Projected starter totals from ESPN, refreshed Thursday. Baltimore and Jacksonville open the week on Thursday night with eight league starters on the field.
Thursday cuts both ways
Uriel · 6-2
Balrogs
132.3
at
Sam · 2-6
Mean Machine
110.5
Uriel favored by 21.8 · 242.8 combined
Uriel leans onDrake Maye QB · 20.9 proj
Sam leans onMalik Nabers WR · 17.1 proj
Watch list: Malik Nabers (questionable)
Uriel by 21.8, on a six-game winning streak, against Sam, the defending champion, at 2-6 and three losses running. Derrick Henry and Parker Washington meet in Baltimore on Thursday night, so this one is partly settled before most of the league has set a lineup. Malik Nabers, Sam's highest-projected starter at 17.1, is questionable.
Widest line
Mario · 3-5
Stairway to Seven
104.3
at
Joe · 6-2
Photofreak
128.3
Joe favored by 24.0 · 232.6 combined
Mario leans onJustin Jefferson WR · 18.3 proj
Joe leans onJaxon Smith-Njigba WR · 22.1 proj
Watch list: Michael Wilson (questionable), Pat Freiermuth (bye)
Joe by 24, the widest line of the week. Last week Mario started Brock Purdy on bye with Jordan Love on the bench; this week Love starts at 17 and Purdy sits on the bench at 22.2, next to Christian McCaffrey at 22. Mario's bench is projected for 83.6, the most in the league, and Pat Freiermuth is starting at tight end on bye.
Game of the week, part two
Toño · 4-4
Seitseman
122.0
at
Misa · 5-3
Obsidians
124.6
Misa favored by 2.6 · 246.6 combined
Toño leans onMalik Willis QB · 17.4 proj
Misa leans onJoe Burrow QB · 21.4 proj
Watch list: DJ Moore (questionable), Harold Fannin Jr. (questionable), Christian Watson (questionable)
Misa by 2.6, the tightest line on the board, fourth seed against seventh. Toño holds the last playoff spot at 4-4 and is starting Malik Willis at 17.4, a quarterback started in 11.9% of ESPN leagues, against Detroit. Misa starts Joe Burrow at 21.4 with Patrick Mahomes on the bench at 18.2, which is a sentence most managers would like to be able to write.
The machine is favored
Benji · 5-3
Suzaku
105.2
at
Dan Robot · 3-5
Dan Robot
112.8
Dan Robot favored by 7.6 · 218.0 combined
Benji leans onJosh Allen QB · 19.9 proj
Dan Robot leans onJavonte Williams RB · 17.4 proj
Watch list: Dalton Kincaid (questionable), Jaylen Warren (bye)
Dan Robot by 7.6, while starting Jaylen Warren at running back on bye with Rashee Rice on the bench at 13.9. The bot does not set lineups; it does not need to, apparently. Benji is 5-3 and fifth seed with 38-50 against the field, the worst all-play record of anyone currently in a playoff spot, and 35.3% of Suzaku's lineup plays in Chicago on Sunday night.
Lowest combined
Jordi · 3-5
Windwaker
99.3
at
Tayler · 1-7
Terrible Towel, Mediocre Picks
95.3
Jordi favored by 4.0 · 194.6 combined
Jordi leans onCeeDee Lamb WR · 20.5 proj
Tayler leans onJayden Daniels QB · 19.8 proj
Watch list: Garrett Wilson (questionable), Ty Johnson (questionable), George Pickens (questionable), TreVeyon Henderson (questionable)
Jordi by 4 in a game projected for 194.6 combined, the lowest on the board. Tayler is starting TreVeyon Henderson, questionable and projected for 0, with a bench projected for 10.1 in total. Jordi's bench has Woody Marks at 14.5 and Saquon Barkley at 12.5 while Ty Johnson starts at 5.5, questionable, and the two defenses, Jacksonville for Tayler and Baltimore for Jordi, play each other on Thursday.
Game of the week
Yael · 4-4
Potatoe
139.5
at
Oriol · 6-2
Firebreathing Platypuses
124.7
Yael favored by 14.8 · 264.2 combined
Yael leans onJahmyr Gibbs RB · 26.5 proj
Oriol leans onJa'Marr Chase WR · 22.9 proj
Watch list: Amon-Ra St. Brown (questionable), Wan'Dale Robinson (bye)
Yael by 14.8 over the first seed. Jahmyr Gibbs, at 26.5 the highest-projected player in the league, and Jared Goff both play in Miami, alongside Oriol's Amon-Ra St. Brown, questionable, so a Goff touchdown to St. Brown pays both managers. Oriol is also starting Wan'Dale Robinson at flex on bye, with Jadarian Price on the bench at 10.8.
Game of the week
First seed, underdog
Oriol has scored 1002.4, the most in the league, and holds the first seed at 6-2. Yael has scored 1000.1, second most, and is 4-4, because 1024 points have been scored against Potatoe, more than against any other team. This week the projections side with the one the schedule has been unkind to.
14.8Yael over Oriol, the first seed as an underdog
139.5Yael's projection, the highest in the league
1024points scored against Yael, the most in the league
32.9%of Yael's lineup in Detroit at Miami, with Oriol's St. Brown
Oriol can close some of it with one tap: a flex on bye is the one problem in this game that is fixable before Sunday.
Three managers, three different reasons to watch one particular game.
Record and all-play combined, weighted 40/60. All-play is your record against every team each week, not just the one you were scheduled against - it is what your season looks like with the schedule taken out.