The Crushers (led by Barkley) saved their best for last.
The Crushers (led by Barkley) saved their best for last.
That's a wrap on the regular season. A tumultuous finish to Season 20, but we got our answers as far as who's making the cut. Divisionals divided the lot.
First of all, a little non-playoff business. Congrats to the Crushers for pulling together and closing strong. They missed the postseason on points tiebreakers, but they spoiled the Remix's chances and looked dangerous in the process with a league-leading Week 14. The Bruisers came to play yet again, steamrolling the Marauders and ending their dim chances at a repeat title run. Likewise, the Threat rose to the occasion and clipped the Cheetahs to finish on a positive note.
It all adds up to no team finishing with fewer than 5 wins (for the first time in a decade). That wasn't the only historic note. 7 of 12 teams finished with losing records.
Thus, for the first time in Loc history, a 6-8 team has made the playoffs. Congrats to the Losers for ascending in recent weeks to claim the 6-seed on tiebreakers in a very contested race. Their division win over the Wolves turned out to be more than symbolic.
This accomplishment was set up by the closest playoff contention battle we've ever seen, a battle for the 5th seed that saw the Dominators snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the savvy Football Team. The finish was literally decided on the last play of the game. A hell of a matchup that saw the score change hands multiple times on its way to an epic conclusion.
Not to be forgotten, our top 2 seeds, both with impending bye weeks to start the postseason. The #1 seed Crew smashed the division rivals by 50 with a big 33.5 from Josh Allen to lead the way. A 12-2 season is certainly an accomplishment! The #2 seed Dire Wolves get a better outcome than the scoreboard, as they outpaced the Crew by 2.5 points to claim their second points title! Congrats, Wes!
Two big playoff matchups highlight Week 15, as the Addicts face the Dominators and the Cheetahs play the Losers. Plenty more on that in the days ahead. Your Week 14 awards are below. See all of the season's awards here.
Points Champs
Dire Wolves
1581.5 pts
Owner of the Week
Cliff's Crushers
144 pts
Power Player
4:20 Crew
Josh Allen - 33.5
Fantasy Fumble
Ghetto Addicts
57.5 pts
14th week. 6 divisional games. 2 playoff spots up for grabs. It all starts with the power ranks and the Commish's picks. The Playoff Primer covers all the scenarios. One last week of regular season action in LOC20. Let's look at the matchups.
What's at stake...
...the 5th playoff spot and possibly the 6th are up for grabs based on the outcome here. A .500 season also on the line. It's conceivable that both these teams get in.
The odds lean towards a Diesel win, with Achane and Jeanty expected to carry the water. Davante needs a TD from Stafford. Monangai flex an essential gauge. Watch for McBride to excel with a ton of targets, while TB D/ST and McConkey are critical to WFT's chances.
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ESPN: Dominators by 8
FPros: Dominators by 9.5
What's at stake...
...the Threat will try to play spoiler and finish the reg season strong against the surging division champ Cheetahs who are seeking their 10th 9+ win season.
Gibbs' 27 was a big gate-crasher for TLM, and expect that Jacobs and Bowers will have big games. Wilson a wild card. Byes hurt. The Nico, Tee, and Rashee trio drive a solid baseline of points, but Neal and Chase Brown are the keys to victory.
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ESPN: Cheetahs by 13
FPros: Threat by 5
What's at stake...
...both teams fighting for slim Wild Card hopes in the NLS, with the Remix hoping for 130+ to give themselves a shot and the Crushers looking for a record day.
The Crushers are hoping DK and BT Jr look more like their old selves. Saquon has to show up big Monday night. Miami defense adds 15 in a close one. The Remix get Hampton back, and they'll look to strike gold with the likes of Mitchell and Burden on flyers.
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ESPN: Remix by 7
FPros: Remix by 4
What's at stake...
...the defending champs are teetering on the brink of elimination and the Bruisers can ensure they miss the playoffs with a spoiler win here.
Dak and Aubrey got the projections tilted toward Benny quickly, and the 1-2 of Irving and Henry will ensure no contest. JSN and the Denver D will have big games. The Marauders will get a bounceback from Lamar but it won't be nearly enough.
