Week 6 Power Rankings — The Worst League

Oct 20

Oct 20 Week 6 Power Rankings

They say Love Is Blind, but is fantasy football?

As the Season 7 finale of Netflix’s reality obsession rapidly approaches, we’re reminded how sometimes, you just can’t predict if love—or a fantasy football team—is built to last. If you haven’t seen the show, several delusional singles meet, “date,” and ultimately get engaged without ever seeing each other, relying only on the emotional connections formed through a literal wall. But when they return home, reality hits like Will Levis careening into the ACL of an unsuspecting ball boy.

Fantasy football works the same way. Tucked away in our pods, we draft with hope, based on nothing more than the promise of preseason hype. But once the season kicks off, those early-round picks might not turn out to be as attractive as we hoped. Or worse, the star player who seemed like your soulmate might end up ghosting you before you ever get to Cancún. Just ask Chelsie and Christian McCaffrey who are currently on a break.

Like Leo, Chelsie was heartbroken when Christian McCaffrey placed their relationship on IR.

So, in the spirit of Love Is Blind, we’re doing a “blind comparison” of two teams—swiping right on their stats without knowing who’s behind the roster.

Team A is stuck in a toxic relationship…with the players they drafted. They’ve failed to score 100 points in half their matchups, finishing in the bottom half of the league in scoring in five out of six weeks. Desperate for a spark, they’ve gotten 17% of their scoring from free agents—more than almost every other team. Their QB scoring (which ranks 10th) is stuck in the “friend zone,” and their TE scoring? It ranks dead last—a major red flag. Even with the #1 draft pick and a mostly clean bill of health (only one key player has missed significant time), they still rank in the bottom half of the league in RB and WR scoring, and sit 10th in receptions. In more ways than one, this squad is proving to be not much of a catch.

Team B, on the other hand, has been ghosted by injuries, which has limited five of their first nine picks. Yet, they’ve still managed to finish in the top half of the league in scoring in four out of six weeks, thanks to above-average RB and WR performances. One RB is even a total stud, ranking as the #3 overall fantasy scorer, giving Team B plenty to boast about. They’ve topped the league average of 112.9 points four times this season, and if they were “dating” Team A every week, they’d be 4-2.

But here’s the twist: just like in the pods, appearances can be deceiving. Despite everything, Team A is feeling like they’re riding high, while Team B is stuck questioning their long-term potential.

Okay, it’s time for the big reveal…

Team A is Josh, who despite his lack of on-field production, has managed to grind out a 4-2 record. Meanwhile, Team B is none other than Gray, who’s been plagued by injuries and “unlucky losses,” leaving him at 2-4.

All of which just goes to show that, just like on Love Is Blind, looks can be deceiving. Josh may be basking in his winning record, but how long can it last? Meanwhile, Gray might just be one lucky break away from turning things around. In fantasy football, like in dating, you always have to wonder—is your team your soulmate…or just another failed experiment?

Time for another big reveal—this week’s Power Rankings!

We have a new co-leader atop the Power Rankings—Geoff!

It wasn’t exactly a banner week for Geoff, who scored a season-low 105.72 points in a narrow loss to Alex. With a final margin of just 0.6 points, it marked only the eighth game in league history decided by less than a point.

But…because our reigning Power Rankings leader, Jess, had an even rougher week, Geoff racked up enough true wins to pull into a tie for first place. This is Geoff’s first time as Power Rankings co-leader since Week 5 of 2013, when he shared the top spot in a three-way tie. If he can regain his high-scoring form and fend off the competition, he might secure his first-ever outright lead.

Let’s get to the news and notes for the rest of the league:

Trouble in paradise? Jess scored a season-low 93.22 points.
Mostly unscathed by injuries all season, Jess’ depth will suddenly be tested with injuries to Nico Collins (hamstring), Aaron Jones (hamstring) and now Chris Olave (concussion), though it appears Jones will play in Week 7.
Chelsie won her first weekly prize of the season in Week 6. She’s now won at least one weekly prize in each of her first three seasons. The only other team owner to accomplish this feat is Josh who did it eight years in a row to start his career.
Chelsie’s scores the last four weeks: 91.7, 118.5, 136.74, 145.48 📈
And now Davante Adams is healthy and reunited with Aaron Rodgers. 😳 🚀
The Bash Brothers (which is what I’m calling Chelsie’s double-TE lineup of George Kittle and Brock Bowers) continued to do their thing. She’s now averaging 23.1 ppg from TEs, which is outstripping the previous record set by Gray in 2020 with 18.9 ppg. Of course, Gray did it with just one TE.
A “lucky win” for Alex this week—his first of the season, balancing out his one “unlucky loss.” He’s a worthy 4-2 and now ranks second in RB scoring with 45.6 ppg from the position, trailing only…
Beth Ann dropped to 2-4 but is far better than her record indicates. She leads all team owners in RB scoring and racked up 35.6 points, even with Kyren Williams on bye.
I’m chalking up her Week 6 loss as just “one of those weeks.” No Kyren Williams. No Justin Jefferson. And she played an inactive Anthony Richardson, who was declared out late. (Hey, she was in Paris.) This is still a dangerous team.
Samantha held firm at sixth in the Power Rankings despite the fact that Brandon dealt her a second loss on the season. This one was “unlucky” despite finishing in the top half of the league in scoring this week.
Like Beth Ann, I expect a bounce back from Samantha who was without De’Von Achane and lost Marvin Harrison early to a concussion.
Speaking of Samantha, Brandon had his most significant week of 2024 against his significant other, scoring a season-high 144.36 points thanks to the return of Joe Mixon who is now averaging 27.0 ppg in two fully healthy games.
Brandon’s record without Joe Mixon: 0-3
Brandon’s record with Joe Mixon: 3-0
Also, Brandon started the correct QB for the first time this season! Huzzah!
Gray picked up a much-needed win over Jess, of all team owners, giving her the first loss of her season.
New trade acquisition Garrett Wilson helped lead the way with 24.7 points. But will his production keep up with Davante Adams challenging the NFL’s current leader for targets?
This team is a real M.A.S.H. unit, but is maybe finding some ways to win. Get better soon, Cooper Kupp!
That’s two weeks in a row Greco has had the lowest score in the league. Of course, it didn’t help that literally every RB on her roster was inactive in Week 6—Jonathan Taylor, James Cook and Zamir White. With Malik Nabers (concussion) also out and Dallas Goedert (hamstring) injured, this team is in danger of fading fast.
Greco’s scores the last four weeks: 159.28, 109.82, 64.46, 71.70 📉
Signs of life from Erik who had his best game of the season, scoring 127.16 points in a victory over Kelly in a potential Poop Bowl preview.
That being said, Erik’s season-high was especially impressive considering he got -0.1 points from Travis Etienne. Thank goodness he has Tank Bigsby on the roster.
Kelly lost again to drop to 1-5. But this time, she was “unlucky” as she finished with the fourth-best score of the week. If Caleb Williams (28.64 points), Bijan Robinson (25.5 points) and Tank Dell (18.7 points) are going to play like this, maybe she has a chance.
Only 10% of 1-5 teams have rebounded to make the playoffs.