The Rundown · Week 7 · Season 33
4-2 or not 4-2? That is the question.
Half the league is 4-2, and 3 of this week's games are 4-2 versus 4-2. Your Week 6 card is graded, and the Week 7 game is at the bottom.
Cincinnati ·
From the Commissioner's Desk

Fellas. Josiah beat Tim 101-89, and The inTIMinator had the points to win it on his bench: the Steelers' defense scored 16 there while the Texans' scored 3 in his lineup. Swap them and Tim wins by 1. Instead, half the league is 4-2.
We're 6 weeks into 14. Six teams at 4-2 this deep into a season has happened once before in the league, in 2016. ESPN seeds them Tim, Eric, Matt, Don, the Ballers, Josiah, and 3 of this week's games are 4-2 against 4-2: Tim and Matt, Josiah and Eric, the Ballers and Vanilla Don. By Monday night, 3 of the 6 are 4-3. The question in the headline answers itself.
4-2 or not 4-2, that is the question, and 6 teams tied up top is some congestion. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sit the Steelers' 16 on your bench? Tim did, and took a 12-point hit. Phatty Daddy's tryna 3peat, perchance to dream; Rivendell has won 4 straight, the hottest team. Vanilla Don is 4-2 with 3 starters gone; the Ballers, aging, 4-2, and somehow carry on. Our Bama boy, the 6th seed, is in, and there's the rub: De'Coldest scored 114 and can't get in the club. Little Isaacs, 3-3, won ugly and he knows; Sassy Balls and the Tubbies, 2-4, a sea of woes. And in the undiscover'd country of 1-5, Jason and I. Come Sunday, only one survives.

The first reader cards are graded below, and your Week 7 card is open until Thursday night.
Week 6 Results

Levi 103 over Jalan 100Sassy Balls · Brock Purdy 31 · Open On Sundays · Kirk Cousins 34
Skattebo started for Sassy Balls and never touched the ball. Levi won by 3 anyway.

David 114 over Don 84De'Coldest Toevadoit · C.J. Stroud 37 · Vanilla Don · Josh Allen 31
Allen, Rodgers and Mahomes scored 84 between them. Vanilla Don's whole team scored 84.

Jeff 95 over Jason 59Little Isaacs · Michael Penix Jr. 35 · Foxes Running In A Field · Matthew Stafford 28
Little Isaacs started the middle of his 3 quarterbacks, and the other 2 scored 71 on the bench.

Matt 112 over Bobby & Steve 70Rivendell Rangers · Trevor Lawrence 40 · The Aging Ballers · Dak Prescott 22
The Ballers started 2 tight ends, Fannin and Juwan Johnson, and both scored 0. Rivendell by 42.

Eric 105 over Nathan 73Phatty Daddy · Jordan Love 34 · The Teletubbies · Drake Maye 34
The Tubbies went from 173 to 73 in 2 weeks. Phatty Daddy won by 32 on a bad day.

Josiah 101 over Tim 89No Punt Intended · Tyler Shough 32 · The inTIMinator · Kenneth Walker III 25
Shough threw 3 touchdowns and ran for a 4th at the Giants, and Tim's 89 is his season low.
Title Odds
20,000 simulated seasons still say Tim, by 21 points.Eric is up to 19.3% and Matt to 15.1, the 2 biggest gains of the week. Tim gave back 7 points and is still at 40.7.
1. Tim The inTIMinator · 4-2 · playoffs 98.4%40.7%▼ 7
2. Eric Phatty Daddy · 4-2 · playoffs 91.8%19.3%▲ 4.7
3. Matt Rivendell Rangers · 4-2 · playoffs 89.5%15.1%▲ 4.5
4. Don Vanilla Don · 4-2 · playoffs 75.3%8.2%▼ 2.4
5. David De'Coldest Toevadoit · 3-3 · playoffs 65.5%7.2%▲ 3.3
6. Bobby & Steve The Aging Ballers · 4-2 · playoffs 53.6%3.1%▼ 2.4
7. Nathan The Teletubbies · 2-4 · playoffs 30.9%2.2%▼ 2.3
8. Josiah No Punt Intended · 4-2 · playoffs 50.9%2%▲ 1.2
9. Levi Sassy Balls · 2-4 · playoffs 14.4%<1%▲ 0.4
10. Jeff Little Isaacs · 3-3 · playoffs 18.7%<1%▲ 0.3
11. Jalan Open On Sundays · 1-5 · playoffs 10.2%<1%▼ 0.2
12. Jason Foxes Running In A Field · 1-5 · playoffs 0.6%0%▼ 0.1
Three Things

