The Sandusky Tribune

Thomas Lei beat Drake 157.74 to 132.92 in the first Any Given Sundance. He is 3–1, tied with Kyle for the best record, tied with Kyle at 20–8 against the field, and second in points with 570.28. The Moth picked him, by his own account because he was pressed for time. Drake’s Week 3 column had called the game a cakewalk for Thomas against the delicate flower of the league, and the column was right.

CeeDee Lamb caught 17 of 21 targets for 189 yards and the late touchdown that beat Houston 34–30, 41.3, the second-best score of the week behind McMillan and the second time this season two players have cleared 40 in the same week. Tee Higgins, moved from the bench to the flex on Wednesday, caught 11 for 157 in Cincinnati’s loss to Jacksonville, 26.7. Jonathan Taylor ran for two touchdowns in London, 22.7. Chris Olave caught eight for 116 on Monday night, 19.6. George Kittle caught a touchdown, 17.0. On Friday Thomas moved Tyler Shough into the lineup and Patrick Mahomes out; Shough threw 48 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown in the Saints’ 45–24 loss, 15.94, and Mahomes threw two touchdowns in a win, 17.0, on the bench. Last week the wrong quarterback cost him eight points; this week it cost him one. Jeremiyah Love scored 6.5 with negative receiving yards, Trey Smack scored 7, and the Chiefs defense gave up 27 points and 437 yards to the Raiders and scored 1. Rhamondre Stevenson (18.4), Mark Andrews (13.7) and Tony Pollard (13.0, signed Sunday morning, three days after Kyle cut him) scored on the bench. The best lineup on the roster was 170.70.

Drake began the week by taking Bhayshul Tuten, Deebo Samuel and $9 from Kyle for Joe Burrow and Ladd McConkey, then cut De’Von Achane, Jordan Love and Michael Pittman. On waivers he spent $30 on Michael Wilson, $11 on Kenyon Sadiq and $11 on the Vikings defense, $52 in a night; a bid for Tyreek Hill failed on the roster limit. On Friday he cut the Texans defense, which his preseason column had called the best in the league and which had scored 10 for him a week earlier, for Zach Charbonnet, who did not play. He has spent $87 of a budget that Kyle’s $9 made $109, and has $22 left.

Chuba Hubbard, the fourteenth-round pick, ran 20 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns, 25.9. Zay Flowers caught eight for 118 and a touchdown, 25.8. Brock Purdy threw two touchdowns in San Francisco’s 24–14 win over Denver, 19.62, and Christian McCaffrey scored once, 16.0. Wilson caught seven for 95, 16.5, so the $30 was spent well; the Vikings defense scored 10, so the $11 was too, and the Texans scored 3 as a free agent. Then there was the flex. Rashee Rice pulled a hamstring on Kansas City’s first possession and did not return, 0.0. Deebo Samuel, acquired on Tuesday, scored a touchdown and 18.0 on the bench, and Tuten scored 11.1 next to him. Terry McLaurin and Justin Jefferson were both out. Sadiq was targeted four times and caught none. The roster finished the week with six players at zero. The best lineup was 150.92, which loses by seven: for the first time in three weeks, Drake lost a game his bench could not have won.

The trade moved 52.82 points in the week it was made and none of them were started. Drake’s half, Samuel and Tuten, scored 29.1, which was every point on his bench. Kyle’s half, Burrow and McConkey, scored 23.72, all of it Burrow, on Kyle’s bench, while Kyle started Trevor Lawrence.

Drake is 1–3, 11–17 against the field and sixth in points, and alone in Unlucky and Bad for a second week. Thomas plays Kyle next, the first meeting of the league’s two 3–1 teams and its two leading scorers. Drake plays Carl, whom he leads 13–5.

Jordan beat Cliff 166.92 to 119.16 in the Collusion Cup, a week after scoring the lowest total of his career. The 166.92 is the best score in the league this week, his best regular-season score since 2022, and a 7–0 week against the field after an 0–7. The margin, 47.76, is the sixth largest in any Week 4. Cliff had the best player in the league and lost by 48, which is also what happened to him last week.

