Erik Is First Champ to 13 Wins

In our 13th season, Erik won a league-record 13 games.

No. 13 was the sweetest one of all.

As the clock drew closer to midnight on New Year’s Eve in Erik’s adopted home of Kansas City, it wasn’t just Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift who had cause for celebration. (Yes, her lucky number is 13 too.) It was Erik who was readying the champagne as the seconds ticked off the clock, each stroke reverberating like Isiah Pacheco’s angry feet into the ground at Arrowhead Stadium. Yes, he ran for exactly 130 yards.

When the dust finally settled on the title game, it was Erik who stood alone atop the Worst League, claiming his first ever championship. 🎉🏆

But it’s been a journey to get here.

Erik’s first year in the league was one of the worst ever. Literally. In our inaugural season, Erik went 3-9-1, averaging 62.5 ppg. To this day, his 813 points scored are still the fewest points scored in a single season. And his TW% of just .241 helped him lay claim to the title of the Worst’s worst team—a dishonor he held for six years until Nick eventually usurped his throne. (Nick still owns this title but with a different team from 2020.)

And while Erik won 13 games just this year, it wasn’t until Erik’s third year in the league that he even won his first 13 games. And in the four years before the pandemic, Erik averaged just five wins per season, culminating in 2019 when he went 2-9.

But since that time, Erik has turned things around with three winning seasons, three playoff appearances and more regular season wins than any other team owner except Gray. Not too shabby.

This year, he took things to the next level. Drafting with the sixth overall pick, Erik wisely selected Tyreek Hill (WR2) and A.J. Brown (WR4) with his first two picks. Those two helped power Erik to 159.08 points in Week 1 and the first weekly prize, and he never looked back. Erik would win seven of his first eight games and 11 of his first 13 with his only losses coming to Nick, Josh and ironically Jess (this year’s loser of the Poop Bowl). Despite losing Joe Burrow in Week 11 and picking up just eight players all season (third-fewest in the league), Erik finished the season third in the final Power Rankings—tied for his highest ranking ever.

Entering the playoffs as the one seed, Erik’s playoff bye came at just the right time, allowing him to avoid missed games for Tyreek Hill and Isiah Pacheco in Week 15. Then once they returned in the semifinals, Erik easily dispatched Greco and eventually Brandon in the title game, leading all playoff teams in scoring in Weeks 16 and 17. A team owner led all season by his WRs, Erik’s fifth- and seventh-round picks, James Conner and Pacheco, finished fourth and second among all RBs in scoring in a crucial Week 17, helping him to take home the crown.

Compared to other league champions of years past, what stands out about Erik is certainly his wins. His 11 wins in the regular season and record 13 total are the most all time. That’s especially notable when compared to his modest TW% (.604), which is ranked 12th out of 13 former champions. That explains in part why his team is ranked as the seventh-luckiest team (out of 156) all time based on the his W%-TW% differential.

That being said, this was a year of great parity in which the difference in TW% between the league’s top and bottom teams was the smallest it’s ever been. And given that Erik was just five true wins back of first place in the final Power Rankings, he is certainly a worthy champion.

Most impressive is another number—six. That’s Erik’s spot in this year’s draft order. And if that number sounds familiar, it’s because it’s been historically unlucky. In fact, we’ve gone so far as to call the six position “cursed.” That’s because prior to 2018, no team owner had ever made the playoffs from the sixth spot. In fact, it still has the fewest number of playoff appearances with just three. And prior to this year, no team owner had ever won a single playoff game, let alone a championship.

But if anyone could break such a curse, it could only be someone whose lucky number is 13.

Reviewing the Final Scoreboard

Erik defeated Brandon to take home his first title while Gray defeated Greco in the consolation game.

Well, that’s not what we expected in the championship game. Remember, entering the finals, this was a matchup of the league’s best RBs versus it’s most explosive WRs—Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs and Saquon Barkley versus Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown. But none of those players managed even 14 points. Instead, it was Brandon’s WRs and Erik’s RBs that picked up the slack. In fact, Isiah Pacheco outscored McCaffrey, Gibbs and Barkley all by himself. Meanwhile, D.J. Moore outscored both Hill and Brown. That’s fantasy for you. Could Brandon have won if he had started Cairo Santos and the Jaguars D/ST? Yes. But let’s be real. This game was lost by his stud RBs, two of which had season-lows at the worst possible time.

For Brandon, he doesn’t come away with a fifth championship. But, it’s still a terrific season. After a disastrous 2021, Brandon has two consecutive top-two finishes in the Power Rankings and this year came up one game short of a title. With a runner-up finish in the title game, Brandon now has seven in-the-money finishes in 13 seasons.