Our Bama boy benched Shough in Week 5. Sunday he Shough-ed up and beat Tim.
With Hurts on injured reserve, Josiah started Shough over Watson, and the 14 points between them were the game. It was Shough's 2nd start for him this year; in Week 5 Josiah sat him for Hurts and scored 72.
He is 4-2 with the 3rd-worst all-play record in the league, the series with Tim is 4-4, and next is Eric, who has beaten him 2 straight. Of the 54 teams on record that started 4-2, 39 made the playoffs.

De'Coldest put up the week's high score and still can't get out of 7th.
Stroud threw for 312 in London, Pitts caught 2 touchdowns from Penix in Atlanta, and the lineup left 2 points on the bench. The losses came by 25, 8 and 12. The wins came by 22, 26 and 30.
He has beaten Vanilla Don 3 straight and gets Levi next in the Game of the Week.

Rivendell, 0-2 to 4-2.
Lawrence threw 4 touchdowns in London and lost, and Matt got 40 out of him anyway. 4 straight wins, and every one of them was 110 or better.
Tim is next, and 5 of Matt's players are on bye, Lawrence included.
Weekly Superlatives

- High Score. David, 114
David's first of the year. - Low Score. Jason, 59
59, with Loveland's 12 on the bench behind Kraft's 3. As always, Jason stinks. - Closest Game. Levi over Jalan by 3
Start Santos over Loop and it's a tie. - Biggest Blowout. Matt over Bobby & Steve by 42
42. The Ballers' 70 is their lowest since the 64 in Week 1. - Should Have Started Him. Tim sat Steelers D/ST (16)
His first of the year. - Luckiest Win. Jeff won with 95
Jeff's 95 would have lost to 6 teams and drew the 59. - Toughest Loss. Jalan lost with 100
100 with Goff, Chase Brown and Higgins on bye. - Waiver Pickup of the Week. Tre Tucker, 21 for Jalan
3 days after I picked him up for nothing. - Lineup of the Week. David, 98% of the best lineup
98%. Nobody else reached 97. - Manager of the Week. Josiah. Shough over Watson.
ESPN had his 2 quarterbacks 0.6 apart. 32 to 18 in a 12-point game. The other way, he loses by 2.
Season count
Through Week 6.
| Award | Season tally |
|---|---|
| High Score | Tim 3 · David 1 · Don 1 · Nathan 1 |
| Low Score | Jason 2 · Jeff 2 · Don 1 · Josiah 1 |
| Closest Game | Levi 2 · Don 1 · Eric 1 · Jeff 1 · Josiah 1 |
| Biggest Blowout | Don 2 · Eric 2 · Matt 1 · Tim 1 |
| Should Have Started Him | Bobby & Steve 1 · Eric 1 · Jalan 1 · Jeff 1 · Josiah 1 · Tim 1 |
| Luckiest Win | Josiah 3 · Bobby & Steve 1 · Don 1 · Jeff 1 |
| Toughest Loss | Jalan 2 · Jeff 1 · Levi 1 · Matt 1 · Tim 1 |
| Waiver Pickup of the Week | Matt 2 · Jalan 1 · Jeff 1 · Tim 1 |
| Lineup of the Week | David 2 · Jalan 1 · Jason 1 · Josiah 1 · Levi 1 |
