Week 8 Power Rankings
Well, that was a lot of points.
Since we instituted PPR and decimal scoring in 2020, the league has averaged 117.0 ppg. Prior to this week, that number had dipped to just 112.2 ppg, including two of the bottom-four lowest-scoring weeks in the PPR era. And then Week 8 happened.
Teams across the league exploded in Week 8 with five team owners posting scores of 130 points or more. That included Chelsie’s near-record 190.0 points. As a result, Week 8 of 2022 will go down as a top-10 scoring week in league history with teams averaging 122.8 ppg, enough to push this season’s overall average back up to 113.6 ppg. Still low, historically speaking, but almost a point-and-a-half higher.
Scoreboard
Chelsie scored 190.0 points in Week 8, the second-most ever in Worst League history.
Last week, I teased the Poop Bowl preview between Brandon and Alex. But I probably should have been teasing a potential championship preview between Gray and Chelsie. The two 6-1 team owners went head-to-head with Chelsie coming out decisively on top. She once again led all team owners in scoring for the second time this season—our first repeat weekly prize winner.
As for that Poop Bowl preview, Brandon finally won his second game of the season as Christian McCaffrey outscored Josh Allen and Aaron Jones combined. (More on that sliding doors moment in Alex’s writeup below.)
As for the standings, it continues to be tight. Chelsie and Gray remain at the top. But Samantha is now emerging and has the lone 5-3 team in the league after her victory over Greco. Speaking of Greco, she drops to 4-4 along with five other team owners including Nick, Geoff, Beth Ann, Josh and Erik. Finally, joining Brandon and Alex at the bottom of the standings is Jess who is now 3-5 after suffering a litany of injuries.
Alright, let’s break it all down team by team…
Power Rankings
Chelsie jumps into third place and is within striking distance of Nick in second.
1. Gray
6-2, .784 TW%, 129.0 ppg
In his quest to break his own record for greatest team of all time, Gray fell below the mark (.808 TW%) for the first time since Week 3. Even still, he’s head-and-shoulders above the competition and is the only team owner to finish in the top half of the league in scoring in all eight weeks so far this season. This week, he was absolutely steamrolled by Chelsie in a matchup of one-loss teams and a potential playoff preview. But playing without Travis Kelce (one of his big three), it was tough to keep up with Chelsie who was firing on all cylinders. If there is room to nitpick, the six RBs on his active roster averaged just 5.9 ppg, and Gray is last in RB scoring over the last three weeks. Bottom line: when the RBs don’t hit, Gray is vulnerable. But with Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce (arguably the three best pass-catchers in the league), it may not matter.
2. Nick
4-4, .636 TW%, 125.0 ppg
After starting 1-4, Nick has reeled off three straight wins and has quietly had the best team in the league over the last three weeks, ranking first in both TW% (.848) and scoring (140.2 ppg). In fact, Nick has scored at least 135 points in each of his last three games. If you had told me the team owner that spent three of their first six draft picks on Kyle Pitts (TE18), Allen Robinson (WR58) and Rashod Bateman (WR65), the latter of whom is now out for the season, would be second in the Power Rankings, I’d never have believed you. But Nick has now surpassed Greco for best backfield in the league (41.8 ppg) with two top-10 RBs (Saquon Barkley and Rhamondre Stevenson) and a third (Travis Etienne) who’s RB18 and rising.
3. Chelsie (▲1)
7-1, .602 TW%, 124.2 ppg
Chelsie’s impressive debut season continued in Week 8 with her second weekly prize of the year—the first team owner with multiple weekly prizes this season. But most impressive, of course, was the sheer power of that performance. Scoring 190.0 points, Chelsie not only set a career high but registered the second-most points in league history bested only by Jess’ 191.82 points in Week 12 of 2020. How’d she do it? A.J. Brown, DeAndre Hopkins and Jaylen Waddle all scored 30+ points, finishing as the WR1, WR2 and WR4 of Week 8, respectively. That’s filthy. As a result, Chelsie has somehow usurped Gray for highest-flying WR trio in the league, averaging 51.2 ppg to Gray’s 49.9 ppg. And though she still trails Gray in the Power Rankings, Chelsie now leads him in the standings as the owner of just the eighth 7-1 team in league history. Of the previous seven, five ended up in the championship game.
4. Brandon
2-6, .580 TW%, 121.7 ppg
Okay, maybe it wasn’t an absolutely terrible trade after all. Playing in his first full game with the 49ers, Christian McCaffrey went nuclear, becoming the first player since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005 with a passing, receiving and rushing TD all in the same game. His 40.26 points were second-most in the league in Week 8. And when combined with Derrick Henry (35.8 points this week, now RB3 in points per game), the two first-round picks form a dynamic duo that is the rushing equivalent of Gray’s Cooper Kupp and Tyreek Hill. With Tua Tagovailoa (29.18 points) not only outscoring Josh Allen but finishing as the QB1 of Week 8, Brandon’s maneuvers finally paid off with a win, just his second of the season. The only downside? Keenan Allen’s hamstring actually got worse during his bye week. With Mark Andrews dealing with an injury of his own and Christian McCaffrey on bye, Brandon will be challenged to string together his first two-game winning streak of the season in Week 9.
