DFFL 22 Playoffs - Alexa's Wonder Bowl Champion - JWW

Presented by Ask Jeeves

WINNER

Congratulations to the DFFL 2022 Wonder Bowl Champion, JWW (9-5), who was victorious over a resurgent KED (9-5) at home in a closer-than-expected 178.80 to 154.62 2022 Playoffs Game 1 victory!

Interestingly, had KED played TMW, KED would be continuing on in the playoffs. Additionally, JWW vs. RAF in Week 15 would have led to a JWW loss. Captain Obvious highlights that seeding and regular season matchups are solidly important! Both JWW and KED had 6 of 10 starters go under projected points. However, where JWW's players blew projections off the charts, KED's players just couldn't keep up. Of course, the biggest problem for KED was his QB slot. Having spent a ton of capital on getting Lamar Jackson to help him on his way to a 2022 Championship, KED saw this dream become a nightmare when Jackson was injured late in regular season. Jackson likely would not have been able to make up the difference in JWW's victory over KED versus Cleveland's tough defense, but it would have been way more impactful than the not 100% Tyler Huntley (9 points!!). On the other side, Kirk Cousins, who was for 3 quarters mostly forgettable, drove an offensive decimation of Indianapolis that went into the history books! Cousins scored a whopping 49.40 points! The best game he's had since the 51.50 points he put up versus Green Bay in 2018. In 2022, Cousins is not bad as he is averaging between 25-30 points easy at the fantasy QB position. Both teams' RB slot was disappointing, particularly for KED. Chubb ended up 1 yd shy of 100 yds on the ground, and had no TDs. He didn't come close to expected production in a low-scoring game that Cleveland dominated. While JWW's Ekeler performed forgettably in Week 15, JWW was already solidly in front after Saturday's games. KED won the battle of the wideouts, getting 37 points over JWW's 28 points. JWW's Lockett (INJ) and Evans (notoriously underperforming) did not get close to projections. KED's Godwin was solid, as usual, but Smith-Shuster did what was expected for fantasy managers (Sleeper is always high on this dude). At the TE spot, Engram grabbed 8 of 10 targets for 62 yards and no TDs. Engram is still Lawrence's favorite target; especially in the RZ, and his performance was on par with expected fantasy floor - not bad. One of KED's bright spots in Week 15 was George Kittle's monster performance on Thursday Night Football, receiving just under 100 yds and grabbing two TDs! Next, JWW's FLEX was instrumental in sustaining a victory over KED. Cook, Pittman, and Zeke produced over 66 points. Cook and Pittman did most of their fantasy damage to KED in the 4th quarter of the Min vs Indy game. E.g., Cook was underperforming and even fumbled the ball at one point - giving KED hope for a comeback. But then it all changed in mere seconds when Cousins passed him the ball and Cook rumbled 64 yards for a TD! That was a huge dagger to KED's comeback hopes. KED almost equalled JWW in Flex with a combined 63.3 points. The biggest bright spot for KED was Saquan Barkley, who over performed on projected points, earning 30.5 points. Meanwhile, KED barely won the kicker competition, but both positions were disappointingly low in points, 4 points to JWW's 3 points. Finally, like with the Rant Bowl, both JWW and KED defenses were tied at a measly, horrid 3 points.

KED could have done very little to change the dynamics of this game, as his bench was nothing special in scoring. So aside from lessening the damage with the Chargers defense over his homer Buccs defense, no real additional points could have been added to his score. JWW had some gems on his bench, perhaps for consideration in his Week 16 Playoffs Game 2 lineup. Falcons RB Allgeier ran for over 129 yards and 1 TD, earning 29 points for fantasy. JWW once responded to RAF's comment that Shultz should be considered over Engram by saying simply, "Nope!" JWW was right. Engram was the best play at TE for his team, and indeed, JWW wasn't "chasing points"...okay, well, maybe a little. The point is, JWW set his lineup and was firm in his decision. It wasn't easy to start Cousins over homer Dak Prescott, but JWW did just that and while Dak wouldn't have cost him the game against KED, the Cous was definitely the better play - by a bunch! JWW went into this match with a "Guns a' blazing!"strategy. The Wonder Bowl went from a question to a statement, and will go down in DFFL history as Jerry's World Wonder Bowl. Congrats to JWW!! Solid attempted comeback by KED!