The Sandusky Tribune

Thomas Lei beat Dite 152.92 to 105.50 in the first meeting of the two 4–2 teams and is 5–2, alone in second place, which is the best start through seven weeks in the ten-season history of the franchise; Rob never did better than 4–3. Dite is 4–3 after four straight wins, second in the league in points, and first in the league in points left on the bench, a title he took from Kyle on Sunday. Thomas leads the series 1–0.

The score was built on a running back and a quarterback decision. Tony Pollard, whom Kyle cut in October and Thomas signed three days later, ran 25 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns and caught three for 26 in the Titans’ 27–24 loss to Cleveland, 36.5, the best running back score in the league this week and the fourth-best of the season. Tee Higgins caught six for 148 and a touchdown in Cincinnati’s win at Baltimore, 26.8, in the flex, where Thomas had moved him on Thursday ahead of Rhamondre Stevenson, who caught five for 93 and a touchdown on Thursday night, 22.5, on the bench, which makes the call right by four. CeeDee Lamb caught five of twelve targets for 74 and two touchdowns on Monday night, 24.4. Jonathan Taylor ran for 95 and a touchdown, 19.0. George Kittle caught eight for 88 and lost a fumble, 14.8. Chris Olave 11.6. On Sunday morning Thomas moved Tyler Shough back into the lineup and Patrick Mahomes to the bench; Shough completed 30 of 38 for 278 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the Saints’ loss to Pittsburgh in Paris, 13.82, and Mahomes completed 19 of 33 for 165 with no touchdowns and a pick in Kansas City’s 20–3 loss at Seattle, 6.0. The quarterback ledger, for the record: wrong by eight in Week 3, wrong by one in Week 4, no choice in Week 5, wrong by sixteen in Week 6, right by 7.82 in Week 7. Trey Smack made one of three field goals in a game the Packers lost by three, 4.0. The Packers defense, signed Thursday after Thomas cut the Rams defense, allowed 20 and 415 yards and scored 2.0; it is the fifth defense he has started this season. His best lineup was 163.82.

Dite scored 105.50 and left 81.2 on the bench, the most in the league this week and his high for the season. Quinshon Judkins ran 17 times for 96 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland’s win at Tennessee, 23.4, on the bench. Blake Corum ran for 93 and a touchdown, 17.1, on the bench. Jaylen Warren ran for 101 and caught three for 36 in Paris, 16.7, on the bench. Devaughn Vele caught a touchdown, 16.4, on the bench. DK Metcalf 7.6. The flex went to Matthew Golden, who caught six of twelve targets for 39 yards, 9.9, and the second receiver slot to Jalen Coker, who caught one pass for nine in Carolina’s 43–13 loss, 1.9. The lineup was otherwise fine: Drake London caught seven for 66 and a touchdown in Atlanta’s win over San Francisco, 19.6; Kyren Williams ran for 99 and a touchdown with a lost fumble, 18.1; Matthew Stafford threw three touchdowns to set the Rams’ franchise record, 17.5; Bijan Robinson ran for 63 and caught five for 59, 17.2; Brock Bowers caught six for 73, 13.3. Matt Gay, claimed Wednesday for nothing after Dite cut Tyler Bass, the kicker he had cut Travis Kelce for seven days earlier, made three of four, 8.0. The Texans defense, claimed Wednesday for nothing after he cut the six-dollar Patriots defense, allowed 27 to the Giants in overtime and scored 0. His best lineup was 133.50, which still loses by 19, so the bench is a decoration this week and not a cause.

Dite made five waiver claims on Wednesday and two went through, both free. He bid nothing on Jared Goff with Stafford as the cut, and Mitch got Goff for eight; he bid three on Will Reichard, and Jordan got him for five; the Jets defense went to Jordan; a Titans defense claim failed because the Patriots cut had already been used by the Texans claim. He has now benched 466.8 points this season, 22.8 more than Kyle, and the two men are a combined 10–4, so the Tribune will not pretend it is a problem. He is 26–23 against the field, has allowed 895.48, and is still Lucky and Good, by 4.1 points of luck, which a 47-point loss did not spend.

Thomas is 28–21 against the field on 865.52 points, the fourth-fewest ever by a 5–2 team, and the matrix lists him in Lucky and Good, in second place, with 14.3 points of luck, the most in the league, which is a matter the Tribune has referred to Thomas. The Moth picked Dite, writing that Dite’s projection was crazy again and that Thomas was also really good, and was half right. Thomas plays Carl next, whom he beat in Week 1. Dite plays Drake in the War Crimes Cup, 9–9, the two men who share an employer and now share a bench problem, except that Drake’s lost him the game.

