Final

It came down to Week 14 for two of three Bonuses, which is how it should be…

The QB Bonus is won by Campton. Andy grabbed the lead from Alabama Men in Week 10 by a point, then held off Tom (and Juice, whose Jalen Hurts scored 120 points in the final four weeks) to claim the title.

The RB Bonus is won by Dollz. Thurm used Tony Pollard’s breakout season to rally for the title. The Cowboys’ “backup” RB is RB7 in our league, and since his coming-out party against the Bears in Week 8 (of course) he’s tallied 10 TDs and averaged about 25 points per game.

The WR Bonus is won handily by Hounds, and his guys Tyreek and Ja’Maar Chase. S*Heads, with Jaylen Waddle and Justin Jefferson, led through the first five weeks, but the Hounds’ dynamic duo put up 63 in Week 6 (and Jakobi Meyers added another 10) and Haydn never trailed again.

Heavy Flight cleaned up in the other Bonuses: Best Record (10-4), Best Start (5-0), and Beatdown (highest game score of 158). Campton claimed his second Bonus, the Blowout, with his 68-point win over Hurt Locker in Week 7, and there are eight teams who claimed at least one Weekly Top Score Bonus. That’s parity, Mister. (Counter-argument: Or, random acts of points-ness.)

Through Week 13

Into the final week of the season and two Bonus races are still close, ‘Gangers. Not so much for the WR Bonus, of course, as Hounds put up 71 this past week to re-establish a commanding lead there. Thinkers feel your pain, Kurt: I was there for every damn point.

Through Week 12

Meet the new Boss, same as the old Boss … except for in the RB Bonus, where Thinkers capitalized on a surprisingly single-digit performance from Thurm’s Tony Pollard to leapfrog the Dollz into first place. Bama Men closed the gap on Campton in the QB Bonus, and S*Heads halved his Week 11 deficit in the WR Bonus, moving ever so closer to Hounds.

And speaking of Haydn: the Hounds’ week-high 132 marks the third time this season he’s outscored the rest of us. Flight’s done it twice, as has Campton. But only Hounds have the three-peat, so far.

Through Week 11

We have new faces atop the QB Bonus and RB Bonus rankings. Campton got more heroics from Mahomes while Bama Men watched Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense settle for FGs, and now Andy leads Tom by a point. In the RB Bonus, Tony Pollard carved out another career day for Thurm, helping him leapfrog Pain and Thinker and settle into first place there. As for the WR Bonus? S*Heads trimmed 20 points off Hound’s lead, but there’s still a ways (44 points) to go.

Through Week 10

Down two after last week, Pain Train has overtaken Buckguys in the Total RB Points lead. Max didn’t get huge numbers from his guys, but the now CMC-less Doug is playing WRs over RBs.

Campton got 31 from Mahomes to pull almost even with Alabama Men in the Total QB Bonus. Josh Allen’s two picks and goal-line fumble certainly depressed his final number, helping Andy creep closer.

But then Allen’s miscues actually matter little when the rest of your guys are putting up 117. Tom lead all of us in Week 10 with 139 points scored. (And he actually got all that scoring from just seven guys, as his Jerry Jeudy posted a goose egg.)

Finally, S*Heads used a rare normal week for Hounds’ WRs to shave 10 points off Haydn’s lead. It’s still 64, but when you’re fielding the #3 (Justin Jefferson) and #6 (Jaylen Waddle), that doesn’t sound too daunting… until you realize that Hounds can field the #1 (Tyreek) and #13 (McLaurin). First World problems, amirite?

Through Week 9

Once again, we have no changes at the top of the QB and RB Bonus Points rankings. But… those objects in the rear-view? They are definitely getting closer.

• Alabama Men and Josh Allen still lead the QB rankings, but his 20-point lead was halved this week by Campton and Pat Mahomes, who tossed it around 68 times on SNF. There was just a single TD but plenty of yards (446). And that’s how you end up with 36 points. (That, and 63 rushing yards with a TD.)
• Buckguys‘ RB scoring suffered from a McCaffrey-and-Chubb deficiency, both on bye, and Pain Train put up 47 from Pierce, Etienne and Kamara to inch within two of Doug’s RB Bonus lead.
• Hounds continue their run to the passing bonus. S*Heads again had a good week (44 points) but Haydn’s guys went for 55, extending his WR Bonus lead to 74. Fwiw, Juice got 54 this week to stay in third place. But then he traded away Cooper Kupp, so bye-bye WR Bonus.

