football and he did his best but was 0.4 points short. Finally a story about a comeback that successful… (take that Russell Wilson!) Adam trailed Jason from the very start, the gap being 6.42 points after Sunday. Both teams had a RB left to play. Jeff Wilson Jr. managed to outscore Darrell Henderson by 8, more than enough for Adam to secure the win. Still fun to see so many close matches in the same week.
Power rankings
Dan was the biggest mover in the power rankings this week, moving up three spots. Wizard of Oz had a down week, the expert rankers over at FantasyPros moved Kyle Pitts from 28 down to 75, causing the team to fall 2 spots.
| Team | Change |
|---|---|
| Jolly Roger | - |
| No-Bell Prizes | ▲1 |
| Joe Dubya | ▲1 |
| Wizard Of Oz | ▼2 |
| Dan L | ▲3 |
| White Hart Bobby Layne | ▲1 |
| GS | ▼2 |
| Jason | ▼2 |
| Westminster Wildcats | - |
| Sweet Lou | - |
| Adam | - |
| TC | - |
Survivor pool
Only two teams entered the next survivor pool - Joe Dubya and No-Bell Prizes. For week four both teams selected the Chargers as they faced the winless Texans.
| Week | Joe Dubya | No-Bell Prizes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | LAC | LAC |
Blunder of the week
Euan of the White Harts wins the blunder of the week for starting Dalton Schultz and getting goosed!
Goose of shame!
Photo by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
When you lose by just 0.4 points and have Dan Arnold on your bench with more than enough points to change the outcome, you get shamed.
Standings
The last undefeated team lost this week, so the ‘72 Dolphins can pop their champagne after only four weeks this year. Jolly Roger once again sits at the top of the standings but there are three teams nipping at their heals. So far GS’s title defense has not gone as planned. They talk about a Super Bowl hangover, but that is supposed to be for the team that lost, not the winning team.
| Team | Record | Scored |
|---|---|---|
| Jolly Roger | 7-1 | 515.24 |
| Wizard Of Oz | 7-1 | 491.06 |
| No-Bell Prizes | 6-2 | 536.2 |
| Joe Dubya | 6-2 | 458.44 |
| Jason | 4-4 | 380.68 |
| Dan | 3-5 | 397.04 |
| White Hart Bobby Layne | 3-5 | 377.78 |
| Adam | 3-5 | 336.22 |
| Westminster Wildcats | 3-5 | 319.04 |
| GS | 2-6 | 365.58 |
| Sweet Lou | 2-6 | 311.92 |
| TC | 2-6 | 279.72 |
Weekly high scores
- Jolly Roger (152.40)
- Jolly Roger (136.90)
- Dan L (133.40)
- No-Bell Prizes (170.66)
Cover Photo courtesy of All-Pro Reels CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