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.

Kyle beat Jordan 171.18 to 74.32, a margin of 96.86 that is the fifth-largest in the ten-year history of the league, three weeks after he set the largest. He is 6–1, first in points by 175, 41–8 against the field, and his 1086.62 through seven weeks is the most anyone has scored at this point in any season; the old mark was his own 1055.60 from 2018, when he was 7–0. Jordan is 2–5 with 905.08 points, which is the most any 2–5 team has ever scored, and leads the series 11–10. ESPN has scheduled this game in Week 7 every year since 2021, and this is the first time it has been over by the early window.

Kyle’s lineup was perfect, which the template defines as every starter outscoring every reserve, and which Kyle achieved by leaving almost nothing on the reserve. Sam LaPorta caught one pass for 18 yards, 2.8. James Cook, Jayden Daniels, Trevor Lawrence and Parker Washington were on bye and Kyle Monangai did not play, so the bench scored 2.8 and the starters scored the rest. Joe Burrow completed 22 of 30 for 292 yards and four touchdowns in Cincinnati’s 35–13 win at Baltimore, 28.88. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught nine for 150 and a touchdown in Seattle’s 20–3 win over Kansas City on Sunday night, 31.3, the best score in the league this week. Trey McBride caught ten for 111 and a score, 27.1. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught nine for 153, 24.2. Bucky Irving ran 24 times for 106 and two touchdowns in Tampa Bay’s 43–13 rout of Carolina, 24.0. D’Andre Swift ran for 78 and a touchdown on Thursday night, 19.0. Jason Myers 8. The Broncos defense 3. Germie Bernard, claimed on Wednesday for forty dollars, the largest waiver bid of the season, caught three passes for 27 yards, 5.7, and the other eight starters scored 165.48. It is Kyle’s fourth score of 170 or more this season, which ties the single-season record, also his, from 2021, with ten weeks to play. The four best scores in the league this year are all his.

Jordan scored 74.32, the lowest total in the league this week and the third-lowest of his career, and left 60.8 on his bench. Josh Allen was on bye, so on Wednesday Jordan signed C.J. Stroud and cut Emanuel Wilson to make room; Stroud completed 17 of 28 for 153 yards and two touchdowns in the Texans’ overtime loss to the Giants, 16.52, and Wilson ran 24 times for 100 yards and a touchdown for Seattle on Sunday night, for nobody. Jameson Williams caught five for 91 and two touchdowns in Detroit’s 20–17 win over Green Bay, 26.1, the third-best receiver score in the league, on Jordan’s bench. Cam Skattebo ran 17 times for 124 and a touchdown in the same game Stroud lost, 19.1, on the bench. Jaylen Waddle caught four for 48, 8.8, on the bench. In the lineup: Nico Collins caught two passes for six yards, 2.6; Denzel Boston, whose promotion over DeVonta Smith cost Jordan the Week 6 game, caught three of eight targets for 27 yards, 5.7; Isaiah Likely, the top tight end in the league two weeks running before this, caught two for 12, 3.2; the Jets defense, claimed Wednesday, allowed 28 to Malik Willis and scored 0. Tucker Kraft caught a touchdown, 14.8. Will Reichard, a five-dollar claim, kicked three field goals, 12.0. Kenneth Walker 9.7, Chase Brown 9.8.

Late on Saturday night Jordan moved DeVonta Smith to injured reserve and Boston into the lineup, so the one decision from Week 6 the Tribune had flagged was repeated with the other man unavailable. His best lineup was 116.82, which loses by 54.36, and so for once there is no lineup story; the loss was on the field. Jordan has the third-most points in the league and the most points allowed, 1005.54, which is the fifth-most anyone has given up through seven weeks. He is 26–23 against the field, Unlucky and Good, and his second 0–7 week of the season puts him seventh in the standings with a roster that has outscored five of the six teams above him. The one Week 6 Coaches Poll ballot in by Sunday, Dite’s, ranked him second in the league.

Kyle has allowed 705.70 points, the fewest in the league, and has now benched 444.0 for the season, which was the most in the league until Dite passed him on Sunday. The Moth picked Kyle, and wrote that if fantasy had a sense of humor Bernard would catch two passes for 18 yards; he caught three for 27. Kyle plays Cliff next in Pronamel vs. Power Rankings, a series he leads 11–8. Jordan plays Mitch in the second Battle of the Bandwagons; Jordan leads that series 11–8, Mitch won the first meeting in Week 1, and both men’s Patriots lost on Thursday night to a quarterback on Carl’s bench.

