Week 11 Power Rankings
This week, much like the Browns and Steelers playing in a snow globe, I got buried—except instead of snow, it was life. Between six teams on bye (thanks, NFL scheduling gods) and the general chaos of preparing for Thanksgiving travel, I’m officially taking a bye week myself. Consider this my time to rest, recover, and figure out why I keep losing.
That said, I didn’t leave you completely out in the cold. All the usual projections and power rankings are here to guide you through the frostbite that is Bye-mageddon. I’ll be back next week to shovel through whatever chaos the NFL dumps on us next. Stay frosty!
Samantha tops the Power Rankings outright for the first time, after sharing the lead in Week 5 last year.
This week, Samantha became the fifth team owner to top the Power Rankings this season, joining Alex, Jess, Geoff, and Beth Ann. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. The only other time we’ve seen this many leaders in one season was back in 2012—an indicator of the parity and lack of a clear dominant team this year.
But could Samantha be the dominant team we’ve been waiting for? She made a strong case this week, winning the weekly prize and defeating Jess in a potential championship preview between the league’s top two teams in the standings. Samantha has now rattled off five straight wins and finished in the top half of the league in scoring for six consecutive weeks. During that stretch, she’s posted a league-best TW% of .712. She’s also the only team owner getting above-average scoring at QB, RB and WR.
What’s most remarkable is how she’s managed all this despite losing Chris Godwin to a season-ending injury in Week 7. The emergence of two Bengals—Chase Brown and Tee Higgins—has been instrumental. However, Week 12 presents a challenge. The dreaded bye-mageddon looms, with Josh Allen, Breece Hall, Chase Brown, and Tee Higgins all out.
Still, with her first weekly prize since 2021 and her first-ever outright lead atop the Power Rankings (she previously held a share of the lead in Week 5 of 2023), Samantha can start looking ahead to the playoffs with confidence.
How does the rest of the league stack up? Let’s take a look.
Samantha becomes our first team owner to clinch while rookie Kelly has sadly been eliminated. 😢
11 weeks down. Just three weeks to go.
Samantha can officially kick her feet up—she’s clinched a playoff spot and is scouting matchups for the first round. Meanwhile, Kelly has been mathematically eliminated, leaving her to play spoiler in the weeks ahead.
Jess and Beth Ann are riding high with playoff odds north of 94%, solidifying themselves as heavy favorites for a postseason run.
That leaves us with a four-way battle royale between Alex, Geoff, Josh, and Chelsie for three remaining spots. It’s going to get messy, folks. Gray clings to a 5% dark-horse chance, but he’ll need some help to sneak in.
As for Greco, Erik, and Brandon, they’re technically alive, but with odds below 1%, they’re the fantasy equivalent of someone buying Powerball tickets. Hope springs eternal, but the math says otherwise.
Finally, one new addition this week, which you should all be familiar with but is new to Kelly…
Behold, the Wall of Destiny—a table so magical it reveals your playoff fate based on how many games you can win down the stretch.
For teams who see a glorious 100% in any column, congrats! That means you control your own destiny if you can hit that win total. As you’ll see, all of our favorites and contenders (Jess, Beth Ann, Alex, Geoff, Josh, and Chelsie) are in the driver’s seat. Win enough games, and you’re in. Gray, the eternal dark horse, still has a path: win out, and he has a respectable 52% chance of sneaking into the playoffs. But the long shots? They’ll need to win out and pray to the fantasy gods for a points miracle. Less than 2% odds, but hey, stranger things have happened—just ask Taysom Hill and his 41 points last week.
One important caveat: this Wall assumes points tiebreakers remain unchanged. So if you’re looking up at someone in the standings, remember that piling on points could dramatically improve your odds.
As we march toward the playoffs, may your stars shine bright, your waiver claims pay off, and your opponents bench their highest scorers out of pure panic. Whether you’re fighting for a spot, playing spoiler, or just hoping to avoid total embarrassment, remember—fantasy football is about the journey, not just the wins (but seriously, let’s get those wins). Good luck out there, and may the fantasy gods be ever in your favor!
