Well fantasy fans, our season is nearing its end, and the playoffs are in sight. Week 13 offered us a lot of interesting situations and outcomes, and I hope you were able to navigate the multitude of players on bye with success. As I watched the games this weekend, several things came to my mind and I hope you find them interesting as well.

Special Teams Matter

As fantasy players, most of us only focus on the offensive side of the ball. There are some of us that pay attention to defensive players as well, but they are not the majority. Most of us, however, use the time teams spend on special teams as our chance to smoke, or hit the restroom. But, in the course of an NFL game, special teams make a huge impact. One of the key aspects of the New England dynasty (outside of Brady) was their ability to minimize mistakes on special teams. Watching them today, they are almost nothing but a comedy of errors on special teams, and it cost them a chance to win the game. In Tennessee, an injury to their punter potentially cost them the game as well. Not because of what he brought as a punter, but because of his value as the holder in the kicking game. After his injury, the Titans went on to miss an extra point which allowed the game to go into overtime. This is why special teams are so important to the game. I don’t think special teams play will ever be a huge factor in most of our fantasy leagues, but it is a key aspect of the game, and something that I love to watch.

Consistency Matters

We have all heard the sayings, “Any given Sunday”, and “That’s why they play the game”, but as I watched the games today the meaning of those phrases seemed to be incredibly evident. Coming into this season, no one gave the Texans or the Cardinals much of a chance. However, both teams won today, and looked pretty good doing it. Early in the season, the Broncos looked terrible, then they looked like one of the best teams in the league, and today they kinda looked terrible again. This is what I mean when I say that consistency matters. While it is never easy to win an NFL game, it is much easier to win a single game than it is to win games consistently. In order to be successful, teams need to be able to weather the storms of the season and find ways to win in suboptimal situations. 

Consistency also matters with the officiating. I won’t spend much time on it this week, but there was a call in the Arizona game that was very reminiscent of a call in the Pittsburgh game last week. The issue, they were both called differently. No one knows what a catch is anymore. The announcers don’t know, the players don’t know, the fans don’t know, and most worrisome…the officials don’t know. The NFL needs to get its act together and address this issue.

Who Are The Favorites

If you follow me on X @2fatguysff , you might know that I got a little hate a couple of weeks ago by saying that I thought the Eagles were the most overrated team in the NFL. I continued to stand by that statement even as they kept winning. People have a short memory. Remember the Minnesota Vikings last year? The team that won 13 games, and almost every single close game that they were involved in? No??? Well, you aren’t alone. When I brought up the similarities between that team and this year’s Eagles team, I was ridiculed. When the 49ers came to town this week, I fully expected them to beat the Eagles. I didn’t expect them to look as dominant as they did. Early in the season, I pointed out that I thought the 49ers were the best team in the NFL. Right after I said that, they proceeded to lose 3 straight. I think that might have been the best thing for their Super Bowl aspirations. They learned how to lose, and more importantly, I think they learned what they needed to do to win. So, to answer my own question…I think the 49ers are the favorites. Who do you think are the favorites?

That’ll do it for me this week. I’ll be back next week as some of us begin to open up our fantasy playoffs. For the others, I am here to help with any roster or lineup questions you might have. Feel free to reach out to me on X(Twitter) @2fatguysff  Until next  time my friends!