Kyle vs Thomas

Kyle beat Thomas Leigh 189.40 to 37.34 in the first meeting of the two franchises, a margin of 152.06 that is the largest in the ten-year history of the league. The previous record, 141.28, was set in 2022 by Jordan against a Kyle lineup with two starters in it. Thomas started nine. Kyle has now been on the losing end of the worst beating in league history and the winning end of the one that replaced it, which is a distinction, and the margin alone would have beaten four of the seven other teams in the league this week.

Thomas came into the game 3–1, second in points, tied with Kyle in all-play, and newly first in both the Coaches Poll and the commissioner’s rankings. He left it 3–2, fifth in points, 20–15 in all-play, and in possession of the lowest score ever recorded by a full lineup. Tyler Shough completed 16 of 25 for 96 yards and two interceptions in New Orleans’s 23–13 loss to Minnesota, minus 0.16, which means the quarterback slot would have scored more empty. The Cowboys defense, signed Wednesday to replace the Chiefs, allowed 24 points to Tampa Bay and a rookie quarterback named Jalon Daniels on Thursday night and finished at minus 2.0, so the same is true of the defense. CeeDee Lamb, a week removed from 17 catches and 189 yards, was targeted five times in that game and caught two for nine, 2.9. Jeremiyah Love carried twelve times for 22 yards for Arizona in a 45–21 loss to Detroit, 2.2. Trey Smack made one field goal in Green Bay’s 31–7 win over Chicago, 3.0, while two Packers receivers scored 52.6 for other owners. Patrick Mahomes was on bye. Breece Hall and Marvin Harrison Jr. did not record a point. Jonathan Taylor led the team with 45 rushing yards and 11.2; Chris Olave scored 8.6, George Kittle 7.4, Tee Higgins 4.2. Rhamondre Stevenson ran for a touchdown in New England’s 45–17 win, 17.5, on the bench, with Tony Pollard (5.2) and Mark Andrews (4.8) beside him. The best lineup on the roster was 54.94, the lowest optimal score in league history; the old mark, Mitch’s 73.42 last season, is eighteen points higher.

The only lower score on record is Kyle’s 6.10 from Week 14 of 2022. The lowest by a team that started nine players had been Carl’s 58.02 in 2017, before the league adopted its current scoring, and 62.58 by Bite in Week 5 of 2023 since; Thomas cleared the second by 25 and the first by 21. The lowest score ever by a team entering the week with one loss or fewer had also been Bite’s 62.58. The franchise Thomas inherited is named for Rob Ercanbrack, who finished last twice; Rob’s worst week in nine seasons was 66.26.

Kyle, for his part, scored 189.40, the fifth-best total of his career and the sixth-best by anyone since 2019, and did it with 28.76 points on the bench. Parker Washington, who caught one pass for seven yards in the flex last week, caught six for 124 and two touchdowns in Jacksonville’s 19–17 win over Philadelphia in London, 30.4. Joe Burrow threw four touchdowns in Cincinnati’s 31–24 win at Miami, 24.6, and this week Kyle started him. Jason Myers kicked 23 in Seattle’s 32–29 loss to San Francisco, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught five for 102 and a touchdown in the same game, 22.8. Trey McBride caught nine for 66 and a touchdown, 21.6. D’Andre Swift ran for a score, 17.3. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught six for 69, 12.9. The Broncos defense, a $4 Tuesday claim replacing the Rams, held the Chargers to 17 and scored 14; the Rams defense gave up 37 to Buffalo as a free agent. On Monday night James Cook ran 25 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the Bills’ 37–34 overtime win in Los Angeles and lost a fumble, 22.8, which took the margin from 129.26 to 152.06 and the record from Jordan to Kyle.

The bench. Bucky Irving ran for 165 yards and a touchdown and caught another in Tampa Bay’s win at Dallas, 31.5; Kyle had said he was fifty-fifty on Irving and went with Swift. Jayden Daniels threw for 199 yards and ran for 103 and two touchdowns in Washington’s 27–27 tie with the Giants, 32.26, from Kyle’s IR slot, where he has sat since his injury and where he remained while playing a full game. Trevor Lawrence scored 21.74 and Sam LaPorta 19.8. The best lineup was 218.16, the second-highest since 2019 behind Kyle’s own 219.42 from 2023. The IR slot counts; the league ruled on that in September, over an objection from the same publisher.

Kyle is 4–1, first in points at 774.14, first in all-play at 27–8, and leads Jordan, the next-highest scorer, by 67 points. Thomas is 3–2, 20–15, and fifth in points at 607.62; the matrix still has him Lucky and Good, by 2.9 points of luck, because one afternoon against the field is only seven games. On Sunday morning he held the site records for career all-play percentage, luck banked, consistency and games above 100. He holds none of them now. The Moth picked Kyle, and is 2–2 for the week and 12–8 for the season. Kyle plays Carl next, who leads that series 9–7. Thomas plays Cliff in the first Cheesehead Schism.