Kenneth Walker, who plays for Kansas City now, carried 22 times for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 30–27 win at Las Vegas, 30.9. Nico Collins caught seven for 118 and two touchdowns in Houston’s 34–30 loss to Dallas, 30.8. Josh Allen threw for 253 yards and a touchdown, threw an interception, lost a fumble and ran one in during Buffalo’s 29–26 loss to New England, 18.52. Chase Brown caught 11 passes for 71 yards, 19.1. Tucker Kraft caught a touchdown at Tampa, 16.5. Jaylen Waddle caught a touchdown for Denver, 14.5. Will Reichard, a free agent until Thursday, when Jordan cut Cam Little for him, kicked five field goals in Minnesota’s 15–10 win over Miami, two of them from 50 or more, 19; every Vikings point was his. The Packers defense, claimed Wednesday for nothing, intercepted two passes and scored 10. Cam Skattebo scored 7.6 in the flex. The best lineup on the roster was 175.52.

On Tuesday Jordan offered Jadarian Price to Kyle for Sam LaPorta. Kyle declined on Wednesday and countered with LaPorta, Ladd McConkey and Bucky Irving for Chase Brown and Mike Evans; Jordan declined that. On Saturday Jordan cut Price for Jameson Williams, who caught six passes for 102 yards on the bench, 16.2. Brown and Evans scored 31.7 for Jordan. LaPorta scored 22.4 on Kyle’s bench, Irving 6.1 and McConkey nothing. Jordan also signed Ollie Gordon on Wednesday morning and cut him within twenty minutes for Chris Bell, whom he cut on Friday for a second defense. Gordon ran for 100 yards and a touchdown for Miami, 18.0. Bell scored nothing.

Tetairoa McMillan caught 14 of 16 targets for 192 yards and two touchdowns in Carolina’s 32–26 win over Detroit on Sunday night, 45.2, the best player score of the season; Smith-Njigba’s 42.5 in Week 2 was the old mark. Bryce Young, the $1 quarterback, threw both of those touchdowns and 329 yards, 21.46. Drake Maye threw three touchdowns and ran for 54 yards for New England, 26.16, on Cliff’s bench. Jahmyr Gibbs scored a touchdown and 17.7 on the losing side of McMillan’s game. On Friday Cliff moved David Montgomery into the lineup and Omarion Hampton out; Montgomery carried ten times for 24 yards, 4.3, and Hampton scored a touchdown on the bench, 13.3. Jordan Addison, signed Wednesday, started in the flex over Rome Odunze and was outscored 15.4 to 9.1. Dalton Kincaid caught one pass, 1.7. The Steelers defense, signed Wednesday in place of the Eagles, gave up 27 to Cleveland on Thursday night, 5. The best lineup on the roster was 141.16, which loses by 25.

On Wednesday Cliff cut Kyle Pitts for Jaylen Wright, a $9 claim who carried five times for seven yards on the bench, 0.7. Pitts had scored 4.0 points in four weeks as a Warrior. On Monday night, unowned, he caught three passes for 47 yards against the Saints, 7.7, his best game of the season. The Tribune opened its Pitts investigation in June. It closes it here: he was fine the week nobody owned him.

Cliff has allowed 608.06 points through four weeks, the most in league history; Bite’s 602.76 in 2020 was the record. He has drawn the week’s top score in three of four weeks, which nobody had done in a season’s first four weeks. He is 1–3 and 7–21 against the field. Jordan is 2–2, 18–10, and second in points. The series is tied 8–8. Jordan plays Bite next in the Chicken Sandwich Showdown, where Jordan leads 10–8. Cliff plays Mitch, a series tied 9–9.

Bite beat Carl 153.28 to 106.58 in the Braxton Bowl. It is his second straight week above 150 after opening the season at 106 and 116. He is 2–2, fourth in points and 17–11 against the field. Carl is 2–2 on 423.22 points, the fewest in the league and the second fewest any 2–2 team has had through four weeks; only Bite’s 410.94 in 2017 was lower.

