Drake vs Mitch

Mitch beat Drake 130.32 to 121.92 on Monday night, when Javonte Williams ran 25 times for 155 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 38–21 win at Philadelphia, 21.5, and Dallas Goedert caught five for 48 in the same game, 9.8, against Brandon Aubrey’s three field goals and three extra points for Drake, 14.0. Mitch had needed the two of them to outscore the kicker by 8.90 and they outscored him by 17.3. Mitch is 3–4. Drake is 2–5, the worst start of his career, tied with 2021 and 2025, and in last place on points behind Jordan, with the fifth-most points in the league and the fifth-best all-play record, which is the kind of last place the matrix was built to explain. The series is 8–8.

Drake had the winning lineup and did not use it, for the third time this season. Omar Cooper, claimed on Wednesday for nothing, caught five passes for 115 yards and a touchdown in the Jets’ loss to Miami, 22.5, on the bench, behind Michael Wilson, 10.6, and Justin Jefferson, who caught four for 44 in the Vikings’ 16–10 win over Indianapolis, 8.4. Start Cooper over either man and Drake wins. His best lineup was 136.02; the lineup that lost had Zay Flowers catching eight for 137 and a touchdown in Baltimore’s 35–13 loss to Cincinnati, 27.7, Christian McCaffrey scoring a touchdown and catching six for 61 in the 49ers’ first loss, 22.0, the Vikings defense holding the Colts to ten, 11, Brock Purdy throwing two interceptions in Atlanta, 12.02, and Michael Mayer, signed Thursday to play tight end, catching three for 32, 6.2. Chuba Hubbard 10.0. Drake has now lost in Weeks 2, 3 and 7 with the points to win on his bench, and has lost two more in which no lineup would have saved him, and he has one win in seven weeks against a team other than Jordan.

His transaction week was the usual volume. Tuesday he cut the Ravens defense, Terry McLaurin and Pat Freiermuth. Wednesday he claimed Cooper and Tyreek Hill, the Hill he drafted at pick 116 in August and cut in Week 5, and on Thursday he cut Hill for Mayer and claimed Ladd McConkey for nothing, two days after Kyle cut him; Drake had traded McConkey to Kyle in September. On Wednesday evening he made seven lineup moves in one minute, moving Rashee Rice in and out and Hubbard and McCaffrey between slots, and ended where he began. Both claims were free, so he has still spent 78 dollars, the most in the league, and his rankings desk has not been loaded since Week 3, so the Tribune cannot say where he ranks himself; in August it was first.

Mitch’s week was a quarterback swap that worked on Sunday and nearly cost him Monday. On Wednesday he claimed Jared Goff for eight dollars, a week after Carl cut Goff because Goff was on bye, and cut Dak Prescott to make the room. Goff completed 22 of 32 for 303 yards and two touchdowns in Detroit’s 20–17 win over Green Bay, 18.02. Dak completed 15 of 27 for 212 and three touchdowns against the Eagles on Monday night, for nobody. Luther Burden caught four for 130 and a touchdown in Chicago’s win over New England on Thursday, 23.7. Puka Nacua caught eight for 68 and a touchdown in the Rams’ 35–21 win at Las Vegas, 21.8. Ashton Jeanty caught eight passes for 61 and a score in the same game, 21.6. Goedert, claimed Wednesday for five dollars with Juwan Johnson cut, is the latest man in a tight end slot that had produced 30.4 points in six weeks; he produced 9.8 in one. Derrick Henry ran 17 times for 45 with Lamar Jackson out, 5.9. Spencer Shrader missed two of three field goals, 3.0. The Browns defense, a one-dollar claim, 5. Josh Jacobs scored a touchdown and 20.1 on the bench behind Henry; Mitch’s best lineup was 144.52.

Mitch is Lucky and Bad, 18–31 against the field, with the third-fewest points in the league, and he has now beaten Drake in Week 7 two years running. The Moth picked Drake, writing that Drake was in bye and injury hell and would probably still win because he was playing Mitch, and so the Moth has picked against himself twice this season and been right once. Mitch plays Jordan next in the Battle of the Bandwagons; Jordan leads 11–8. Drake plays Dite in the War Crimes Cup, which stands at 9–9, between two men who work for the same employer.