| Manager of the Week | Josiah 2 · Bobby & Steve 1 · Don 1 · Jason 1 · Nathan 1 |
Standings
Six teams at 4-2, and a 3-3 team with more points than 3 of them.All-play is your record if you played all 11 other teams every week: this week first, then the season.
| Team | Record | PF | PA | All-play Wk 6 | All-play Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. TimThe inTIMinator | 4-2 | 784 | 654 | 4-7-0 | 55-11-0 |
| 2. EricPhatty Daddy | 4-2 | 701 | 608 | 9-2-0 | 46-20-0 |
| 3. MattRivendell Rangers | 4-2 | 688 | 586 | 10-1-0 | 45-21-0 |
| 4. DonVanilla Don | 4-2 | 643 | 539 | 3-8-0 | 34-32-0 |
| 5. Bobby & SteveThe Aging Ballers | 4-2 | 585 | 535 | 1-10-0 | 26-39-1 |
| 6. JosiahNo Punt Intended | 4-2 | 551 | 537 | 7-4-0 | 22-43-1 |
| 7. DavidDe'Coldest Toevadoit | 3-3 | 658 | 625 | 11-0-0 | 38-28-0 |
| 8. JeffLittle Isaacs | 3-3 | 555 | 588 | 5-6-0 | 22-44-0 |
| 9. NathanThe Teletubbies | 2-4 | 617 | 694 | 2-9-0 | 24-42-0 |
| 10. LeviSassy Balls | 2-4 | 595 | 656 | 8-3-0 | 33-33-0 |
| 11. JalanOpen On Sundays | 1-5 | 614 | 711 | 6-5-0 | 34-32-0 |
| 12. JasonFoxes Running In A Field | 1-5 | 506 | 764 | 0-11-0 | 16-50-0 |
Commish Power Rankings
Complaints go in the group text.
1. Tim • The inTIMinator · 4-2 · 130.7 ppg · all-play 55-11784 points, the most in the league by 83.
2. Eric • Phatty Daddy · 4-2 · 116.8 ppg · all-play 46-20Mr. Tryna 3peat has won 2 straight since Jalan beat him.
3. Matt • Rivendell Rangers · 4-2 · 114.7 ppg · all-play 45-21$3 for the Broncos' defense Wednesday, and $75 of his $100 is gone.
4. Don • Vanilla Don · 4-2 · 107.2 ppg · all-play 34-32The 2 losses are by 42 and 30. Adams is gone until Week 12 at the earliest.
5. David • De'Coldest Toevadoit · 3-3 · 109.7 ppg · all-play 38-28The 4th-most points in the league.
6. Bobby & Steve • The Aging Ballers · 4-2 · 97.5 ppg · all-play 26-39-14-2 with 585 points, 9th in the league.
7. Josiah ▲4 No Punt Intended · 4-2 · 91.8 ppg · all-play 22-43-1551 points, 11th in the league, and the 6th seed.
8. Levi ▲1 Sassy Balls · 2-4 · 99.2 ppg · all-play 33-332-4 and 33-33 in all-play, dead even with everybody.
9. Nathan ▼2 The Teletubbies · 2-4 · 102.8 ppg · all-play 24-42173, then 73. Sir Douglas the Sleeper has cracked 100 twice in 6 weeks.
10. Jeff • Little Isaacs · 3-3 · 92.5 ppg · all-play 22-443-3 and 22-44 in all-play, the lowest of anybody at .500 or better.
11. Jalan ▼3 Open On Sundays · 1-5 · 102.3 ppg · all-play 34-321-5, and Jason on Sunday.
12. Jason • Foxes Running In A Field · 1-5 · 84.3 ppg · all-play 16-50764 points against, 53 more than anybody else.
You Paid How Much?!
$29 of the week's $32 was Jalan's, on a Jet.