Kyren Williams ran 16 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns and caught ten passes for 67 in the Rams’ 24–20 comeback at Philadelphia, 36.7. He was on Bite’s bench until Saturday afternoon, when Jalen Coker was ruled out and Williams went into the flex. Bijan Robinson ran 19 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns in Atlanta’s 45–24 win at New Orleans on Monday night, 27.7; the Falcons’ other three touchdowns went to Brian Robinson, whom nobody owns. Brock Bowers, activated from injured reserve on Tuesday morning after scoring 27.6 from the slot a week ago, caught six for 86 and a touchdown, 20.6, the best tight end score in the league. Lamar Jackson threw two touchdowns before leaving with an ankle injury, 18.88. Jaylen Warren had 126 yards from scrimmage on Thursday night, 15.6. Drake London caught five for 96, 14.6. The Ravens defense, claimed Wednesday for nothing, scored 7; the Giants defense it replaced scored 16, unowned. Quinshon Judkins (21.6), Devaughn Vele (17.4), DK Metcalf (16.5) and Matthew Golden (11.7, with a touchdown) scored on the bench, Golden for the third time in four weeks. The best lineup on the roster was 171.38.

Carl spent waiver money for the first time this season, $26 on Braelon Allen, who carried 14 times for 59 yards in the Jets’ 23–12 loss at Chicago, 8.7. On Friday night Carl moved Saquon Barkley to the bench and Allen into the lineup. Barkley carried twice for eight yards, fumbled, and finished with 2.0, so that call was right by 6.7. The other call went the other way: Malik Nabers caught six for 112 and a touchdown, 23.2, and Carnell Tate caught nine for 145, 21.5, on the bench, behind Ja’Marr Chase and Garrett Wilson, who each caught three passes for 27 yards and scored 5.7. Burrow threw 54 passes in Cincinnati, and three of them went to Chase.

Jared Goff threw 52 passes for 412 yards and a touchdown in Detroit’s 32–26 loss at Carolina on Sunday night, 20.48. Aaron Jones had 128 yards from scrimmage for Minnesota, 16.8. Colston Loveland, whom the Moth said Carl refused to bench, caught six for 57, 11.7, more than his first three weeks combined. Ka’imi Fairbairn, the kicker Carl got from Bite for Evan McPherson, made three field goals including one from 50 and scored 16; McPherson scored 5 for Bite, and the kicker trade stands 21–16 for Carl after two weeks. The Seahawks defense had two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and four sacks, 12. George Pickens caught two for 75, 9.5. The best lineup on the roster was 139.88, which loses by 14.

The Moth Observer opened his preview by asking how in the heck Carl was 2–1, applauded him for it, and picked Bite. Carl is 2–2 and 8–20 against the field, one game better than Cliff and with one more win. Bite’s two wins have come by 50 and 47; his two losses were by 9 and 66.

The series is tied 8–8 after ten seasons, the third series to land there this week after Kyle–Mitch and Jordan–Cliff. Bite plays Jordan next in the Chicken Sandwich Showdown, where Jordan leads 10–8. Carl plays Drake, who leads 13–5.

Mitch beat Kyle 136.20 to 89.98 in the Moth vs. the Curse. Kyle came in 3–0, first on all eight Coaches Poll ballots for the second straight week, first in the commissioner’s rankings, and 20–1 against the field. He scored the fewest points in the league by 16.60, went 0–7 against the field, and lost by 46.22. The best lineup on his roster was 154.32, which beats Mitch by 18. The 64.34 points he left on the bench are the most anyone has left this season and the second most ever left by the team leading the league in points, behind Jordan’s 72.20 in Week 3 of 2023.

