2024 Week 1 Dynasty Recap: New Scoring System, and Some Firsts

I was unsure on how it would work out, but the new scoring system did not disappoint! Here are your week 1 results:

Ferocious Felines 110.08 over ay_Bilat 92.24

For the first time ever, Trey lost week one. It was aided by a last minute out ruling for CMC on Monday night, but a loss is a loss. I’d point out that one of his heavy hitters, Travis Kelce, managed less than 5 points, but every starting Tight End in the league this week scored 6.5 or less. The bigger letdown of those starters that did play was Mahomes’ 14.64 points, especially in a scoring system that’s supposed to benefit the Quarterbacks. Speaking of, the Felines had two QBs take advantage of the new scoring system. Richardson had an uneven passing day, but his 56 rush yards and score helped buoy him. Mayfield slightly outscored him on the bench almost purely thanks to his passing. A good problem to have until they start splitting “good” weeks.

Fear Itself 138.28 over Space Rangers 110.36

Believe it or not, this is the first time that Nathan has led the league in scoring in week 1. I knew exactly how this game was going to go after watching Allen hurdle a guy heading toward the end zone. He couldn’t have thrown in those touchdowns and lessened my pain? Nathan had four other starters score touchdowns including an “I’m baaaack” performance by Aaron Jones. Hey, at least my defense looked like the monsters of the midway leading my team in points with 24, and a last second player swap led to my second leading scorer in Godwin (18.3). Not starting Reed hurt me, but I can take solace in knowing that there was only one starting combination with him in the lineup that would’ve won me the game (by 0.36).

Storm Surge 121.68 over Michael Style 93.18

Not only did Joel get his first win, but Michael Style became the first reigning champ to lose in week 1 the following season. Perhaps Alex trained up his old assistant head coach too well? The Storm Surge looked like they were on a mission to destroy the banner unveiling ceremony from the jump and the Player of the Week performance by Saquon Barkley (32.2) on Friday night was a statement in itself. There wasn’t another dominant outing by anyone on the Storm Surge, but all they needed Sunday was solid performances and that’s what they got out of Pacheco, Waddle, McConkey and Fairbairn. Lots of offseason turnover on this team played a big role in the win. The biggest letdown for Alex was by his 2023 MVP, Amon-Ra St. Brown, 3 catches leading to 2.80 fantasy points is harsh after he averaged 11 PPG in a different scoring system a season ago.

Kade’s Dawgs 128.86 over Fantasy Fairies 80.42

A.J. Brown set the tone early for the Fairies, but the rest of his team failed to follow suit. Jerome Ford did have a solid effort; too bad he fell to the wayside when the Browns game script had to change. There were a few bench pieces, namely Dallas’ defense, that could’ve helped, but what are you gonna do when your opponent has three players go for 20+? Kade’s Dawgs were the only team in week 1 to have three players score 20+, Mike Evans, Joe Mixon and Cooper Kupp completed the feat. Kupp was definitely aided by the Nacua injury and Stafford’s incredible ability to zero in on one player, but points are points. With plenty of points left on the bench, this game could’ve been a much bigger blowout.

The Empire 135.52 over NUKEM 83.36

A statement win for the Albany…*checks notes*….sorry just The Empire. The new year, new me, mantra did the trick for a team that has struggled over the last three years. Lamar Jackson led the charge with his 24.12 points on Thursday night, and Jameson Williams’ breakout game (21.90) on Sunday night put the final nail in the coffin. NUKEM was the tale of two rookies. Jayden Daniels’ 28.16 points led the team, and was good enough for third most points in the league this week, but Marvin Harrison Jr.’s disappointing 0.90 was kind of shocking. Even against Buffalo I would’ve expected a little something more than that. But that’s how it went for basically the entire team, bench included. At least Jefferson looked solid in his first post-Kirk Cousins era game.

Here’s a look ahead at next week:

Fear Itself (1-0) vs Kade’s Dawgs (1-0)

Nathan leads the series 6-5. Curt hasn’t seen the top of the East since 2019 and Nathan is the reason why. After their week 1 performances, both teams look like heavy hitters again. Can Curt get a statement win early in the race to the East throne?

The Empire (1-0) vs Ferocious Felines (1-0)

This series is split 5-5. It’s not as good as it looks though. Bryar started out 4-0, and has gone 1-5 since. In other words, Fred has owned Bryar over the last three years. Can the “new year, new me” mantra change this up as well?

Storm Surge (1-0) vs Space Rangers (0-1)

Apparently, Alex didn’t want to hurt his former pupil. I have no such problem with doing so. Time for a proper welcome to the league old man.

Michael Style (0-1) vs NUKEM (0-1)

Rob leads this series 7-3. To be fair, Alex got two of his three victories in the series last year, so could be a sign that things are changing. Can one of both of them show signs of life in week 2, or is this going to be the game that no one wants to win?

ay_Bilat (0-1) vs Fantasy Fairies (0-1)

Trey leads this series 2-0. This is your chance Ryan! There are three teams left in the league that you haven’t beaten, one of which you just lost to again, but you’ll get a second shot at Curt later in the year. You’ll likely only get once chance to take down Trey this year, so you’ve got to seize the opportunity, and probably hope for CMC to miss another week, although Trey will be able to better prepare for that this week. So, maybe just make sure your team is fired up and ready to go this time around?

That’s all for this week, good luck to you all in week 2!