Two more fun games to watch! Such an exciting post season this has been so far! But I’m very upset with the Chiefs. I loved them at -7.5 and all I could imagine was a straight-up blowout. Experience versus a bunch of kids. No contest in my mind. 35-10 is what I saw happening, and boy was I psyched with the start. Three possessions and three TDs. BANG! It’s 21-3 and there’s no chance Cincy could keep up. Oh now it’s 21-10 after a 40-yard TD catch and run (which really shoulda been a 12-yard gain if anyone could tackle), but no worries… CIN left over a minute on the clock, and we all know that KC only needs 13 seconds. And just like that, it’s 1st & Goal from the 1-yard line. Then halftime. Wait, what just happened? Poor clock management and two poor play calls is not a good combo. And right then I knew it was over. It was like someone let all the air out of a balloon. Here’s how the rest of their drives went…
- 5-play punt (after receiving the second half kickoff and not being able to capitalize)
- 5-play punt
- 2-play INT
- 3-play punt
- 3-play punt
- 14-play FG to tie the game on the final play of regulation (after having a 1st & Goal at the 5-yard line with 1:30 left)
And after winning the coin toss (for two weeks straight), Mahomes threw two incompletions and then an unforgivable INT, basically handing the game and the chance at another Super Bowl to Joe Brrrrrrr and the Bengals.
But really… how is there only one NFL game left? Doesn’t it feel like the season JUST started?! Either way, I CANNOT wait until Super Bowl Sunday!!
And now to our pool… 48 people picked both games correctly, 40 got both wrong (including me, who went from 6th place to effin’ 54th), 68 had CIN/LAR, 19 had KC/SF, and 50 people couldn’t be bothered making picks.
Moving on… 658 points were scored overall, which averages out to 3.92 points per player – pretty close to the 4.02 average from the past 10 seasons, not even close to the high in 2015, but better than some years.
- January 2021 – 4.01 points per player
- January 2020 – 3.83
- January 2019 – 4.54
- January 2018 – 3.16
- January 2017 – 5.00
- January 2016 – 2.73
- January 2015 – 6.16
- January 2014 – 2.45
- January 2013 – 4.35
OVERALL STANDINGS
Now this is what I’m talking about! Allllllll sorts of possibilities for people to win some serious cash! In total, there are 19 people that can place in the top 10 spots depending on how things fall. If BAGGYPANTS picks the right team, he wins the whole thing and $3500 for his troubles. If he doesn’t, the door is open for either a T-BONE tie (which T would win due to having more correct “Key Picks” or a JGILLESPIE478 theft of the century. The pressure is on!
The chart below shows who still has a chance to win a pile of money (or a free entry for those in 6th through 10th) – just gotta pick the right team and hope whoever is above you picks the opposite! The SB column is the number that you did NOT use last weekend and was automatically designated as your Super Bowl value.
Please note: if your name has a gray background and is crossed out, it means you don’t have enough points left to finish in the top 10.
| RANK | KEYS | MEMBER | POINTS | SB |
| 1 | 9 | BAGGYPANTS | 183 | 5 |
| 2 | 12 | T-BONE | 180 | 3 |
| 3 | 11 | JGILLESPIE478 | 180 | 5 |
| 4 | 10 | MARXY | 176 | 5 |
| 5 | 12 | DIGGIDYDOGG | 174 | 4 |
| 6 | 13 | WALLLYMAC | 173 | 3 |
| 7 | 9 | CHRIS BARBAS | 173 | 4 |
| 8 | 12 | SEANB4848 | 171 | 5 |
| 9 | 11 | PJCARSON | 171 | 4 |
| 10 | 9 | DESPERADO26 | 169 | 3 |
| 11 | 13 | THE_BRIGADE | 168 | 5 |
| 12 | 9 | SPIDAH | 168 | 3 |
| 13 | 13 | NO FIREWORKS | 167 | 4 |
| 14 | 11 | FRODIDLEY | 167 | 4 |
| 15 | 9 | SETUCKETDAB | 167 | 3 |
| 16 | 12 | J.LIPPOLIS | 166 | 4 |
| 17 | 11 | THE_DUKE | 166 | 4 |
| 18 | 16 | DSTREET29 | 165 | 5 |
| 19 | 11 | BRADELL | 165 | 5 |
PLAYOFF STANDINGS
The Playoff pool pays the top six spots and talk about endlesssssssss possibilities! And I didn’t even list anyone below 20 points simply because it would take up too much space. For those of you at 19 with a 4 or 5 left, or those of you at 18 and a 5 left, you and most of the people listed on the chart below are simply hoping for the long-shot 10th place tie. But there are plenty of others that can do better. If BOSTONJOHN88 picks the correct team, he automatically wins $1500 for 1st place. If he doesn’t, two people below him have a chance to either jump right past him or at least tie.