5. Samantha (▼1)
5-3, .568 TW%, 114.4 ppg
There’s the Alvin Kamara we all know. The 11th overall pick led all scorers in Week 8 with 42.8 points, helping Samantha to her highest-scoring game of the season and her first of 130+ points. And most impressive, she did it with Davante Adams scoring just 1.2 points. With DJ Moore averaging 23.6 ppg over the last two weeks, I spy a dominant QB (Jalen Hurts) and RB (Kamara), three very good WRs (Adams, Moore and Chris Godwin) and the only TE this season to lead a week in scoring (T.J. Hockenson). Speaking of Hockenson, his arrow is pointing up after the recent trade to Minnesota. Depending on Ezekiel Elliott’s status, RB2 is the glaring weakness. But Samantha has now won five of her last six games and is third in the official standings behind only Chelsie and Gray.
6. Greco (▼3)
4-4, .511 TW%, 116.2 ppg
One week after lauding Greco in the Power Rankings, she laid yet another egg. I’m starting to think I’m a terrible jinx. That or Greco has one of the most boom/bust teams in the league. In fact, she’s the only team owner with at least three games of 130+ points and at least three games of under 100 points. But maybe, this time, it was predictable. Playing without Ja’Marr Chase and Mike Williams (both dealing with injuries), Greco’s stellar RBs could not make up for her deficiencies at WR. Notably, Josh Jacobs failed to reach double-digits after three straight 30-point games. With Tyler Lockett and Marvin Jones combining for just 15.3 points, Greco was no match for Samantha’s suddenly surging roster. The good news? Antonio Gibson and Jamaal Williams both topped 20 points on the bench, the latter of whom was just traded for Brandon Aiyuk (currently WR13). If Greco can tread water until Chase and Williams return, she’ll be more than dangerous once the playoffs begin—assuming she makes it there.
7. Geoff
4-4, .455 TW%, 110.3 ppg
After jumping out to a 4-2 record, Geoff has now lost two straight games, following a meager 93.34-point effort against Beth Ann. But I’m not too worried. There’s still plenty of meat on that bone with Dak Prescott, D’Onta Foreman and DK Metcalf combining for 74.7 points on the bench. I still believe (Ted Lasso style) in this team. And yes, I’ve been calling for Geoff’s emergence all season long. Here are some of the things I’ve written:
Week 2: “This team is seventh right now, but it’s seventh with a bullet.”
Week 3: “Moving forward, this team should only get better as it gets healthier with Prescott and J.K. Dobbins returning in short order.”
Week 4: “Geoff’s stock is trending up. 📈”
Week 5: “This team is really good and will only get better when Dak Prescott returns.”
Week 6: “Geoff’s arrow is pointing up despite this week’s drop.”
Week 7: “With Dak Prescott back, that should hopefully improve, pushing Geoff up the rankings in the weeks to come.”
I mean…don’t say I never said anything nice about you. But in all that time, Geoff has never risen higher than fourth in the Power Rankings and never fallen further than seventh. So at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m going to say what I’ve been saying all season long. This team has potential. Sixth-rounder J.K. Dobbins has not worked out and, yes, it would actually help if Geoff would play a now-healthy Prescott over (checks notes) Daniel Jones. But with Amon-Ra St. Brown now clearly the guy in Detroit after the Hockenson trade plus the emergence of Foreman in Carolina (24.2 ppg since CMC departed), this is a solid roster from top to bottom.
8. Beth Ann (▲2)
4-4, .432 TW%, 108.8 ppg
Uh oh…did we wake a sleeping giant? After six straight weeks in which Beth Ann finished in the bottom half of the league in scoring, she broke out with a monster effort against Geoff, totaling a season-high 154.04 points. And the key to unlocking that impressive performance—Tony Pollard. With Ezekiel Elliott sidelined, Pollard exploded for a season-high 33.7 points, trailing only Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry in Week 8. With D’Andre Swift continuing to deal with lingering injuries, Pollard could be the key to a strong second-half of the season for Beth Ann. Unfortunately (at least for Beth Ann), Jerry Jones seems intent on giving the ball back to Elliott after the Cowboys’ bye, stating “we go as Zeke goes.” So long as Swift remains compromised, Beth Ann goes as Pollard goes. And based on the latest Playoff Picture, that could be the playoffs. She saw the biggest jump in odds this week (+29.4%) and has the best odds of team owners currently outside the top-six to make it in.
Beth Ann (+29.4%) and Samantha (+16.8%) are up. Geoff (-27.2%) and Greco (-18.3%) are down.