As for the consolation game, Gray picked up the easy win over Greco with injuries playing a major role. While Gray was able to overcome the losses of Raheem Mostert and Josh Jacobs by inserting De’Von Achane and Zamir White into his lineup, the benching of Russell Wilson thrust Bryce Young into action for Greco. Unfortunately, Young scored just 2.68 points with the difference between his and Josh Allen’s production (21.16 points) essentially serving as the difference in the game.

For Gray, there’s no question this was a successful season even if he did come up just short of a championship. After missing the playoffs as the second-ranked team in last year’s final Power Rankings, he finished on top this year before ultimately losing to Brandon in the semifinals. His win in the consolation game makes this his best finish since his last title in 2019. Like Brandon, he now has seven in-the-money finishes in 13 seasons.

Meanwhile, for Greco, her hot streak entering the playoffs finally cooled in the final two weeks. That being said, this year was a welcome turnaround following two losing seasons. Though she came up short of a top-three finish, this season can hopefully serve as a building block for more successful seasons to come.

The Poop Bowl 💩

Deja vu, indeed.

Jess goes back-to-back with Poop Bowl losses in consecutive seasons. With the second overall pick, Jess opted for Austin Ekeler over Christian McCaffrey. Then spent two of her next five picks on Cooper Kupp and Jonathan Taylor. Throw in injuries to Tee Higgins and Aaron Rodgers and you have a recipe for poop. 💩

That being said, she wasn’t truly the worst team this season. Remember, she finished eighth in the final Power Rankings. Then blew out Beth Ann in the first week of the consolation ladder. Unfortunately, that game essentially operates as a bye, meaning Jess had to win one of her final two games, which she was unable to do, losing to Beth Ann in Week 17.

Want some more deja vu? Just like last year, Jess was the preseason pick to win the league according to the ESPN projections. Check it out.

Jess was the preseason favorite according to ESPN projections. Instead, she lost the Poop Bowl. Again.

That’s the exact same thing that happened last year when she was picked to finish first but lost the Poop Bowl. Also of note, fellow Poop Bowl participant, Beth Ann, was projected to finish third. Yes, Erik was picked second. But Brandon, the league’s runner-up, was projected to finish last. So next year, make sure to take these projections with a grain of salt.

Closing Thoughts

If you won a weekly prize this season and did not send a Venmo request Alex’s way, make sure to do so. This year, nine team owners won weekly prizes, which is tied with 2021 for the most in league history. For reference, these are this year’s winners with the weeks they won:

Gray: 3 (Weeks 4, 5, 9)
Erik: 2 (Weeks 1, 8)
Nick: 2 (Weeks 6, 12)
Greco: 2 (Week 13, 14)
Chelsie: 1 (Week 2)
Geoff: 1 (Week 3)
Alex: 1 (Week 7)
Josh: 1 (Week 10)
Brandon: 1 (Week 11)

As we do every season, now is a great time to look at the updated All-time Power Rankings.

Erik moves up three spots into eighth after his career year.

Gray remains #1 with Brandon a clear second. Next up is Josh who maintains his hold on third place—still the best team owner to have never won a championship. But following those top three, Chelsie slipped three spots after a sophomore slump that saw her miss the playoffs. She’s now seventh, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see her bounce around the rankings in the years to come given the small sample size.

After Josh, it’s Alex, Samantha and Beth Ann, all former champions. Then Chelsie. Next is Erik who jumps three spots after his terrific season (technically just the second-best of his career by TW% to 2017). Then Greco, Jess and Geoff who are all bunched up close to one another. And finally, Nick who continues to improve and deserved to make the playoffs this year, but has several subpar seasons weighing down his career ranking.

After Erik’s title this year, the league’s only founding member without a title is now Nick, joining Josh and Chelsie who are also without championships.

Finally, we noted in last week’s finals preview that Brandon was close to 20,000 points. He hit that milestone this week, reaching 20,024.18 career points in the regular season and playoffs. For the record, Gray leads with 20,619.18. As we look ahead to next season, here are some other milestones on the verge of being achieved:

Gray: Needs 10 wins to get to 125.
Greco: Needs six wins to get to 100.
Jess: Needs 10 wins to get to 100.
Alex: Needs 13 wins to get to 100.
Nick: Needs 1 win to get to 75.
Samantha: Needs 4 wins to get to 50.
Beth Ann: Needs 13 wins to get to 50.
Greco: Needs 1,161.48 points to get to 20,000.
Alex: Needs 1,280.44 points to get to 20,000.
Josh: Needs 132.14 points to get to 15,000.
Samantha: Needs 184.52 points to get to 10,000.
Beth Ann: Needs 1,825.32 points to get to 10,000.

That puts an end to another fun fantasy season. I always enjoy playing with you all, not just for the fantasy competition but also to stay in touch. Thanks for all the trash talk, trade offers and group texts along the way. Hope you all have a wonderful 2024!

Same time next September?