The small change: Matt added Tyler Allgeier for nothing; Levi swapped Hockenson for Chig Okonkwo and Keaton Mitchell for Jaleel McLaughlin; Eric took the Ravens' defense; David swapped the Lions' defense for the Giants'; Josiah added Khalil Shakir and Devaughn Vele; Jalan added Tyler Higbee and Ja'Kobi Lane and dropped Tyreek Hill, who is still unsigned. $438 has moved this season.
Around the League
PhiladelphiaHurts is on injured reserve with blood clots, likely for the year
A calf problem in early October turned out to be a blood clot in his leg, then clots in both lungs. He's on blood thinners, can't take contact, and the Eagles put him on injured reserve Saturday; the reporting says about 3 months, the rest of the season. Tanner McKee started Sunday and lost to Carolina. Photo: NFL.com
WashingtonMcLaurin tore his patellar tendon. Season over.
He caught a 27-yard pass on Washington's first play Monday night, then his left knee buckled on a route late in the 1st quarter and he was carted off. Quinn said Tuesday it's a torn patellar tendon and surgery. The Ballers had him in the lineup for 2 points, and Mike Evans left the same game in the 2nd quarter with Achilles tendinitis that Shanahan says isn't long term. Photo: ESPN
Los Angeles and Green BayAdams is out 6 to 10 weeks. Jacobs is back at practice.
Adams pulled up on a route into the end zone with 90 seconds left Sunday. McVay called it a ruptured hamstring Monday, 6 to 10 weeks, and the Rams put him on injured reserve Tuesday. That same Monday, Jacobs came off the commissioner's exempt list after 6 weeks. He's practicing, Rapoport says he's expected to play at Detroit, and the league's discipline is still pending. Allen and DJ Moore are on the Bills' bye. Photo: ESPNNew EnglandA.J. Brown is back. 3 catches, and the ankle came back with him.
Jason's 2nd-round keeper was traded to New England in June for a 1st-round pick. He sprained an ankle 30 snaps into his Patriots debut and came off injured reserve Saturday. Against the Jets: 3 catches for 27, and 2 points on Jason's bench. He was limited Monday and Tuesday with the ankle, and the Patriots play Thursday night in Chicago. Photo: NFL.comThe Injury Report
- Jalen Hurts (Josiah)Injured reserve, and the reporting is the rest of the season.
- Terry McLaurin (Ballers)Torn patellar tendon. Out for the year.
- Davante Adams (Don)Injured reserve, 6 to 10 weeks.
- Romeo Doubs (David)Shoulder. On injured reserve since Monday; Week 12 is the earliest.
- Blake Grupe (Tim)Torn ACL on his first kickoff as a Ram. Season over.
- Deebo Samuel (Tim)Hamstring. Shanahan would be surprised to see him before the Week 8 bye.
- Ladd McConkey (Nathan)Concussion. In the protocol, with the Chargers' bye to clear it.
- Kyle Monangai (Levi)Thumb and toe. Out for Thursday night, his 3rd straight game missed.
- Breece Hall (David)Quad. 3 straight games inactive, no practice Wednesday, and the Jets haven't ruled him out for Miami. He posted "soon."
- David Montgomery (Nathan)Groin. Sat out London and didn't practice Wednesday; Houston still calls it week to week.
- Lamar Jackson (Tim)Ankle. Minter called it day to day Monday and said Wednesday would tell. Rapoport: more hope this week than last.
- Josh Jacobs (Don)Back at practice after 6 weeks on the exempt list, and expected to play at Detroit.
- Saquon Barkley (Jeff)Hamstring. Missed his 2nd straight game. Philadelphia plays Monday night, so the first report comes Thursday.
- Quinshon Judkins (Josiah)Ankle. Sat Sunday; Monken is optimistic for Tennessee.
- Jordan Addison (Josiah)Hamstring. O'Connell expected him at practice Wednesday.
- Baker Mayfield (Nathan)Thumb. Threw at practice Wednesday and Bowles said he did well; the call comes Friday.
- A.J. Brown (Jason)Ankle. Limited Monday and Tuesday.
- Rashee Rice (Jason)Hamstring. He didn't practice Wednesday; Reid says he's improving and won't predict Sunday. He hasn't played since pulling up in Week 4.
