EFL Power Rankings - Week 15, 2022
Elite Fantasy League
2022 POWER RANKINGS - WEEK 15
The playoffs are here and at least 8 of us are clinging to some hope of lifting the 2022 Faux-bardi (even though probably only about 6 of us should be). It has been an incredibly tight season with plenty of ups and downs, a very busy waiver wire (over 200 roster moves this season!?), and a depressingly small amount of trash talking.
We have some interesting playoff matchups following a Week 14 that posed far more potential seeding drama than what actually transpired and could have an interesting bunch emerge into the semis next week.
Oh, and all hail our Toilet Trophy winner of the year: Michael Schultz’s Sweet Carolina. We’re sure that will look great on your mantle for 2023.
Best of luck out there in Round 1, and without further adieu,
Read ‘em and weep.
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1.
Pewter Pirates (2nd | 8-6)
Week 10 Rank: 5 (+4)
Manager: Sy Gallimore
Years in League: 14
Best Finish: Champ (2x – 2010, 2020)
Pewter Pirates has finished the year on a blistering tear that included winning 8 out of 9 games leading to a 2nd place finish. With the dismal 0-5 start as a distant memory, the last 4 weeks since the latest edition of the power rankings have been a perfect 4-0.
This magical run looks like it could very well continue deep into the playoffs…as long as Pewter Pirates can escape the 1st round of the playoffs.
The matchup between Pewter Pirates and ThrowUpThe X is the highest projected point total in the league – fitting as these are the highest two Points For teams by more than 100 points. It’s unfortunate that one of these teams will be going home early. Winner gets the chip?
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2.
Jets Jets Jets (1st | 7-3)
Week 10 Rank: 2 (-)
Manager: Tim Cook
Years in League: 14
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2015)
After a strong start and then losing 3 games before our last rankings, Jets Jets Jets has gone 3-1 and recaptured some its magic, stumbling only in the brutal bye-laden Week 14. Even then, Jets Jets Jets would have won just by playing JK Dobbins who sat on the bench with 18 points in a 6 point loss. The roster has strong contributors that will still be playing hard in the next few weeks to push their teams into the playoffs.
The biggest concern going into these fantasy playoffs (which I’m not sure is a massive concern with Christian Watson in the wings) is losing Deebo Samuel.
Interestingly, Jets Jets Jets’ first round matchup is a Week 14 rematch against Ruthlessberger. But this time, Jets Jets Jets will have Jonathan Taylor, JK Dobbins and Zonovan Knight at their disposal.
Expect Jets Jets Jets to be around next weekend.
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3.
Butt Fumble (4th | 8-6)
Week 10 Rank: 4 (+1)
Manager: Austin Owen
Years in League: 7
Best Finish: Champ (3x – 2016, 2017, 2021)
Overall it’s been a relatively topsy-turvy season for Butt Fumble who haven’t been able to truly find a groove.
It’s just a putrid running game that is holding this team back from greatness and being a true contender for a 4th title in 6 years.
In Week 14, Butt Fumble played Jamaal Williams, Jeff Wilson Jr., and Rashaad White, who all combined for 11.9 points. Incredibly, their bench was no better with two RBs combining for 7.3. So, pick your poison, but don’t be mistaken - it’s all poison.
The good news is that Butt Fumble was able to post 100 points anyways because of strong showings from Josh Allen, Justin Jefferson, DK Metcalf and Brandon Aiyuk.
The reason Butt Fumble is in 3rd place in these rankings is because of the first round matchup. If the passing game can hold firm for Round 1, Butt Fumble should be able to get past shorthanded The Falcoholics.
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4.
ThrowUpThe X (5th | 5-5)
Week 10 Rank: 1 (-3)
Manager: RD Gallant
Years in League: 13
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2013)
In Week 10’s rankings I said, “If you live and die by the Cowboys, you will inevitably die.”
I gotta be honest with y’all: I’m hoping Week 15 is the week it ThrowUpThe X inevitably dies.
ThrowUpThe X hasn’t had a great record for the past four weeks at 1-3, but have been averaging about 115 points, which is far above league average and also doubles as ThrowUpTheX’s projected point total for their 1st round matchup with Pewter Pirates.
Going 1-3 in the last four weeks has been a microcosm of their entire season. Despite being far and away the highest Points For team in the league, ThrowUpThe X found themselves at 6-8 by season’s end.
The first round against Pewter Pirates is a true toss-up. The last time the teams met, Pewter Pirates won 116-114 – an ironic point total given that both teams are projected to split the difference at 115. The true X factor here is going to be the 1:00p matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. If Dallas has a strong showing, ThrowUpThe X should be in good shape given half of their team plays for the Cowboys.
Edit: George Kittle just scored a touchdown so I’m feeling better about it.
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5.
Ruthlessberger (8th | 6-8)
Week 10 Rank: 8 (+3)
Manager: Ian Svendsen
Years in League: 6
Best Finish: 2nd (2020)
Ruthlessberger’s got a much needed win in Week 14 against Jets Jets Jets to make the playoffs and set up…another matchup with Jets Jets Jets.