| RANK | KEYS | MEMBER | POINTS | SB |
| 1 | x | BOSTONJOHN88 | 28 | 4 |
| 2 | x | THE BALD FURITO | 26 | 3 |
| 3 | x | THE_DUKE | 26 | 4 |
| 4 | x | SPIDAH | 24 | 3 |
| 5 | x | BALLER8 | 23 | 3 |
| 6 | x | CHUCKLES69 | 23 | 5 |
| 7 | x | MARXY | 23 | 5 |
| 8 | x | SWEET ANGEL HARAMBE | 23 | 3 |
| 9 | x | BFOXY | 22 | 5 |
| 10 | x | BOBBYC | 22 | 4 |
| 11 | x | BSMITTY99 | 22 | 5 |
| 12 | x | CRUSHEDBYHEELS | 22 | 4 |
| 13 | x | FBJK2306 | 22 | 5 |
| 14 | x | BJACOBCARR | 21 | 3 |
| 15 | x | CRAZY ROOSTER | 21 | 5 |
| 16 | x | HUMAROCK | 21 | 5 |
| 17 | x | MANUFACTURED OUT | 21 | 3 |
| 18 | x | SNAKE MYRER | 21 | 5 |
| 19 | x | THE_BRIGADE | 21 | 5 |
| 20 | x | THE_SHIVA | 21 | 5 |
| 21 | x | BRIAN ZUKOWSKI | 20 | 3 |
| 22 | x | DESPERADO26 | 20 | 3 |
| 23 | x | GENEMARROW | 20 | 4 |
| 24 | x | MADELINE HAYES | 20 | 5 |
| 25 | x | MarkBucca | 20 | 5 |
| 26 | x | PJCARSON | 20 | 4 |
| 27 | x | RALPH 1 OF THE 3 STERN | 20 | 5 |
| 28 | x | SCOTTGILBERT | 20 | 3 |
| 29 | x | SETUCKETDAB | 20 | 3 |
ROOKIE RACE
This race is much simpler to report on, as it’s all over! CHRIS BARBAS just needed to hit one of the three last games and he did just that with CIN. So congrats to CHRIS for winning Rookie of the Year. He wins $250 as the “horse” and his “jockey” — none other than our fearless leader MARK T (FTPL MANAGER also wins $250. ANDDDD this is back-to-back years as the winning jockey for Mark as his horse ALLBOUS took home the title in 2021! That’s quite the stable he’s got going!
COMBO RACE
Now this race is interesting! Four squads have a shot, but only one will win…
| RANK | KEYS | HORSE / JOCKEY | PTS | SB |
| 1 | 13 | MITSY / BAGGYPANTS | 325 | 5+5 = 10 |
| 2 | 23 | CHEF PAT / J. HODGE | 323 | 3+5 = 8 |
| 3 | 17 | CHRIS BARBAS / MARK T | 323 | 4+5 = 9 |
| 4 | 23 | DWORDEN76 / TRABS | 318 | 4+5 = 9 |
VETERANS POOL
A classic one-on-one battle for the ages!
| RANK | KEYS | MEMBER | POINTS | SB |
| 1 | 9 | BAGGYPANTS | 183 | 5 |
| 2 | 11 | JGILLESPIE478 | 180 | 5 |
BEST OF NOTHING and LAST PLACE OVERALL
These are yet to be determined, but they’re both worth a free entry into next season for two (un)lucky members!
And finally… SQUARES
We’re still working on these, but just know every member will be getting at least one box on a set of squares in which the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters, along with the final score are worth $250 each!
Good luck to everyone and I hope all 225 members will join us again next season, but I know that won’t be happening. Every year we seem to lose 25-35 people, but that’s good news for anyone that is looking to get someone new into the league. There’s already a waiting list, so start telling your friends and family NOW about the best pick ‘em pool you’ve ever been involved with!
Look for one last recap sometime shortly after the Super Bowl in mid-February. All money winners will get paid during that same week.
Can’t believe pro football is almost gone again… it just got here!
Be well,
Dan and Mark