The Story
Week 81 through 14
vs week 7The only 7-1 squad that actually looks like a 7-1 squad — lmillz89 dropped 196.5 in Week 8 against Takes Juwan to know Juwan, which is the kind of beat-down that gets talked about in the group chat for weeks. Kenneth Walker III and Joe Burrow anchor a roster that's won three straight, averaging 160 points over that stretch, and there's nothing on the schedule that looks particularly terrifying from here.
“lmillz89 has rattled off back-to-back wins after that Week 5 loss to the penguin menace, going 140-127 over Kayes of Thunder this week to stay firmly in the hunt at 6-1.”
Still 7-1 and still owning the best point differential in the league at +336, but a 109-point clunker that lost to the Justinian Dynasty in Week 8 is a yellow flag — Ja'Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and Justin Jefferson all on the same roster should not be producing 109 points, full stop. The trend is heading the wrong direction (-22 vs season average) and the RB depth behind Kyren Williams and Jonathan Taylor is thin enough to make you nervous going into the back half.
“7-0, 1,057 points for, and a 341-point differential that makes the rest of the league look like they're playing a different game — Slam is operating on a different plane of existence right now.”
I did it again — I put myself top three. I expect to immediately lose two in a row and spend next week's column explaining why I was wrong. But I'm 6-2 with 1,184 points for (best in the league), I just dropped 191.6 on Harvey in Week 8, and JSN at a 9,999 KTC ceiling is still the best single-asset in this format. The Elijah Mitchell/Jaydon Blue waiver carousel is giving me anxiety though — somebody get me a real running back.
“Okay fine, I'm putting myself at #3, which means I'll promptly go 0-2 and everyone will screenshot this blurb and send it to me.”
fatherofben has the most quarterback-rich roster in the league — Josh Allen, C.J. Stroud, Fernando Mendoza, and Bryce Young — which is either a dynasty masterstroke or a desperate hoarding problem, and the jury is still out. The 145.2 bounce-back in Week 8 over House of Cards is encouraging after that 93.7 stinker in Week 7, but the -21 trend vs season average suggests the floor here is shakier than the 5-3 record implies.
“A 93-point clunker against Substation Squad in Week 7 dropped fatherofben to 4-3, which feels like a betrayal given that he was posting 173-point weeks just two weeks ago.”
The hottest team in the league that nobody is talking about — Harvey (DEN) has averaged 145.7 over the last three weeks and the Caleb Williams/Puka Nacua/Trey McBride core is finally starting to cook. Yes, they're 2-6 and probably staring down a lottery pick instead of a playoff run, but at 27 points above their season average and rising, this is the team everyone is going to be mad they didn't trade for at the deadline.
“A 165-67 demolition of Coke(r) Fiends in Week 7 is the kind of win that feels good but also raises the question: was that the schedule doing heavy lifting?”
Three straight wins — quietly, without fanfare, without anyone noticing — that's the Substation Squad energy. Bijan Robinson is an elite anchor and Luther Burden III looks like a real piece, but a +2 point differential on the season tells you this team is surviving on vibes and scheduling rather than dominance. Still, 5-3 with a positive trend is nothing to sneeze at.
“Substation Squad has quietly won two in a row — including a 122-93 win over Kyler Scullen this week — and the trend is positive at +1.”
Give credit where it's due — arougeot's 114.7 upset over the 7-1 Ja'Marrch of the Penguins in Week 8 is the biggest result of the season so far, and De'Von Achane finally showing up (sitting on that 5,527 KTC value as a non-starter is criminal) could unlock this offense. The roster is thin at the top — Stafford at 38 and a 37,316 starter KTC that's bottom-three in the league — but two straight wins have this team feeling themselves.
“arougeot bounced back with a 105-74 win over House of Cards in Week 7 and the scoring trend is actually creeping upward at +5.”
Three straight losses and a trend that's cratered 27 points below the season average — Jahmyr Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown are genuinely elite assets, but Baker Mayfield being the QB gluing this together is precarious, and a WR depth chart of Denzel Boston, Rome Odunze, and Josh Downs behind the top two isn't inspiring. Slippyfist snuck within 3.4 points of beating Q A-Johnston in Week 8, which is either a sign of life or a very cruel way to go 0-3.
“Two straight losses and back-to-back weeks under 90 points is not the vibe for a 5-2 team that had real top-three energy a few weeks ago — getting run over 139-77 by the Penguins in Week 7 was ugly.”
AJ is managing the heck out of this team — picking up Austin Ekeler, Konata Mumpfield, and Corey Kiner off waivers while Brock Purdy, Patrick Mahomes, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave sit on the roster — and it's producing a bottom-five scoring pace at 975 points for with a -28 trend. George Kittle at 33 and Mike Evans at 33 on the same starting lineup is a bold strategy; we'll see if it pays off before the age cliff arrives.
“AJ is 4-3 and still somehow managing the heck out of this team with a starter KTC that ranks near the bottom of the league at 31,194 — the fact that he squeaked out a 90-86 win over Slippyfist in Week 6 feels like peak…”
The problem with Kayes of Thunder isn't the record (4-4 is fine) — it's that Lamar Jackson is sitting as a non-starter while Tyler Shough is lining up at QB1, which is a sentence I did not expect to write at any point this season. James Cook and George Pickens are legitimate weapons, but a 36,586 starter KTC that's second-lowest among playoff-contending teams suggests the window here is narrower than the standings look.
“Lamar Jackson sitting at 6,960 KTC but listed as a non-starter tells you everything you need to know about why this 3-4 team is underachieving — aaron4real has firepower, he's just not unlocking it consistently.”
The roster tells one story (Drake Maye, Ashton Jeanty, Parker Washington — a legit dynasty core worth 75,454 in total KTC) and the standings tell a very different one (2-6, -183 point differential). BertReynolds grabbed the Week 8 win over Mr Slippyfist 122.1-118.7, which snapped a two-game skid, but with -183 in point differential this season, the schedule has not been kind and neither has the injury report.
“BertReynolds is 1-6, but don't sleep on this roster — Drake Maye and Ashton Jeanty are two of the most valuable young assets in dynasty and Parker Washington, Ladd McConkey, and Jadarian Price lurk in a deep bench that…”
Christian McCaffrey and Jalen Hurts — two of the biggest names on the roster — are sitting as non-starters, which is either a testament to how loaded the IR/depth situation is or a very concerning signal about their health outlook. The 26,527 starter KTC is the lowest in the entire league, and dropping DeAndre Hopkins and Darius Slayton from free agency this week doesn't exactly scream roster confidence.
“eddiemac0 went 3-4 thanks to a 123-108 win over Q A-Johnston this week, but let's be honest — this roster's starter KTC of 28,211 is one of the lowest in the league and it shows in the point totals.”
Todd. My guy. 1-7 with 751 points for — that's 53 points per game fewer than the next-worst team. Getting torched 165.5-67.5 by Harvey in Week 7 was genuinely historic, and a top-10 of Jeremiyah Love, Jaxson Dart, and Cam Ward tells you everything you need to know about where this roster is in its rebuild. The future may be bright — Love and Dart have upside — but the present is very, very dark.
Zero wins. Eight losses. Juwan got dropped 196.5-98.9 by Miller Time in Week 8, which is the kind of game that makes you question your life choices. Jayden Daniels has real upside as a young QB and Quinshon Judkins is a name worth watching, but a 34,774 starter KTC and a -335 point differential means the playoff ship has sailed, and it sailed in Week 1.
“0-7. We've arrived at the part of the power rankings where I feel genuinely bad, because dpiper's squad isn't as bad as the record — a 115-point week in Week 7 and a +4.”