2024 Week 11 Dynasty Recap: Rabbit Holes and a Pixelated Picture
After seeing what Nix and Bowers did, I got curious. I wanted to see what an All-Rookie Bench Team looked like this week. I ended up diving into that rabbit hole and I won’t let it be for absolutely nothing. So, at QB: Bo Nix (24.78), RB1: Audric Estime (4.00), RB2: Blake Corum (3.30), WR1: Xavier Worthy (14.80), WR2: Rome Odunze (9.50), TE: Brock Bowers (24.80), Flex1: Troy Franklin (8.50), Flex2 Adonai Mitchell (4.00), K: Cam Little (8.00) fresh off waivers cause the only rookie Kicker on a team is on IR, and the highest scoring waiver defense, Denver (13.00). Total points: 114.70, giving the All-Rookie Bench Team a win over four teams in the league this week. Here are your week 11 results:
Storm Surge 130.48 over Fantasy Fairies 121.14
The clock struck zero, Joel sprinted to midfield to shake Ryan’s hand and then took off to the locker room to pop the champagne bottles with his team in celebration of locking up a playoff spot! After the game we had a chance to ask him how it feels and he said, “Our goals have been met. We wanted to beat Yahoo’s prediction, we did that in week 4. We wanted to beat the previous regime’s best record; we did that in week 8. And we wanted to make the playoffs. Everything after this is extra.” That’s not going to stop them from trying to dip into their five year plan, and checking off win the division and win a championship. For the first time in four weeks Hurts doesn’t put up 27+ points and the rest of Ryan’s team showed up for him! The Fairies scored over 120 points for the third time this season in their attempt to knock down Storm Surge. They definitely appeared to be excited to play the role of spoiler, so look out teams that have to face them down this final stretch.
Space Rangers 102.54 over The Empire 91.28
The two highest scoring teams coming into the week combined for the lowest scoring game of the week. At least it wasn’t the lowest scoring game of the year, it was just the third lowest. Going into the week, I had accepted that my big 3 (Burrow, Chase and Bijan) were playing tough matchups, as were Bryar’s (Jackson, Flowers and Kamara), so the winner of this game was likely going to be the team that got more out of their next set of guys. So, when I saw what Wilson didn’t do, the lack of real production out of Hockenson, and a subpar game from Walker, I figured my game was over. Thankfully Burrow and Chase weren’t having any of LAC’s top ranked scoring defense, and for the second week in a row they launched me across the finish line. I’d also like to give a shoutout to Laremy Tunsil for the illegal man downfield call that cost Nico Collins a 77 yard touchdown which would’ve lost me the game. I feel like I can speak for Bryar when I say, man I really hope this showing was a one off and not the direction things are trending as the season finishes up.
Fear Itself 159.08 over Ferocious Felines 141.08
This was a wild game. Second highest scoring game of the season, and the second to crack 300 total points. There was one point while I was watching the RedZone channel and Scott Hanson was jumping from touchdown to touchdown to touchdown, and I was like, “That’s Nathan’s guy. That’s Nathan’s guy. Oh look, another player for Nathan. That’s Nathan’s guy, but he’s probably not in the starting lineup.” I was feeling it for you Fred. At least he didn’t start Taysom Hill over Jakobi Meyers, that would’ve been insane. Heading into Monday night Fred would’ve needed a miracle out of Lamb, a game nobody would’ve seen coming because Cooper Rush looked terrible last week. He didn’t get that, but I’d still say the 14.6 he put up was a bit of a surprise. Losing this one really hurts you, but your points output will help keep you in the thick of things, you’re just going to need a little help…we’ll cover that below.
Kade’s Dawgs 128.98 over ay_Bilat 104.24
Big win for Curt! He was so excited he adjusted his team name to celebrate the player that pulled it off for him, who also took home Player of the Week honors, Joe Mixon (34.30). Mixon has been on an absolute tear. Since returning from his injury in week 6 he hasn’t scored less than 16 points, and he’s posted 25+ three times in that span. This might sound like fake news, but Brock Bowers has now outscored Kelce in six out of nine weeks (excludes each of their bye weeks). Starting Bowers this week would’ve resulted in a one point loss, but had he dumped Cook and snagged one of a handful of backs that are on the waiver and paired that player with Bowers than this would’ve been a win. Sorry Trey, finding the thing I could’ve done differently with my team is something I enjoy torturing myself with, and I like to apply it to other teams on occasion.
Michael Style 122.00 over NUKEM 84.94
When you got players like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Breece Hall, who needs the eight other guys? The two combined for 60 points, so he needed a few others to help get him the win, which is where Cook, JSN and Bates came into play. But the biggest props go to St. Brown and Hall. NUKEM was red hot coming into this week, before they were doused with water from the Arctic ocean, AKA any lake in Minnesota and New York right now. Daniels (13.44) still led the team in points, but that was well below his projected for the week. Rob will have to coax his players to go back to the way they were just playing, not back to the way they opened the season, if he wants to get into the playoffs.