- Mike Evans (Ballers)Achilles tendinitis. Sunday is undecided.
- Jeremiyah Love (Jalan)Ankle. Day to day, with Wednesday the re-evaluation.
- Tyler Warren (Levi)Groin. Steichen says he's progressing really well.
- Jordan Mason (Matt)Broken thumb. Designated to return from injured reserve Monday.
- Zach Charbonnet (Eric)Knee. Macdonald: a good chance for Sunday.
- DJ Moore (Don)Shoulder. Bye week; the next game is November 1.
Bye, Bye, Bye Week
Bills, Jaguars, Chargers and Commanders are off. Jeff loses 4, and David and Jason lose nobody.
Bills
Jaguars
Chargers
Commanders
Matt 5 on bye: Omarion Hampton (RB), Bhayshul Tuten (RB), Trevor Lawrence (QB), Parker Washington (WR), Brenton Strange (TE)
Jeff 4 on bye: Jaguars D/ST (D/ST), Jakobi Meyers (WR), Jayden Daniels (QB), Cameron Dicker (K)
Don 3 on bye: Josh Allen (QB), DJ Moore (WR), Tyler Bass (K)
Bobby & Steve 2 on bye: Terry McLaurin (WR), Bills D/ST (D/ST)
Levi 2 on bye: James Cook III (RB), Chig Okonkwo (TE)
Eric 1 on bye: Cam Little (K)
Jalan 1 on bye: Dalton Kincaid (TE)
Josiah 1 on bye: Khalil Shakir (WR)
Nathan 1 on bye: Ladd McConkey (WR)
Tim 1 on bye: Stefon Diggs (WR)
Bye Week 8: Texans, Saints, Giants and 49ers.
Studs, Duds and Benches
- Trevor Lawrence, 40 points.306 yards, 2 of the scores to Tuten, and an end-zone interception in the 2nd quarter.
- C.J. Stroud, 37 points.3 touchdowns, plus an interception at the goal line with 4 minutes left that didn't matter.
- Michael Penix Jr., 35 points.225 yards and a strip-sack in the 4th quarter in a loss to Chicago. Sacked 5 times.
- Kirk Cousins, 34 points.313 yards and 2 touchdowns against Buffalo, and 0 sacks.
- Jordan Love, 34 points.276 yards, a 9-yard touchdown to Golden and a sneak, Sunday night against Dallas.
- Drake Maye, 34 points.235 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Jets, the first a 42-yard diving catch by Doubs.
- Tyler Shough, 32 points.The first touchdown pass came on 4th and goal with 1 second left in the half.
- Kenneth Walker III, 25 points.128 yards and 2 touchdowns on 19 carries against the Chargers. The first score went 33 yards on 3rd and 1.
- Christian McCaffrey, 23 points.Both touchdowns came from the 1, plus 9 catches Monday night and a fumble in the 2nd quarter.
- James Cook III, 20 points.95 yards on 22 carries in Las Vegas. His 26-yard catch to the 3 set up his own go-ahead touchdown late in the 4th quarter.
- Jayden Daniels, 37 points.300 yards and 2 touchdowns Monday night, 2 more than Penix. Jeff didn't need the extra 2.
- Caleb Williams, 33 points.305 yards on 36 throws in his first game back, behind Stroud's 37. A 4-point call in a 30-point game.
- Aaron Rodgers, 28 points.A walk-off touchdown in overtime in Tampa, 3 behind Allen. Don loses by 33 instead of 30.
- Sam Darnold, 24 points.278 yards and 2 picks Thursday night, 7 behind Purdy. Start him and Levi loses by 4.
- Bhayshul Tuten, 19 points.2 touchdown catches in London, behind Braelon Allen's 9. 10 points in a 42-point game.
- DeMario Douglas, 14 points.86 yards and a touchdown, 2 days after Eric picked him up. Garrett Wilson's 4 started ahead of him.
- CeeDee Lamb, 7 points.9 catches for 70 on 18 targets, and both Dak interceptions were thrown his way.
- Derrick Henry, 5 points.17 carries for 58 and a fumble at his own 33 that Cleveland turned into the tying touchdown.
- Bijan Robinson, 6 points.9 carries in a game Atlanta trailed 14-0 after a quarter.
- Kyren Williams, 6 points.10 carries for 50. The Rams ran it 20 times and lost to 6 field goals.
- Cam Skattebo, 0 points.Active, 6 snaps, 0 touches. "I got punished," he said, and Harbaugh said it wasn't by design.
- Mark Andrews, 0 points.1 catch for 4 yards with Huntley throwing, and Josiah won anyway.
- Bucky Irving, 4 points.19 carries for 46 yards, 2.4 a carry, with Jalon Daniels at quarterback.
- Jake Elliott, 2 points.2 extra points. Philadelphia never tried a field goal.
Week 7