In other Bonuses, we welcome a new winner to the Weekly Top Score Bonus. Davante Adams, Kenneth Walker and Christian Kirk combined for 83 to propel Katy’s Brother to 131, his best outing of the year so far.

Heavy Flight claims sole possession of the Best Record Bonus on the heels of his second, single-digit win in a row. That guy must have a good closer. Let’s see: In Week 9 he trailed Bama Men by 12 heading into MNF, and then got 17 from Lamar Jackson to win. In Week 8 he led S*Heads by seven going into SNF, and then nibbled away every last fingernail watching Kurt’s Green Bay defense come up just short with six points.

These past two weeks are Jim’s only games decided by single digits (although he also has a 10-point win in Week 5). Two such games in nine weeks is the median and about the average: two teams have four; two have three; five have two; two have one, and three have none.

• Katy’s Brother: 4 games decided by single digits; record 2-2
• The ThurMen: 4 games, 1-3
• Juice: 3 games, 2-1
• S*Heads: 3 games, 0-3
• Heavy Flight: 2 games, 2-0
• Fartz: 2 games, 2-0
• Bama Men: 2 games, 1-1
• The U: 2 games, 1-1
• Pain Train: 2 games, 1-1
• Campton: 1 game, 1-0
• Hurt Locker: 1 game, 0-1
• Buckguys, Hounds, Thinkers: 0 games

It’s also worth noting that in another four of his games, Juice is 1-3 in contests decided by 10, 11 or 12 points. And in another three of his games, Bill is 1-2 in matchups decided by 10 or 11 points.

Through Week 8

Sure, it may look like things haven’t changed much since last week, but… The leaders are the same, but in the QB Bonus and RB Bonus standings, there are new runners-up a bit hotter on their heels.

• Alabama Men are still atop the QB rankings, but his lead is marginally smaller. After Dak ran a 7-on-7 drill against the Bears’ defense, Campton used his 26 points to move up to second place, within 20 points of Men. Thinker drops to third.
• Buckguys put up 64 RB points this week, but a resurgent Pain Train ran up 79 (!) RB points of his own. Doug is still in the lead, but Max now sits second, just 37 back. Last week’s runner-up, The U, had a rough day and falls from second to sixth.
• S*Heads did what they could to stay close to leader Hounds in the WR rankings, scoring 56 points in Week 8. Thing is, Haydn’s guys went for 68, and his Week 7 lead of 51 is now 63.

In other Bonuses, Andy claimed a second Weekly Score win, joining Jim and Haydn as double Weekly Score winners. This high-flying trio are three of the top four scoring teams so far, with Hayden #1, Doug #2, Andy #3 and Jim #4. With 913 points scored, Hounds alone have hit 900+, and look primed to crack the 1,000 total points mark in Week 9. And it’s certainly possible that Doug at 875 and Andy at 853 could get there, too: Doug just put up 136 and Andy 148. Jim at 850 conceivably is within reach, too: Flight is the team that scored 159, 130 and 134 the first three weeks of the season. Then again, he’s been under 100 four of the subsequent five weeks, which is a damn shame, really.

Through Week 7

Is this what the betting sharps call a trend?

• A year ago at this time, Haydn’s Hounds had scored the second-most WR Points; this season, Hounds are atop the standings, leading S*Heads by 51 (or, as Haydn calls it, a slightly better than usual Ja’Marr Chase game).
• A year ago at this time, The U were in second in RB Points, trailing S*Heads by a whopping 92 points already. (You’ll recall that Kurt rode Nick Chubb and Jonathan Taylor to the Final last year.) This season, The U is again second in RB points, trailing Buckguys by a much more manageable 29.
• A year ago at this time, Thinkers were second in QB Points, trailing the Hounds by 12. Alabama Men and Josh Allen are this season’s leader as of Week 7, up 25 over Thinkers.

You’ll note that our first Bonus has been awarded, to Heavy Flight for its best-of-show 5-0 start. Jim also has custody of the Beatdown Bonus at the moment, with his 159 points scored in Week 1. But… the Blowout Bonus he’d called his own since that Week 1 outburst now belongs to Straight Outta Campton, who beat Hurt Locker by 68 this week. (Heavy’s margin from Week 1 is +62.)