Written by Carter Cotrupi

Four teams entered Week 15 of the fantasy football season looking for their shot at the inaugural NoseBleeds Fantasy Football League Championship. Only two teams emerged victorious and will face off one last time to decide who is the best GM in the NFFL.

As we look ahead to a dramatic finish to our first fantasy league season, let’s see what happened in Week 15 and who our championship contenders are.

Semifinal Analysis

#4 my f**king sick team stayed consistent but met #1 Jimmy is My Homie G. and the league’s highest score (so far)

I wasn’t kidding when I talked about needing a big performance from my squad (Jimmy is My Homie G.) to match up with Mr. Consistent. 186.20 points did the job as John chalked up another 100+ point performance (105.58). Todd Gurley had the best game of his career (43.50 points) and Aaron Rodgers posted 24.90 fantasy points despite throwing 3 INTs.

Cam Newton (31.48 points) continued to put up big numbers in the final stretch of the regular season, but the lack of production for Desean Jackson (2.30 points) and Jamaal Williams (3.00 points) would be the final nail in the coffin for my f**king sick team.

#2 Is Joe Flacco Elite? held on by a thread in a nail-biter against #3 Squish

Matt is no stranger to close finishes and waiting for the game-clock to hit zero on Julio Jones and Matt Bryant during Monday Night Football was as close as they come. The final score would come to 119.52 to 115.88. Unfortunately for Squish, Julio Jones would not repeat his 44-point performance against the abysmal Buccaneers defense. The Falcons struggled with their offense all night long and Jones and Bryant would combine for only 14.90 points, just 3.64 behind Matt’s winning score.

Breakout Stars

LA Rams D/ST (17.00 points)- After letting the Eagles steamroll them for 35 points in Week 15, the Rams defense flipped the script and stuffed the Seahawks at every avenue. The playoff-hungry Seahawks team was held for just seven points while the Rams offense was having a practice day, putting up 45 points. With the postseason just a couple weeks away, this is the perfect time for the Rams defense to get hot.

Kenyan Drake (20.30 points)- Since their Week 13 dismantling of the Denver Broncos, the Dolphins offense led by Smokin’ Jay Chicken Cutler has been surprisingly effective. Losing star running back Jay Ajayi to possibly the worst trade this season had a lot of fans wondering if this was a sign that Adam Gase had lost the locker room and the team was bracing for the tank. But Kenyan Drake has proven to be a solid piece to help glue the offense back together at least to survive the rest of the regular season.

Busts

The Green Bay Packers (-1.00 Aaron Rodgers)- Unfortunately, the early return of Aaron Rodgers would not be the band-aid the Packers needed to limp to the playoffs. Officially out of the hunt, it will be interesting to see if Coach Mike McCarthy tries out any new additions down the depth chart for what is considered a lost season.

Key Injuries

Greg Zuerlein (Rams)- Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein, also known as “Mr. Automatic” had his season end suddenly off the field when Rams Coach Sean McVay placed him on injured reserved midway through the practice week. He’s scheduled to have surgery to repair a herniated disc. More than the end of the regular season, the Rams will look to head into the playoffs without one of the league’s leading field goal (38) and extra point (44) kicker.

Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay)- Rodgers was sent back to IR after just making one more appearance in his 2017 season. After losing to the Carolina Panthers, the Packers are officially out of playoff contention and there is no need to risk re-injuring their future Hall of Fame quarterback.

NFFL Championship

#1 Jimmy is My Homie G. vs #2 Is Joe Flacco Elite?

I watched last year’s Superbowl. I am hoping that I will not be the Atlanta Falcons to Matt’s Tom Brady. Other than that, it should be a close finish with talent stacked on both sides. The Ravens defense has the opportunity to provide a huge boost against the lowly Colts, but will Gurley have another 4 TD game against the Titans?

X-Factors: Josh Lambo (Jimmy is My Homie G.) and Christian McCaffrey (Is Joe Flacco Elite?)

Stay tuned next week for the final article in this season’s Two Minute Warning series. I’ll be surveying the GMs from the inaugural season of the NFFL and looking ahead to next year!