**A reminder that will remain here for all future iterations of the Playoff Outlook section, the “SOS” categories are ranked 1stto 10th, with 1st being the easiest and 10thbeing the hardest. By record is the combined winning percentage of your remaining opponents. By Points is the average points-for of your remaining opponents. Also, an X to the right of the name section means they’ve secured a playoff spot, Y means they locked up their division, and Z means they’ve secured the #1 seed.**
Playoff Outlook:
1st seed: Storm Surge Coach: Joel Record: 9-2 X
SOS Remaining by Record: 4th (0.455)
SOS Remaining by Points: 8th (1294.85)
Remaining opponents: Ferocious Felines (4-7), ay_Bilat (5-6), The Empire (6-5)
Outlook: As you will see below, the playoff picture is still a bit pixelated. But Storm Surge’s win did give us our first team to lock in their playoff spot. Win one more and the East, and a first round bye, is all yours. Win two more and the #1 seed is yours as well. Win three more and you’ll set the league record for best regular season record.
2nd seed: Michael Style Coach: Alex Record: 7-4
SOS Remaining by Record: 8th (0.576)
SOS Remaining by Points: 10th (1351.3)
Remaining opponents: Fear Itself (7-4), Kade’s Dawgs (5-6), Space Rangers (7-4)
Outlook: Well, that win guarantees you the division record tiebreaker, so win two of your final three and you win the West for the second year in a row, which would make you the first team in the West to win back to back division titles. Like the other two 7-4 teams, a win this week and a win by Bryar will secure you a playoff spot.
3rd seed: Fear Itself Coach: Nathan Record: 7-4
SOS Remaining by Record: 7th (0.545)
SOS Remaining by Points: 5th (1268.92)
Remaining opponents: Michael Style (7-4), The Empire (6-5), ay_Bilat (5-6)
Outlook: Like I said above, a win and a win by Bryar locks up a playoff spot for you. Of course, with where you are at for points, a win in itself would likely lock that up for you too. So, let’s just call it, win one of your remaining games and you’re in the playoffs. Unfortunately for us both, Joel won this week, so our only chance at taking the division is to win out and have him lose out.
4th seed: Space Rangers Coach: Lance Record: 7-4
SOS Remaining by Record: 1st (0.364)
SOS Remaining by Points: 1st (1164.15)
Remaining opponents: Fantasy Fairies (0-11), NUKEM (5-6), Michael Style (7-4)
Outlook: Same as above.
5th Seed: The Empire Coach: Bryar Record: 6-5
SOS Remaining by Record: 9th (0.636)
SOS Remaining by Points: 6th (1272.74)
Remaining opponents: ay_Bilat (5-6), Fear Itself (7-4), Storm Surge (9-2)
Outlook: With where you are at for points, a win would essentially lock up a playoff spot for you. As for the West, the only way you can win your division now is to win out and have Alex lose at least two games, or if Alex loses out you would only need to win two games.
6th seed: Kade’s Dawgs Coach: Curt Record: 5-6
SOS Remaining by Record: 5th (0.485)
SOS Remaining by Points: 3rd (1244.47)
Remaining opponents: NUKEM (5-6), Michael Style (7-4), Ferocious Felines (4-7)
Outlook: The coveted 6th seed, as the current top five are in a good position to secure their spots. None of the teams in the 6-9 seeds are in a position to guarantee themselves a playoff spot with the snap of a finger, but Curt and Fred are technically in the best positions because of their Points For. Curt, if you win out it would take an epic points collapse for you to lose the 6th seed. Winning out would mean the only team below you that could catch you would be Trey and you are up 134 points on him. Win two and you will need both wins to come against Rob and Fred, and you will need Trey to lose one of his remaining games. Win one and you would need: that one win to either be against Rob or Fred, if it’s against Rob you’d need him to lose one other game and Fred to lose one game or you’d have to outscore Fred by 30 points over the next three weeks, if your win was against Fred you’d need Rob to lose his two other games, and regardless of who that win was against, you would need Trey to lose two games. Lose out and you’re going to be playing in your first consolation playoff.
Name: ay_Bilat Coach: Trey Record: 5-6
SOS Remaining by Record: 10th (0.667)
SOS Remaining by Points: 9th (1350.91)
Remaining opponents: The Empire (6-5), Storm Surge (9-2), Fear Itself (7-4)
Outlook: You have no games remaining against the 6-9 seed teams, so your best hope is to win out, have Curt lose one game and maintain your slim points lead over Rob. If you only win two games, you would need Fred to lose one game, Rob to lose one game while maintaining your points lead, and Curt to lose twice. If you only win one game, you need Fred to lose twice, Rob to lose twice and the points thing, and Curt to lose out (in this scenario you would need Rob to win this week and lose out, and Fred to lose his next two and then beat Curt). Lose out and you’re in your first consolation playoff. THIS PART IS FOR TREY AND ROB: You are both still alive in the race for the West, you would HAVE to win out though, Alex would HAVE to lose out, and Bryar would HAVE to lose at least two of his remaining games.
