Drake vs Jordan

Drake beat Jordan 125.86 to 124.10, a margin of 1.76 that is the closest win by a perfect lineup in the ten-year history of the league. The previous mark was Bite’s 2.48 in Week 15 of 2024. It ended a four-game losing streak, the second-longest of Drake’s career, and took him to 2–4 a week after his own column said that 1–4 might finish him. Jordan is 2–4 on 830.76 points, the second-most ever by a 2–4 team, and leads the series 11–6.

The lineup was perfect in the technical sense: every starter outscored every reserve. It was also perfect in the sense that Drake’s bench scored 3.7. Justin Jefferson and the Vikings defense were on bye. Rashee Rice, Deebo Samuel and Zach Charbonnet were on the roster and did not record a point. Terry McLaurin caught one pass for 27 yards. For the first time this season there were no winning points on Drake’s bench, because there were no points on Drake’s bench, and the Tribune, which has spent four weeks on the other version of this story, records the correction. The starters did the rest. Chuba Hubbard carried 28 times for 120 yards and a touchdown in Carolina’s 25–14 win at Philadelphia, 19.1. Bhayshul Tuten caught two touchdowns from Trevor Lawrence at Wembley, 24.7, in the flex. The Ravens defense, signed Wednesday, allowed 13 in a loss at Cleveland and scored 10. Zay Flowers caught six for 66, 12.7. Michael Wilson, the thirty-dollar man, caught four for 32, 7.2. Pat Freiermuth, signed Sunday morning with Tyler Warren on injured reserve, caught two for 11, 3.1. Brandon Aubrey scored 1.0 on a night Dallas scored 13.

Going into Monday night Drake had 77.80 and Jordan had 111.70, and each man had something left: Jordan had Mike Evans, Drake had Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey. Evans caught three passes for 94 yards, 12.4, which set the number Drake needed at 46.31. McCaffrey ran 16 times for 64 yards and two touchdowns, caught nine passes for 53, and lost a fumble, 30.7, the best score in the league this week. Purdy completed 21 of 29 for 264 yards and a touchdown, 17.36. Together, 48.06. The fumble cost two; without it the margin is 3.76. Jayden Daniels threw for 300 in the same game for Kyle, whose game was over, and George Kittle caught a touchdown for Thomas, whose game was also over, so the only two men in the league watching were the two in this one.

Jordan scored 124.10 and could have scored 142.10. On Tuesday morning he moved Denzel Boston into his lineup at receiver and Mike Evans to the flex, which left DeVonta Smith on the bench for the week. Boston caught one pass for 15 yards for Cleveland, 2.5. Smith caught seven for 75 and a touchdown in Philadelphia’s loss to Carolina, 20.5, on the bench. Start Smith over Boston and Jordan wins by 16.24. The rest was good: Kenneth Walker ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas City’s 22–6 win over the Chargers, 27.9; Isaiah Likely, the Mitch cut, caught six for 99 and a touchdown, 23.9, his second straight week leading all tight ends; the Chiefs defense, a three-dollar Wednesday claim, held the Chargers to six and scored 14; Josh Allen threw two touchdowns to tie Jim Kelly’s franchise record and scored 18.3; Nico Collins 10.9, Cam Little 9, Emanuel Wilson 5.2. Jordan has now lost three games this season with a winning lineup on his roster, in Weeks 1, 5 and 6, and would be 5–1 with them. He is 26–16 against the field, second in the league, and Unlucky and Good, alone.

He had also ranked himself eighth on his Week 5 Coaches Poll ballot on Wednesday morning, one spot below Drake, which made his the most modest ballot of the week and, under the league’s ruling of September 23, a sandbag alert. Drake, whose rankings desk has been dark since Week 3, was not available to rank anyone. The Moth picked Jordan, and is 2–2 on the week. Drake plays Mitch next, and leads that series 8–7. Jordan plays Kyle, whom he leads 11–9, and who is first in the league by 85 points.