Week 2 Power Rankings
We’ve got a bonafide quarterback controversy on our hands!
No, I’m not talking about the FitzMagic brewing down in Tampa Bay. It’s the quarterback controversy happening on Alex’s team, Hey dARNOLD! Ironically, the upstart QB in question is not Sam Darnold, but rather 12th-round pick Patrick Mahomes.
After throwing for six TDs in Week 2 against the Steelers, Mahomes now has 10 TDs in the first two weeks, which breaks the previous record held by Peyton Manning. From a fantasy perspective, Mahomes (along with Ben Roethlisberger) led the week in scoring with 38 points. And for the season, he ranks second among all QBs, averaging 33.0 ppg. For a historical perspective, ESPN noted that it’s the second-most points by any fantasy QB to start a season since 1950.
Cut to Drew Brees profusely sweating right now. That’s Alex’s starting QB and eighth-round pick who is no slouch himself. Brees ranks fifth among QBs this season, including a top-two performance in Week 1. Suddenly, Alex faces a dilemma—to Brees or not to Brees? That is the question. But luckily for our commish, it’s a good problem to have.
As for the rest of the league, the theme of the week was a reversal of fortunes.
Nearly every team that lost last week rebounded with a victory in Week 2. And the same could be said for last week’s victors. The result is 10 teams with 1-1 records—the most in league history! And with six teams slated to make the playoffs this year, that means the league is still completely wide open as we’d expect this early in the game.
Brandon topped the scoring this week with 125 points against Geoff, including double-digit points from seven of nine players. It’s the sixth time in the last 15 weeks that he’s had at least a share of the weekly prize since they were instituted last season, which is the most in the league.
Also topping the 100-point mark this week were Erik, Alex and Trevor who defeated Greco, Nick and Josh, respectively. For Alex, it was his second triple-digit performance in as many weeks. Meanwhile, Trevor got off the schneid, breaking a five-game losing streak that dated back to Week 10 of last season thanks in part to 38 points from Roethlisberger, which helped to overcome Josh’s 96 points.
Of course, not every team is 1-1. Jess defeated JT despite just 4 points from first-round pick David Johnson. That was thanks in part to new team namesake JuJu Smith-Schuster and his 18 fantasy points. For Jess, this is just her second 2-0 start and the first since her championship season in 2014.
Finally, it’s an ignominious start for Samantha who is the league’s lone 0-2 team, following a week in which she posted just 57 points. But if we’re looking on the bright side, there are a lot of points to be had on the bench, not to mention her loss was a little flukey. She got a total of -2 points from her defense and kicker thanks in part to a freak injury to Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein. Defense and kicker are typically good for a combined 16 points, which is 18 more than she got in Week 2. Gray’s margin of victory? 25. It should have been much closer, especially when you consider that the Ravens D/ST and Zuerlein combined for 33 points in Week 1. That would have been good enough to get the W in Week 2.
As we look to our Power Rankings, there’s been a lot of movement up and down the board, most notably Brandon and Samantha swapping spots. Both moved a league-high five spots in the rankings this week after registering scores at the extremes. Other big movers include Trevor and Erik trending up and JT and Geoff trending down.
But despite all that movement, there is one name that has remained consistent at the top. No, it’s not 2-0 Jess, but rather 1-1 Josh who reigns supreme. With a league-high 116.5 ppg, Josh followed up his top-scoring Week 1 with a respectable 96 points in Week 2. So despite the loss to Trevor, his true record of 18-4 keeps him in the top spot for a second-straight week.
Narrowly trailing Josh is Alex in the second spot followed by Jess and Erik. This top quartet has been relatively consistent with scores of at least 80 points or more in both weeks. Next up is a middle group each with a TW% between .400-.600 that includes Brandon, JT, Trevor and Nick. Each has one superior and one subpar scoring effort. Greco and Samantha are not far behind in ninth and 10th place. While Samantha’s performance mirrors that of the middle group, Greco has two average performances resulting in one win and one loss.
Finally, we have a bottom tier of two developing that includes two former champions in Geoff and Gray. But I tend to think this group has bounce-back potential. Geoff is still without first-round pick Le’Veon Bell and TE Greg Olsen who should return this season. Meanwhile, Gray has suffered through injuries to both his first- and second-round picks in Leonard Fournette and Devonta Freeman, not to mention fifth-round pick Josh Gordon who has yet to see the field. Of course, that could change as this week Gordon was traded to the Patriots. And at 1-1, there’s certainly no reason for either of these two to panic… yet.
Some housekeeping before we close out the Week 2 Power Rankings. If you’re in need of motivation for the season, check out the newly minted Hall of Champions. It’s a new page dedicated to honoring the champions of years past. Play your cards right and you could be joining its ranks this year.
Also, I’d like to shoutout even more new team names this week. Props to Jess and Trevor for their additions of JU JU ON DAT BEAT and Mayfield of Dreams. Both are fine additions to the family. That leaves one holdout with an old name—Nick. Come on, Golden Taint. Let’s see that patented Nick wit.
And finally, some birthday well-wishes are in order for two of our league mates. Happy Birthday to both Gray and Nick who share a birthday on September 19. May your special day be filled with the waiver wire claims you were hoping for.