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ESPN: Bruisers by 45
FPros: Bruisers by 42
What's at stake...
the Crew are looking to match a franchise record with 12 wins ('19) heading into the bye week, while the Addicts can secure back-to-back 10-win seasons and needed momentum.
No CMC this week, but the Crew will benefit from Chase and Josh Allen lighting it up. Buffalo D a miss here and run game will struggle. The Addicts get Daniels back at QB, but it's Taylor and Swift that will decide this. Jefferson bounce-back will help.
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ESPN: Addicts by 1
FPros: Crew by 6
What's at stake...
the Wolves are hoping to restore order on the way into a bye week, while the Losers are trying to pull off a crazy wild card comeback story (but will need help).
The Losers could have gotten even more Thursday had CeeDee not gotten hurt, but they will lean on Judkins and AJ Brown to earn their chance at the #6 spot. The Wolves high-octane lineup delivers this week with Cook and Mahomes driving success.
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ESPN: Wolves by 4.5
FPros: Losers by 2
Final picks. Polishing the knob on another mediocre run of predictions.
The dust hasn't yet settled on playoff qualification. There are some things that are clear, many are not. Let's go from the top.
This one will come down to the wire. The Wolves and Addicts are tied for the points lead, with the Crew a mere 11 points back. One of these three can claim the honor again with a strong Week 14.
The Crew are putting together their best year since a '19 title run, and they've now locked up a Week 15 bye and plenty of momentum. A heck of a season.
The Wolves have struggled to keep the points up lately, but they've secured their division and a postseason bid. A Week 15 bye gives them ample time to sort out the gameplan.
Shaking off a substandard start, the Cheetahs have gathered steam and are sprinting toward the finish. They locked up their division and will face the lowest Wild Card entrant in Wk 15.
With a steady hand and some big rushing days, the Addicts have stayed near the top for much of the way. They are lined up for a first round playoff matchup with the #5 seed.
The winner of this matchup will be 7-7 and take the top remaining playoff spot based on points tiebreakers. The loser will need help in the 6-seed scenario.
If the Marauders win, they take the 6-spot. If they lose (vs. Bruisers), the following scenarios open up:
WFT/DD loser: Secures the 6-spot if the Marauders and Losers both lose. If Losers win, have to outscore them by 25-30.
Losers: Must win and maintain points lead over WFT/DD (25.5/30). Marauders must lose.
Long Shots
Remix: Must win; Marauders and Losers must lose. Must outscore WFT/DD loser by 60-65.
The Crushers are statistically eliminated barring a record-setting scoring effort.
WEEK 14: Final installment of the power ranks. No shocks in order or scores, but definite movement. The teams trending up definitely showed themselves with an incline over the last two weeks (since there were no Wk 13 ranks).
1) Crew
9.28 | +.03 | 2 ⬆️
2) Wolves
9.11 | -.16 | 1 ⬇️
3) Dominators
8.88 | +.32 | 7 ⬆️
4) Cheetahs
8.85 | -.14 | 4
5) Addicts
8.82 | -.32 | 3 ⬇️
6) Losers
8.73 | +.19 | 8 ⬆️
7) Bruisers
8.52 | -.27 | 5 ⬇️
8) Football Team
8.48 | +.06 | 9 ⬆️
9) Remix
8.26 | -.47 | 6 ⬇️
10) Threat
8.16 | +.09 | 11 ⬆️
11) Marauders
8.05 | -.26 | 10 ⬇️
12) Crushers
7.86 | -.16 | 12
LM Note
The Commish was derailed for a bit, but a quick shout-out to Ledford's Losers, who led the league in scoring in WKs 12 and 13 and collected 2 OTW's in the process. Likewise to our 3 division winners clinched last week: The Crew (1-seed!), Wolves, and Cheetahs are to be congratulated!
Week 14, 2018: On this day in '18, the Remix rode a career day from Amari Cooper. He hauled in 10 catches for 207 yards and 3 TDs (including an OT game-winner), leading to a Remix-record 44.5 points on the day. Tap in for Cooper's highlights.
More Classic Highlights.