9. Josh (▼1)
4-4, .420 TW%, 106.5 ppg
Mayday! Mayday! ✈️💥 Since starting 3-0, Josh has lost four of his last five games. In that time, he’s had the worst team in the league with a TW% of .236 while averaging a league-low 93.9 ppg. If Kenneth Walker is not going to be superhuman (12.2 points—a respectable total but just RB25 in Week 8), it’s hard to see where the points come from in weeks without Justin Jefferson explosions. Lamar Jackson looked better in Week 8. But this was just his first 20+ point game since Week 3. And still, Josh failed to top 100 points for the fourth time in the last five weeks. This week, the recipient of three close wins of 7.02 points or less, Josh found himself on the other end of that equation. On Halloween night, a late 41-yard TD to Tee Higgins worth 11.1 points with 6:40 left in the fourth quarter pushed Erik over the top, dropping Josh back to .500 for the first time this season. Trailing all but three team owners in points, Josh needs to turn things around before his season stalls out.
10. Erik (▼1)
4-4, .398 TW%, 106.0 ppg
Speaking of Erik, that’s his second win in a row despite finishing in the bottom half of the league in scoring. He has now narrowly won his last two games by a combined 7.08 points. As a result, he’s statistically one of the luckiest team owners in the league with a 4-4 record despite ranking 10th in this week’s Power Rankings. All that being said, it’s an impressive win despite playing without Justin Herbert, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and JuJu Smith-Schuster, all on bye, not to mention Darren Waller who remains out with an injury. The big game Erik was hoping for from Tee Higgins did not come to pass in Week 8, but Higgins should see more passing involvement moving forward with Chase sidelined. The luck is not likely to continue, but given that he’s 4-4, I would not be surprised to see Erik hang around, and he could certainly threaten for a playoff spot as we enter the second half of the season.
11. Jess
3-5, .318 TW%, 100.3 ppg
All aboard the struggle bus! 🚌 Playing without Breece Hall for the first time this season, Jess scored just 92.88 points in a loss to Nick. Except for her kicker, Nick Folk—who ironically led her team in scoring with 21 points one week after being the scapegoat for her Week 7 loss to Erik—not a single player on her roster topped 14 points. And now, the hits keep coming for the league’s most injury-plagued team owner with Jonathan Taylor expected to miss Week 9. At least Jess currently has Taylor’s backup Deon Jackson on the roster. But she’ll be playing without four of her top six draft picks in Taylor, Deebo Samuel, Hall and Michael Thomas, the latter of whom is now officially out for the season. The good news? Cordarrelle Patterson is expected to make his return to the field for the first time since Week 4. And there’s a possibility that Chase Claypool’s trade to the Bears could improve his value. Bottom line: Jess needs points. She is now officially last in scoring in the league with the losses mounting.
12. Alex
1-7, .295 TW%, 100.4 ppg
Two six-loss teams enter. One seven-loss team leaves. Unfortunately for Alex, he picked up the L in the Poop Bowl preview, facing off against Brandon. So, did trading away Christian McCaffrey cost Alex the victory? Alex and I litigated this via text, but the answer appears to be…probably not. It’s hard to say who Brandon or Alex would have started if last week’s trade had not gone down. (Remember, if Brandon doesn’t trade away Josh Allen then he also doesn’t trade for Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Carter.) But here’s a best guess:
Brandon: 118.32
Josh Allen: 17.62
Derrick Henry: 35.8
Aaron Jones: 19.7
Christian Kirk: 7.0
Chris Olave: 10.2
Mark Andrews: 6.3
Adam Thielen: 12.7
49ers D/ST: 5.0
Greg Zuerlein: 4.0
Alex: 118.04
Russell Wilson: 13.78
Latavius Murray: 12.9
Christian McCaffrey: 40.26
Mike Evans: 18.3
Courtland Sutton: 2.3
George Kittle: 12.9
Robert Woods: 2.6
Jets D/ST: 10.0
Wil Lutz: 5.0
Brandon still wins. But it’s really, really close. If Brandon starts Drake London, George Pickens or Curtis Samuel in the flex instead of Adam Thielen, he loses. Or if Alex had started someone like Taylor Heinicke instead of Russell Wilson, he wins.
Moving forward, the picture is understandably bleak for Alex. He is just the fourth 1-7 team in league history. The other three? They finished 1-12, 2-11 and 4-9. According to the Playoff Picture, Alex has a 0.02% chance of making the playoffs and essentially needs to win out. Though it should be noted, there was one scenario where he finished 6-8 and still made the playoffs even without the points tiebreaker. So technically, there is wiggle room. But if there is a sliver lining to all of this, it’s that Aaron Jones is playing really well since the trade (24.2 ppg). That’s close to Christian McCaffrey levels. And Josh Allen is certainly an upgrade over Keenan Allen who can’t seem to get healthy. It will be challenging this week to win with his three Broncos and George Kittle all on bye, but hope springs eternal.
Looking Ahead to Week 9
We gained an hour this weekend as the clocks fell back. But alas, it was not enough time for me to get this one out before Sunday kickoffs. So no preview this week. But I am anxious to see Samantha take on Beth Ann—the two biggest risers in this week’s Playoff Preview. Also, Jess vs. Josh is the perfect get-right opportunity for two team owners struggling to put up points in recent weeks. Somebody’s gotta win, right?
That’s it for Week 8. I hope to have a more punctual Power Rankings out next week. Thanks to everyone for reading and good luck out there in Week 9!
