It's the competition where no one is ever mathematically eliminated.
Realistically eliminated? Now that's a different story.
A great week for me and a really good one of Josh Klein of the Riot Report pushed me back to the top of the heap by a mere 4.7 points over Klein. Chiefs third-string running back Damien Williams set the tone for me with his Thursday showing, then wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and running back Dalvin Cook responded with their single-biggest weeks of the season – a big deal in this format where you get to pick non-Panthers just once.
The big development was fantasy football analyst John Halpin picking a bad week to have a bad week. He's still in third place overall but is nearly 70 points off my pace.
Can Halpin still win it all with two weeks to go? Maybe. The inexplicable rise of Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer should serve as inspiration. Buried in last place not long ago, she's made up 77 points on fifth place over the last two weeks and is less than a point from moving into the top half of the standings. Now buried in the cellar are Spectrum News sports director Mike Solarte and our own Bill Voth, separated by less than a point for last and some 75 points behind the next closest competitor.
 Bryan Strickland |
 Max Henson |
 Bill Voth |
 Jordan Gross |
 Jim Szoke |
|
| Total Pts (rank) | 1,225.34 (1st) | 1,092.82 (8th) | 1,018.10(9th) | 1,106.88 (5th) | 1,105.54 (6th) |
| Last week | 101.44 (1st) | 71.08 (4th) | 62.02 (6th) | 47.54 (8th) | 50.78 (7th) |
| QB | D. Brees | P. Rivers | A. Luck | B. Mayfield | A. Luck |
| RB | C. McCaffrey | S. Michel | C. McCaffrey | J. Williams | J. Williams |
| RB | D. Henry | M. Mack | S. Barkley | E. McGuire | M. Mack |
| WR | A. Cooper | DJ Moore | A. Jeffrey | A. Jeffrey | J. Edelman |
| WR | D. Baldwin | K. Allen | D. Baldwin | C. Davis | T. Lockett |
| TE | V. McDonald | E. Engram | G. Kittle | I. Thomas | I. Thomas |
 Jourdan Rodrigue |
 Mike Solarte |
 Kelsey Riggs |
 Josh Klein |
 John Halpin |
|
| Total Pts (rank) | 1,105.32 (7th) | 1,017.20 (10th) | 1,138.90 (4th) | 1,220.64 (2nd) | 1,157.62 (3rd) |
| Last week | 82.24 (2nd) | 37.56 (10th) | 64.16 (5th) | 75.94 (3rd) | 43.94 (9th) |
| QB | T. Heinicke | R. Wilson | T. Brady | L. Jackson | A. Luck |
| RB | J. Williams | C. McCaffrey | D. Henry | E. Elliott | D. Henry |
| RB | C. Carson | D. Williams | C. Carson | N. Chubb | N. Chubb |
| WR | R. Anderson | K. Golloday | S. Diggs | A. Robinson | D. Hopkins |
| WR | J. Nelson | M. Williams | R. Anderson | J. Edelman | Smith-Schuster |
| TE | E. Ebron | D. Njoku | I. Thomas | I. Thomas | I. Thomas |
Mike and Bill are the only competitors aside from me that entered Week 16 with their third and final Christian McCaffrey chip at their disposal. I'll trot him out for the final time against the Falcons to head up a lineup with some pretty good talent this late in the game. I passed on the possibility of Derrick Henry having great back-to-back weeks and was wrong, so now I'll really tempt fate and hope he's highly productive for a third consecutive weekend.
On the other hand, I was right about not counting on Amari Cooper to have back-to-back big games, but after the Cowboys were shut out by the Colts, I think he'll bounce back against the Buccaneers. Speaking of bouncing back, Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin has been slowed by injuries all season but had two touchdowns against the 49ers and now gets a potentially exploitable Chiefs defense.
I nearly paired quarterback Russell Wilson with Baldwin, but with lots of options left I'm going to roll with Drew Brees as the Saints try to get their offense cranked up again before the postseason. They'll face the Steelers, who I'll represent with Vance McDonald in the seemingly fruitless weekly search for a viable tight end.