Cliff beat Carl 120.14 to 106.46 and is 3–4, out of last place in the standings and still last in points, all-play and points allowed. Carl is 3–4, and for the first time this season he lost a game with a winning lineup on his roster; his best lineup was 145.42, which beats Cliff by 25, and he scored 106.46, which loses by 13.68. He was the only owner in the league without one of these, and he leads the series 12–8.

Cliff’s week was a running back and tight end carousel that ended, for once, with the right men on the field. He had cut David Montgomery for Woody Marks in Week 6 and cut Marks two days later; this week he signed Montgomery on Wednesday, cut him for Marks on Thursday, started Marks on Sunday morning and benched him for Braelon Allen before the early games. Allen ran 17 times for 104 yards and caught six for 30 in the Jets’ loss to Miami, 19.4; Marks ran for 66 on the bench, 9.1. He had cut T.J. Hockenson in Week 6 as well, and on Sunday morning he signed him again and started him over Travis Kelce, the four-dollar man of the week before; Hockenson caught four for 35 and a touchdown, 13.5, and Kelce caught four for 44 on the bench, 8.4. Drake Maye completed 24 of 31 for 321 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third in the Patriots’ 30–24 loss at Chicago on Thursday, 27.44, the second-best quarterback score in the league; Bryce Young, on the bench, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the 43–13 loss to Tampa Bay, 5.42, so the quarterback call was right by 22. Jahmyr Gibbs ran 29 times for 116 and caught five for 27 with a lost fumble, 17.3. Christian Watson caught five for 57 in the Packers’ loss at Detroit, 10.7. The Steelers defense held New Orleans to ten in Paris, 9. Tyler Loop 7. A.J. Brown caught three for 48 for New England, 7.8, and Tetairoa McMillan four for 40, 8.0. Rome Odunze scored 10.9 on the bench, so the best lineup was 124.34 and the one he used was close enough.

Carl’s best lineup was 145.42 and the 38.96 he left on the bench is a list of men he knows well. Caleb Williams completed 22 of 33 for 308 yards and two touchdowns in Chicago’s win over New England, 22.12, on the bench for the second week in a row behind Jordan Love, who completed 27 of 45 for 274, two touchdowns and an interception in the Packers’ 20–17 loss at Detroit, 16.96. Ollie Gordon ran 25 times for 103 and a touchdown in Miami’s win at the Jets, 17.3, on the bench, because Carl moved him out before the early games to start Saquon Barkley, who ran seven times for 62 and a touchdown on Monday night, 15.1. George Pickens caught a touchdown on Monday night, 15.7, on the bench behind Garrett Wilson, who caught two for 26, 4.6. The Seahawks defense, which Carl drafted at pick 101 and which held Kansas City to three points on Sunday night, scored 9 on the bench, because on Thursday night Carl signed the Titans defense and started it instead; the Titans allowed 27 and 491 yards to Cleveland and scored 0. Kaelon Black scored a touchdown, 10.9, on the bench. Aaron Jones ran eight times for 26 in the lineup, 3.6. The men who did play well were the usual ones. Colston Loveland caught seven of twelve targets for 69 and a touchdown, 19.9. Malik Nabers caught seven for 111, 18.1. Ja’Marr Chase caught a touchdown from Burrow, 17.2. Ka’imi Fairbairn 11.

The Moth had written that Carl’s running back room would decide the game even if Nabers scored 25, and that is what happened, with the room on the bench. Carl also claimed Emmett Johnson on Wednesday for one dollar, the man Dite signed and cut inside a day in Week 6, and bid eleven dollars on Germie Bernard, which failed because Kyle bid forty. Carl is 20–29 against the field and Lucky and Bad, with 817.06 points, the second-fewest in the league. Cliff is 15–34 against the field, last, with 815.14 points, the fewest, and has allowed 955.24, the second-most, and is Lucky and Bad with a win.

The Moth picked Cliff and was right. Cliff plays Kyle next in Pronamel vs. Power Rankings, and trails that series 8–11; Kyle has scored 170 or more in four of seven weeks. Carl plays Thomas, who beat him in Week 1, and who has started a running back Kyle cut in October to 36.5 points.