...and then get right to the featured matches:
We'll kick things off in the AFC North where time is ticking away quickly for StuB and Waterboys. Brenda's Bulldogs has a commanding lead in the race for the division title at the moment, so barring an epic collapse by her, a Wild Card spot should be the goal for these guys now. As you can see on the above chart, StuB is peeking up from the bottom at a potential Wild Card position, boosted by his season-opening win over Waterboys. If one of these two can string together three or four wins, they just might find themselves in a good spot down the stretch.
If you look back at how things looked after Week 6 in the AFC South, you'd see a much different picture than you do now. Horns was sitting comfortably atop the division and Yellow Jackets was desperately trying to snap a three-match losing streak. Since then, it's been a huge turnaround for both players. That was the last time Horns saw a win and the last time Yellow Jackets saw a loss -- four-match streaks for each of them. Yellow Jackets is now a top-five player and fully in control of her own destiny here. If Horns wants to have a realistic shot at seeing postseason action, then getting a win now would be an excellent time to make a move.
The AFC East is positioning itself to be the dominant division in the league this year -- so far they've combined for a league-high 25 wins. Bookending the division are first-place Mike C and fourth-place Ethan C. As you can see in the above chart, both AFC Wild Card spots are currently held by the other two players in this division, and Ethan C is only one match back from both of them. So while Mike C is currently a strong favorite to take the division, Ethan C could easily find himself in a playoff position with a win here.
At the opposite end of the "division dominance" spectrum is the AFC West, which has put up a combined 14 wins. There's a three-way logjam for the division lead, and currently it's Lyle Alzado atop the heap. Trying to get things turned around this week will be Why Not Zoidberg?, who started the season read-hot, but has since been just 1-6. It's not a stretch to say that there will definitely not be a Wild Card player coming from this division. That's the bad news -- the good news here is that this is still absolutely anyone's division to win. With three players grouped at 4-6, even the 32nd-ranked Better Name Pending is only two wins away from being right in the thick of it. A surreal situation, but it's entirely possible.
This week we have Pigskin Palookas and Ignats fighting for a shot to take over the NFC North. Neither can do it this week, but a win here is crucial for each of them in trying to keep pace. Ignats, one match back from Pigskin Palookas, is particularly in need for a win here or else he'll find himself at least two wins back from the top spot. Will he be able to overcome a 4-1 lifetime record against his brother?
We wrap up in the NFC West where we have Chocolate Mudbuttons desperately trying to snap a six-match losing streak. His season isn't over yet, but if he doesn't win this one against Evil Squad Of Evil, then it'll be extremely difficult for him to earn a postseason berth. For his part, Evil Squad Of Evil is going into a four-week run of divisional matches. He dropped a big one last week, and if his losing streak extends to three then he'll be in a spot of trouble himself.
Ok, that's it for the early preview. Very important to remember -- there are three games on Thanksgiving Day and the deadline is extra-early -- 8:00 pm Eastern on Wednesday -- so make sure you have those picks in!
For the second time in three weeks, Brenda's Bulldogs came out on top. Her 14-of-16 performance was plenty enough to garner her another Player of the Week award.
The playoff race is certainly heating up now, and next week will bring a lot of matches between players vying for a Wild Card spot. This could be a make-or-break on coming up, so be on your game.
Ok, that's it for this week. Check the finalized pick chart, see how you're doing in the Standings and make certain that you get those picks submitted. Have a great week, all!
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