The week began on Tuesday with a trade: Bhayshul Tuten, Deebo Samuel and $9 of waiver money to Drake for Joe Burrow and Ladd McConkey. On Thursday morning Kyle signed Trevor Lawrence, for the second time in eight days, and cut Tony Pollard. On Thursday evening he signed Alvin Kamara and cut Dak Prescott, his tenth-round pick, who had started every game and scored 14.4, 29.76 and 18.94. That left three quarterbacks on the roster and one in the lineup, and the one was Lawrence: 18 of 23 for 227 yards and a touchdown, sacked four times, in Jacksonville’s 22–17 win at Cincinnati, 13.08. Burrow was on the other sideline of the same game, throwing 54 passes, completing 39 of them for 428 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, and running for a score: 23.72 on Kyle’s bench. Kamara scored two touchdowns on Monday night, 22.8, also on the bench. Pollard, signed by Thomas on Sunday morning, scored 13.0 for the Memorial.

Prescott was a free agent for about two days. On Sunday morning Mitch cut Isaiah Likely for Sam Darnold, then cut Darnold for Prescott within the hour and started him over Jalen Hurts. Prescott completed 32 of 45 for 335 yards and a touchdown in Dallas’s 34–30 comeback at Houston and scored 18.1 against the man who cut him. Hurts threw for 93 yards in Philadelphia’s 24–20 loss to the Rams, 13.52 on the bench. Darnold scored 13.32 and Likely caught seven passes for 66 yards, 13.6, both as free agents. Mitch had also cut Emanuel Wilson on Wednesday to make room for Juwan Johnson, his $16 tight end; Wilson ran for 81 yards and a touchdown and caught another for Seattle, 27.0, which would have been the second-best score on Mitch’s roster.

Javonte Williams, the fourth-round pick, carried 19 times for 62 yards and three touchdowns and caught five passes, 31.3. Puka Nacua, back after two missed games, caught nine for 125 and ran one in, 27.7. The Moth Observer had written that Mitch would need 30 from Nacua and 14 from DJ Moore to have a chance; he got 27.7 and 2.7 and won by 46. Ashton Jeanty had 126 yards from scrimmage, 18.6. Derrick Henry scored against Tennessee, his old team, 15.9 in the flex. Johnson, the fifth tight end Mitch has owned this season and the fourth he has started, caught six passes for 59 yards on Monday night, 11.9; Harold Fannin, cut in Week 3 and re-signed on Wednesday, caught a touchdown on the bench, 11.7. The Jaguars defense, signed Thursday, intercepted two passes and scored 4. The best lineup on the roster was 144.90.

James Cook was Kyle’s top starter at 16.3, with 75 yards and a touchdown in Buffalo’s 29–26 loss to the Patriots. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught eight for 75, 15.5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba caught five for 76 in Seattle’s 30–23 win over the Chargers, 12.6. Trey McBride was targeted 12 times and turned them into seven catches for 31 yards, 10.1. D’Andre Swift ran 15 times for 58 and lost a fumble, 7.4. Parker Washington, the ninth-round pick, caught one pass for seven yards in the flex, 2.0. Will Reichard, Jordan’s kicker, scored 19, more than any player Kyle started. On the bench, Kyle Monangai, whom Mitch drafted in the 13th round and cut two days later, carried 30 times for 146 yards and two touchdowns in Chicago’s 23–12 win over the Jets, 28.0. Sam LaPorta caught eight for 84 and a touchdown, 22.4. Bucky Irving scored 6.1, and McConkey, in his first week as an Obliterator, caught none of his two targets.

The 89.98 is the third-lowest score ever by a 3–0 team. The other two were Drake’s 86.70 in 2020 and Cliff’s 87.56 in 2022, both also in Week 4, both also by the team leading the league in points. Kyle is still 3–1, still first in points at 584.74, and still first in all-play at 20–8, tied with Thomas. Mitch is 2–2 and 11–17, and has won four of the last five meetings. The series is tied 8–8 after ten seasons. The Moth, who picked Kyle, is 3–1 for the week and 10–6 for the season. Kyle plays Thomas next, in the first meeting of the two 3–1 teams. Mitch plays Cliff, a series tied 9–9.