The season has just been a series of unfortunate events for Ruthlessberger, who lost both Cooper Kupp and Javonte Williams to fantasy-season-ending injuries. Then it was the undynamic duo of Melvin Gordon and Kareem Hunt. Then missing Tua’s good weeks… then playing Jared Goff at some unfortunate times… which was recovered with a resurgent Travis Etienne and upstart Jerrick McKinnon. Frankly, the rest of the league probably dodged a bullet, otherwise it would likely be Ruthlessberger hoisting the Faux-bardi this year.
Alas, for Ruthlessberger, the 1st round matchup with Jets Jets Jets might seal the fate of an underachieving season.
Hopefully, this time around Ruthlessberger can get some points out of Tee Higgins and Foster Moreau.
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6.
The Falcoholics (5th | 7-7)
Week 10 Rank: 7 (+1)
Manager: Ryan Johnson
Years in League: 4
Best Finish: 3rd (2019)
The Falcoholics might have had the most impressive Week 14 of anyone, and that is including Pewter Pirates’ 150-point shellacking. To put it in perspective, The Falcoholics chose to play 5 players with less than a 10-point projected total and went +38 on those players. That’s either ballsy substituting or the necessity of a thin-bench happening to work out. Interestingly, their players with a 10+ point projection went -17 compared to projected.
Once you solve that puzzle, let The Falcoholics know because they’re going to need that type of performance again going into a first round matchup against Butt Fumble. Which is only exasperated further by Tua and Saquon, who haven’t been as reliable in recent weeks, and a bench that is about as thin as one can be in a 10-team league.
The unsung hero of The Falcoholics season? Bill Belicheck’s NE Defense which has nearly as many fantasy points as Joe Mixon, Amon Ra St. Brown and Dameon Pierce. It’ll be interesting to see if they show out on the road in Las Vegas Sunday afternoon.
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7.
Golden Boy (3rd | 9-5)
Week 10 Rank: 9 (+2)
Manager: Kyler Stock
Years in League: 1
Best Finish: N/A
The unlikely run for Golden Boy only continued since our last rankings as they managed to go 3-1 to finish with a 2nd best 9-5 record on the year.
The good news is that this time around it was at least partially deserved. If you remember our last rankings, I scoffed at the fact that all of Golden Boy’s opponents happened to have their worst week of the season against them. Well, The Falcoholics decided to join that list right after the Week 10 rankings with a 51-point showing in Week 11. Golden Boy’s saving grace (from a reputation standpoint) was that they at least scored 107 points, which was far above their average of 90 points throughout the season. In fact, Golden Boy averaged 106 points over the final four weeks of the season.
That bodes well for their 1st round matchup with Jujus on that Beat. Despite having the second lowest point total in the league, it is entirely possible that Golden Boy finds himself in the semi-finals next week.
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8.
Jujus on that Beat (6th | 7-7)
Week 10 Rank: 3 (-5)
Manager: Joshuwa Shelton
Years in League: 7
Best Finish: 3rd (2018)
Jujus went 1-3 in their final 4 weeks, never cracking 90 points along the way. Unfortunately, they find themselves as the coldest team going into the playoffs – a tough spot to be in for a team looking to make it past the first round for the first time since 2018. It was a major slide from the early season success that looked like Jujus could break out of the inevitable 6th seed that they find themselves in each year. It coincided (unsurprisingly) with the injury to Lamar Jackson, promotion of an underwhelming Dak Prescott to starter, and a slew of support players coughing up single-digit performances.
Alas, fate would have its way once again, and Jujus ended the season right there in the 6th spot. Classic.
The silver lining: if there was ever a team to be excited about facing in the first round of the playoffs, it’s Golden Boy. Jujus has a very real chance to pull off “the upset” and move on to the playoff’s second weekend. They are just going to need to get some lifts from a running game that has haunted them all year.
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9.
Run CMC (9th | 5-9)
Week 10 Rank: 6 (-3)
Manager: Nick Gosney
Years in League: 4
Best Finish: Champ (1x - 2019)
The season really just didn’t go as planned for our 2019 champ, exemplified by missing the playoffs in part because Kyler Murray headed to IR and Rhamondre Stevenson left the game early in Week 14’s tragic fantasy matchup between AZ and NE. That sucked.
But, in hindsight, we should have seen it coming. In fact, it came just after losing Jimmy G for the season. Which was right after losing Darnell Mooney. Which was right after losing Khalil Herbert. Which was right after losing Allen Robinson.
I don’t need to go on, but heck, why not? Allen Robinson was right after losing Mike Williams. Which was right after losing Chase Edmonds. Which was right after losing D’Andre Swift. Which was right after losing Mecole Hardman.
So, Run CMC has every right to be frustrated with this season. But all said and done, they did well to be competitive until the end. Not that there’s any solace in that.
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10.
Sweet Carolina (10th | 4-10)
Week 10 Rank: 10 (-)
Manager: Michael Schultz
Years in League: 2
Best Finish: 3rd (2021)
A disappointing season comes to a close with a disappointing 66-point showing in a game that had no decisive impact on the outcome of the season. While not an awful season overall, in such a competitive league, 4-10 was just good enough to earn Sweet Carolina the (not) coveted Toilet Trophy.
After Week 7, the wheels came off. Battling injuries and watching key contributors lose their playing time to younger members of their respective teams, Sweet Carolina just couldn’t string together back to back weeks with decent points to get anything going. Certainly a far cry from last year’s Bronze medal, but this trophy is still bronze. Just a bit more commodal than the last.
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