Two weeks remaining and amazingly we still don’t have any teams that have officially clinched a playoff berth. Here are the playoff scenarios in play for this week:
CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT – PLAYOFF SEEDING AT STAKE
NONE
PLAYOFF CLINCHING SCENARIOS
1. Starrfavrerodg – Clinches a playoff berth with a win OR a loss by Rapids Plungers
2. U Don’t Know – Clinches a playoff berth with a win OR a loss by PackerFANatic7
3. Bossman – Clinches a playoff berth with a win AND a loss by either Rapids Plungers or PackerFANatic7
4. teamAlaska – Clinches a playoff berth with a win AND a loss by either Rapids Plungers or PackerFANatic7
5. Big Papa – Clinches a playoff berth with a win AND a loss by either Rapids Plungers or PackerFANatic7
ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION
1. Pack Attack
2. Sportsfreak
Here is a bit of interesting news and this should be especially interesting to those 5 win teams out there BUT the two teams that are tied for the 6th and final playoff spot with 6-5 records (Rapids Plungers & PackerFANatic7) play the top two teams in the league this week (U Don’t Know & Starrfavrerodg). If U Don’t Know and Starrfavrerodg take care of business and get the wins then talk about a potential log jam for that final spot!! Every game this week but one (Sportsfreak vs DaUnderdog) has playoff implications and technically even that one kind of does…. What a great final two weeks it is looking to be!
Now that you know the playoff scenarios let’s get to the previews!
16hrs Ahead of You!! (5-6) vs Pack Attack (2-9)
Well this is odd! It has not happened often where with two weeks remaining in the season 16hrs is staring down at the last place Pack Attack team! I am sure 16hrs is enjoying this moment and they would like to add a bit more to their misery by giving them their 10th loss on the season. In doing so however they would be keeping their slim playoff hopes alive going into the last week of the season! The playoffs start this week for 16hrs and I can’t think of a better opponent for them to face in a must win situation then the last place team in the league!
Prediction:
Check out the Yahoo predictions for this one!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 18
- Record: Advantage Pack Attack at 14-4
- PPG Avg: Advantage Pack Attack 118.00 vs 101.60
teamAlaska (7-4) vs Big Papa (7-4)
We have two teams coming off big wins last week and now a shot at a first round bye, securing a playoff berth or missing out on the playoffs altogether are all at stake in this one! The winner here could officially clinch a playoff berth with some help and depending on the outcomes of the teams ahead of them they could also be sitting in one of the top 2 spots after this week is over. On the flip side, the loser could drop (depending on other game outcomes) all the way to the #6 spot or even worse, completely outside of the playoff field altogether! To say this is a big game would be a understatement!
Prediction:
I told you about how high the stakes are and I expect this game to live up to the hype! The last game that Big Papa played I expected a defensive effort and for them to come out on top. They surprised me with not only a really solid defensive performance by holding DaUnderdog to under 100 points but also a really good offensive performance by scoring 150! This game is a bit different as I could see this one being a bit more high scoring. So since I predicted the score of last week’s game with Big Papa I guess I will do it again. I think teamAlaska comes out on top and sets up a very interesting final week of the season. The score? I think teamAlaska wins 135 to 118!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 17
- Record: Advantage Big Papa at 11-6
- PPG Avg: Advantage Big Papa 119.47 to 104.13
pack slayer (5-6) vs BIGBOY! (4-7)
This is a big game for one team and that is pack slayer! They have put themselves into the playoff conversation with back to back wins and they now need to make it three in a row against a team in BIGBOY! that over the last seven weeks (1-6) has been one of the worst in the league. I see a very realistic chance for pack slayer to get that last spot in the playoffs but it has to start with a win this week. BIGBOY! coach Kyle Lindgren would love nothing more then to send one of their biggest rivals to the consolation round and out of the playoffs. However like I said they have lost six of their last seven games for a reason and I am not sure if they can find a way to get the win this week!
Prediction:
BIGBOY! gets back C. Carson this week while pack slayer may be without A. Thielan. This may not seem like a huge deal but you may be looking at a 15 point swing in BIGBOY’s favor if Thielan can’t go. This won’t be the first time this season that pack slayer has had to try and work around a player not playing due to injury / covid. I think pack slayer has a lot of momentum after the last two weeks but I think that all comes crashing down this week as BIGBOY! finds a way to win and all but end pack slayer’s season and playoff hopes!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 9
- Record: Advantage BIGBOY! at 6-3
- PPG Avg: Advantage BIGBOY! 134.25 to 122.08
Bossman (7-4) vs HHH (5-6)
I mentioned earlier about how the 5 win teams going into this week should be feeling some level of hope after hearing who the teams ahead of them are playing. HHH is one of those teams. I am not sure what is more surprising for HHH, the fact that they are having to battle for the final playoff spot after starting out the season 4-1 or the fact that they are still in the hunt for a playoff spot after going 1-5 in their last six games! Needless to say a strong start to the season can go a long ways and now we will see if HHH can make it go all the way to a somewhat improbable playoff berth! Bossman is coming off a disappointing loss last week but make no mistakes about it this is one of the top teams in the league and they are about to get their 2nd round draft pick in A. Ekeler back just in time for the playoffs. With how tight things are they still have some work to do to make the playoffs but like the other 7 win teams they not only have a chance at the first round bye but they also technically have a chance at missing the playoffs altogether. Considering that they finish off the season next week against Starrfavrerodg I am thinking this is being looked at as a must win game for Bossman!
