matchup of the week: week 11

The Matchup of the Week delivered! Keegan topped Steve in the nail biter of the century to ruin my perfect week. I am now 31-9 but that is the last thing we are focused on. The real storyline of Week 10 was big trades and big injuries. Don’s Cooper Kupp is dead and Ryan went all in to grab himself a steed from yours truly. The playoffs got more intriguing and with Frank dropping the ball for a second week in a row I am left to pick up the slack and do a deep dive into the highly objective, supremely accurate RPR rankings before I can do the Matchup of the Week.

1. Ryan: He gets Ekeler (RB1), JT looks alive, Terry catches some balls, and JJ single-handedly destroyed the weekend for Bills fans everywhere. Ertz getting hurt was a blow but Ryan should be able to squeak by until Waller has two legs.
   
2. Steve: No big injuries for Steve and that is exactly what he needed. AJ Brown disappointed but it is unlikely to happen again.
   
3. Don: Kupp is gone for the year, Adams may be shut down (bold prediction of the year), Kittle is not getting targets, and CMC is splitting carries. Is he still great? Yes. Is he the clear #1, no.
   
4. Keegan: I am objective. Josh Allen is doo doo on the field, but good in fake football. Same with Diggs. And Keegan can weather the Jeudy scare.
   
5. Josh: I know, I know. But the unbiased geniuses behind RPR objectively analyzed the squad and think Dak is an upgrade this year, Etienne is a stud, and Jeff Wilson is on a great trajectory. Throw in Schultz and the WR depth and there is some good things going on.
   
6. GT: Burrow, Andrews, and Tyreek can carry him any given week. Hollywood will be back for playoffs and GT has clinched. I would not want to face him.
   
7. Frank: Feisty Frank has some injuries and needs to win 3/4 to have a shot at playoffs. Chase is a couple weeks away so he needs some boys to step up. Jamaal Williams has been doing it, Montgomery is upgraded, and his young guns at QB are downright electric.
   
8. Donals: This says more about the Jafar and Sacko than Donals but Aaron Jones and Fournette are still solid, Watson is nearly back, Waddle is a speed demon, and Deebo can’t do any worse.
   
9. Jafar: Top to bottom I think I may prefer Sacko’s roster? Jafar has truly stripped it down and may be down to three players worth a first or more… two of them are QBs and one is a 25 year old RB. The TEs are a wasteland and Aiyuk and Garret Wilson are his lone bright spots at WR unless Toney’s role continues to grow. He better hopes he hits on his picks.
   
10. Sacko: At least he has Pitts and White? Maybe Elijah Moore and Devonta Smith re-emerge? His fate lies in Starbursts, a pillow case, and Cait’s right hand

Long intro into our Matchup of the Week but we have a doozy. Don (RPR 3) v. Steve (RPR 2).

QB: Advantage Steve. Mahomes (QB1) against Russ (QB 22). That is all

RB: Advantage Steve. This is close and I do not like complimenting the Bills but I think Chubb (RB4) has a tough matchup, which decides this positional batt. Sanders (RB19) is just not catching balls but neither is Robinson (RB55). But, King Henry (RB5) gets all the touches and is facing a Packers defense that can be had.

WR: Advantage Steve. Matchups and an injured Kupp force my hand. Devante (WR5) is going to be shadowed by Surtain and Olave (WR19) may be shadowed by Ramsey. Yikes. I think CeeDee (WR8) continues dominating and AJ Brown (WR9) bounces back from an awful week.

TE: Advantage Steve. Kelce (TE1) is a player I am picking every week. He is matchup proof and guaranteed volume and the second leading target for the Chiefs, Juju, may miss. Hockenson (TE5) is great and is getting tons of targets but I would not bet on him outscoring Kelce (fade me).

Flex: Advantage Don. CMC (RB2) and Mixon (RB7) highlight the depth Don still has with 3 of the top 10 RBs on the year including Chubb. This duo is only matched by Ryan’s squad’s depth. Harris (RB26) and Davis (WR28) were supposed to be the high end players that gave Steve the depth to match Ryan and Don but both have been disappointing relative to expectations and I do not think Harris has back to back great weeks.

Prediction: Watson predicts a close one and for once I agree. Steve wins in a close one.

Josh (RPR 5) v. Frank (RPR 7): This one matters. Frank talks shit and wants me to lose because he has my pick. I want to beat Frank who makes a million excuses and has been rebuilding for 7 years. This one is projected within a point and I sadly think Frank wins on the strength of his RBs. I will try to mush his whole squad.

Ryan (RPR 1) v. Keegan (RPR 4): Ryan’s ESPN matchup penis tells the whole story here. That is a scary matchup and Allen is still not 100% (or he sucks, jury is out). Ryan by 20.

GT (RPR 6) v. Donals (RPR 8): Some bye week issues and injuries for GT but I think he rises up even if Andrews is out since Donals has a worse team and even bigger bye week blues. GT by 7.

Jafar (RPR 9) v. Sacko (RPR 10): I was tempted to make this the matchup of the week because this is Sacko’s chance to get a win. How funny would it be if Jafar blew this one? It will not happen because Sacko is trash but there is a chance. Jafar by 17.