Watch: David has scored 114 in back-to-back weeks and split them. Cook is on bye for Sassy Balls. David on paper, by 10.

Watch: Both teams have lost only to the Tubbies and our Bama boy this year. The board says Matt by 18.

Watch: Phatty's 173-75 in 2021 is still the biggest margin in this one. ESPN has Eric by 16.

Watch: Vanilla Don plays this one without Allen, Adams and DJ Moore, and Burrow is back from the bye for the Ballers. the Ballers by 41 on the board.

Watch: Jeff is without Daniels, Meyers and the Jaguars' defense this week, and the Tubbies are without McConkey. The board has Nathan by 12.

Watch: Jason and I are both 1-5. ESPN has me by 5.
My Picks

David. Caleb Williams is back, so he has 2 quarterbacks to choose from, and Levi has Purdy.
Matt. Tim just had his first game under 100 all year.
Eric. Love is coming off 34.
The Ballers. Don is down 3 starters and Burrow is not on bye.
Nathan. Maye has thrown 7 touchdowns in 2 weeks.
Me. Goff is back from the bye.
Reader Picks, Week 6
6 of 12 cards came in before kickoff, and Matt's was the best: everything but Josiah over Tim. Tim went 4 for 6. Jalan and Levi had 3 right, Josiah 2 (he picked Tim over himself), and Eric 1. Matt was 1 game short of the dollar, so nobody gets FAAB this week.
Reader Picks
Your turn. Let's see your picks for Week 7.Pick all 6 games right and the league office pays you $1 in FAAB. Picks lock at kickoff Thursday night.
Ledger of Weekly Picks
I'm 3 and 3 on last week's picks.- Eric over Nathanpicked Eric · ✓ hit
- Jeff over Jasonpicked Jeff · ✓ hit
- Matt over Bobby & Stevepicked Matt · ✓ hit
- Levi over Jalanpicked Jalan · ✗ miss
- David over Donpicked Don · ✗ miss
- Josiah over Timpicked Tim · ✗ miss
Eric, Jeff and Matt hit. I picked myself and lost by 3. I picked Don, and David scored 114 on him. I picked Tim, and Tim benched the Steelers. I'm 20 and 16 on the year.
That's the Rundown. 5-2 or not 5-2? Ask me Wednesday.
The offer is still $4 in FAAB for everybody if I ever go 6 for 6 on my picks in a given week. 3 for 6 this week. Nobody's getting paid. A perfect Reader Picks card pays $1.
Next Wednesday
Week 7, the wire, and which 3 of the pile are 4-3.