Prediction:
This Bossman lineup is going to look crazy good when Ekeler is back but I don’t think they will need him this week as it looks like they will be sitting him in his first week back. I think Bossman comes out with a vengeance and dominates in this one leaving HHH wondering what could have been.
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 14
- Record: Advantage Bossman at 9-5
- PPG Avg: Advantage Bossman 112.25 to 107.77
DaUnderdog (4-7) vs Sportsfreak (3-8)
This is the one game that doesn’t have much for playoff implications. Both of these teams are in the evauluation mode of trying to determine where things went wrong and what they can do to make things better next year. DaUnderdog had seemingly built some team momentum the past three years as they made the playoffs in two of those years. This is a step back for them while Sportsfreak will now have missed the playoffs for the third year in a row! The one thing that might be worth mentioning is that the bottom two teams don’t even get a chance to play in the consolation round. Pack Attack seems to have one of those spots locked in while the other one is up in the air. So Hey… that is something worth fighting for!
Prediction:
DaUnderdog has done everything they could to keep their season alive despite their top pick in S. Barkley tearing his ACL in week 2 of the season and L. Jackson playing like a decent QB and not the superstar they drafted him to be. I don’t think they have enough gas left in the tank. I expect Sportsfreak to win this one and keep their momentum towards securing a berth in the consolation bracket!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 18
- Record: Advantage Sportsfreak at 11-7
- PPG Avg: Advantage Sportsfreak 113.49 to 100.28
U Don’t Know (8-3) vs Rapids Plungers (6-5)
Of all the potentially great games and games with a lot at stake this might be the one I am most excited about. Rapids Plungers carries with them a huge advantage for that final playoff spot and that is due to their points scored! It would be extremely difficult for the teams below them to catch them in that category which means that they all want Rapids Plungers to lose and lose bad! U Don’t Know wants to oblige and provide a win for their suddenly new cheering section! U Don’t Know has thier own reasons for getting the win and that is they are looking to stay in control of their own destiny towards a playoff berth and potential first round bye. Not to mention, given the firepower and the experience of the reigning champ Rapids Plungers I am sure they would love to be a part of keeping them out of the playoffs altogether! This should be another great game with a playoff like atmosphere!
Prediction:
This is another really tough one to pick. The nice thing about this one is that we shouldn’t have to wait too long to find out who has the upper hand as Rapids Plungers has four players in today’s games while U Don’t Know has two. The big difference though is that Rapids Plungers has two of their top players in D. Watson and W. Fuller going while U Don’t Know has role players out there. If U Don’t Know is able to keep this thing somewhat close after tonight’s games then that would for sure give them the upper hand for the victory. I do think that Rapids Plungers will jump out to a fairly solid lead after today’s games and even more so after the Sunday early games are done but I think U Don’t Know will claw their way back after that. I expect a solid game from Rodgers Sunday night which will set the stage for a dramatic finish with U Don’t Know’s DK Metcalf going over 100 yards in the 4th quarter and getting the 5 point bonus needed to complete the comeback and get the win. U Don’t Know wins and clinches the playoff berth!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: 12
- Record: Tied at 6-6
- PPG Avg: Advantage Rapids Plungers 121.76 to 117.94
Starrfavrerodg (8-3) vs PackerFANatic7 (6-5)
This is the game that just about everyone in the league will be keeping an eye on. This one along with the U Don’t Know vs Rapids Plungers game. PackerFANatic7 held true to form last week which is win one, lose one. They have been doing that since Week 5 but that needs to end this week if they want to make a serious playoff push. A win here followed by a Rapids Plungers loss to U Don’t Know and PackerFANatic7 would then control their own destiny in the final week of the season. Starrfavrerodg does already control their own destiny at least as it pertains to the playoffs and a first round bye. It is simple for them. Win the next two games and they get a first round bye and a shot at the #1 overall spot! Lose and you have three teams waiting to leapfrog over you and take that bye! This like so many of the other games this week feels like a playoff game! So who comes out on top? Does PackerFANatic7 get the win and strengthen their case for a playoff spot or does Starrfavrerodg prove that last week’s game was truly just a fluke!
Prediction:
This matchup features two interesting QB’s, let’s call them QB1 and QB2. QB1 has averaged 28.24 ppg while QB2 has averaged a solid 25.48 ppg. QB2 has had only one week where they failed to score more than 20 points while QB1 has had three weeks where they failed to score more than 20 points. Over the last 5 weeks, QB1 has scored 136.69 points while QB2 has scored 139.08 in that span. I would call these stats fairly even right? Some may even say they would choose QB2 over QB1 if this was all the information you were given. Now what if I told you in order to get QB1 on your roster you needed to give up a first round draft pick but you could find QB2 in the FA pool after the draft. Now which one are you choosing? Yes, QB1 is Patrick Mahomes and QB2 is Justin Herbert. To say Herbert has been a bright spot this year would be a huge understatement and if PackerFANatic7 is going to come out on top in this one it is going to be because Herbert continues their MVP caliber season. You know what!? I actually think Herbert goes toe to toe with Mahomes in scoring. I do think Mahomes will slightly outscore him but it won’t be by much. Starrfavrerodg will likely be without D. Swift this week which will hurt and I really like a number of matchups for PackerFANatic7 this week. I am going to pick the upset and like PackerFANatic7 to find a way to get the win!
Historical Look at this Match-Up:
- Regular Season Match-ups: N/A
- Record: N/A
- PPG Avg: N/A