Name: NUKEM Coach: Rob Record: 5-6
SOS Remaining by Record: 2nd (0.364)
SOS Remaining by Points: 4th (1249.30)
Remaining opponents: Kade’s Dawgs (5-6), Space Rangers (7-4), Fantasy Fairies (0-11)
Outlook: Win this week and score well and you should find yourself back in the driver’s seat. But you’re pretty much in the same boat as the others. Win out and the 6th seed is yours, however you would need Trey to either lose a game, or you would have to take the points tiebreaker back from him. The rest of it is what it is, but the important thing to remember is that this week is a near-must win. Losing it won’t bounce you from playoff contention, but it would make it extremely difficult for you to get there.
Name: Ferocious Felines Coach: Fred Record:4-7
SOS Remaining by Record: 3rd (0.424)
SOS Remaining by Points: 2nd (1215.38)
Remaining opponents: Storm Surge (9-2), Fantasy Fairies (0-11), Kade’s Dawgs (5-6)
Outlook: Win out and get a bit of help. Win out, have Curt, Rob and Trey all lose at least one game, and keep your 30 point lead over Curt and the 6th seed is yours. Win two of your final three and you’ll need each of the other three to lose two of theirs while also keeping your points lead. If you lose two of your final three games you are out of the running. But that points tiebreaker is the reason why you have arguably the second best chance at getting the 6th seed. If you are going to lose one of your final games, don’t let it be week 14.
Name: Fantasy Fairies Coach: Ryan Record: 0-11
SOS Remaining by Record: 6th (0.485)
SOS Remaining by Points: 7th (1284.14)
Remaining opponents: Space Rangers (7-4), Ferocious Felines (4-7), NUKEM (5-6)
Outlook: The good news, you have locked up the #1 pick and can now focus on playing spoiler the rest of the way. The bad news is you are one loss away from setting the regular season losing streak record, and if you lose out you will break the league record for longest losing streak (postseason included). As far as playing spoiler goes, you could ruin my chances (longshot as they are) at winning the East this week, hurt my seed for the playoffs and potentially put me in a must-win situation in the coming weeks. You could almost completely destroy Fred’s chances at making the playoffs if you win next week, and there’s a possibility you could drop Rob out of the playoffs and help someone else into it in week 14 depending on how the next two weeks go.
Here’s a look ahead at next week:
Storm Surge (9-2) vs Ferocious Felines (4-7)
The first ever meeting between the Storm Surge and the Ferocious Felines. Fred is in must-win mode, and Joel is in “let’s not back into the playoffs” mode. If things break the right way for Fred to close out the year this could be a round 2 matchup in the playoffs too.
Michael Style (7-4) vs Fear Itself (7-4)
Nathan is up 6-2 on Alex. After losing to Alex twice last year, including in the championship, Nathan got a little bit of revenge back in week 6. This week, he could exact a larger chunk of revenge by knocking Alex back down into Bryar’s line of sight.
Space Rangers (7-4) vs Fantasy Fairies (0-11)
Thanks to our game back in week 4 I am up 3-2. This game features the 2008 Detroit Lions vs The Replacements! I either need a performance that Hollywood would be excited to make a movie about, or I need Ryan to go back to playing like he did when we faced off in week 4, and even that might not be enough.
The Empire (6-5) vs ay_Bilat (5-6)
Trey leads 8-3 in the series, but Bryar did pull out the win back in week 5, and he did it in pretty convincing fashion. This game, in Marvel terms, is a Nexus event for our playoff picture. This game gives Bryar the chance to do to Trey what he did to him back in season 1; put him out of the running for the championship. Sure, Bryar still made the playoffs that year, and it was Curt who bounced him out of the playoffs, but it was Trey beating him twice that year that kept him from getting the first round bye and forced him to play Curt in the second round.
Kade’s Dawgs (5-6) vs NUKEM (5-6)
Rob is up 4-3. There’s not a whole lot I can say about this game beyond what was said in the playoff outlook section so I’ll just leave it at this, win and you are in control, lose and you’re going to need help, which side of that fence do you want to be on?
It’s time for Fun Stats with Lance! Although this one is more of an update, than a “check out the probability of you making the playoffs” kind of deal. I missed a couple of major marks in our league’s history. Back in week 9 Alex became the second coach in league history to hit 50 losses! (Simon was the first). And then the following week, Alex helped Bryar reach the 50 loss mark as well. Congratulations to you both. And I’m going to get a little ahead of the curve here, Trey and Nathan are both one win away from being the first to hit 60, and Curt is one win away from being the third to 50.
That’s all for this week, good luck to you all in week 12!