Key Matchups Remaining for Each Team
If you look ahead at the schedule, each team has some very important games left. Virtually any team can be benefitted in some way by winning these key games, so I thought it would be fun to go through each team and see them. Repeated games will use some or all of the same writeups. This article was made leading up to Week 9.
-Commish
The Bridge Road Orcas
Week 11 vs. Rubber Buckys
The week 11 matchup sees two of the bottom teams face off as both teams are missing key pieces (D Jones, Olave, Kamara, Pittman, Colts D and Jacob's kicker). This could easily be a toilet bowl preview, or a deciding matchup in the toilet bowl seeding. It's also a Mickey Mouse Cup game, but neither team seems to be pushing towards that goal at the moment.
Week 12 vs. Need for K1Speed
The two bottom seeds currently will face off in week 12, which will hand one of these teams a key tiebreaker in the toilet bowl standings. The problem for the Orcas is that K1Speed is very likely to finish last anyways, so that tiebreaker is likely to only really be worth the 11th seed toilet bowl BYE if it's being used. The win is certainly more valuable than the tiebreaker for the Orcas, and this is a must-win for either team.
Bona Vista Beer Wolves
Week 11 vs. Zark's Sharks
This could be the matchup of the season. The #1 and #2 offenses in the league going at it in a Mickey Cup game, with a tiebreaker on the line, and they're currently both sitting at the top of the standings by record. With Week 12 being the Mickey Cup Finals, it's possible if this matchup turns into a high scoring one, that there's an immediate rematch.
Week 14 vs. Sacks in the City
The regular season finale could have massive implications on both teams here, as the Beer Wolves go for the #1 seed, and Sacks in the City looks to improve its standing in the seeding. The Beer Wolves have an opportunity to sweep the defending champs in this game as well. It could be a match that decides the division if luck favors the Sacks leading up to this game.
For(th)ky Down
Week 9 vs. Parma Pirates
While For(th)ky Down has been trending down recently, they are still in contention for a playoff spot, and an easy way to get momentum rolling would be to beat the Pirates. This should be a very contested matchup that hinges on how much Cook and JSN are going to explode this week. Having the tiebreaker on the Pirates is also a benefit if both teams end up in the Toilet Bowl.
Week 11 vs. Washington Fantasy Team
The Fantasy Team has been hot as of the writing of this, and both teams sit at the same 3-5 record. Something tells me that both teams will need a win one way or another this week. Let's put it this way, if either team wants to make the playoffs, they need to win this game. If they want seeding advantage in the Toilet Bowl, same thing. It's an out of division game in the bottom half of the league that still holds a ton of weight.
GIRTH
Week 11 vs. Sacks in the City
If Lamar Jackson comes back for Sacks, this could turn into a really important and contentious game. Saquon's availability will be major here, as will Omarion Hampton's, though it's looking like he won't suit up based on the latest reporting. These are teams that are fighting to get into the top three seeds right now, and an out of division loss is the last thing either team needs here.
Week 12 vs. Bona Vista Beer Wolves
This matchup could be huge, but could is the operating word here. Week 12 is the Mickey Cup Finals, which will see the two highest scoring teams of the Cup getting into the finals. Since the Beer Wolves are the top offense as of now, there's actually a good chance this game gets flexed to whoever else's opponent scores the most. That is, if GIRTH themselves don't make it. Either way, week 12 will be a big test for this team, and if it is the Beer Wolves, either in the cup finals or not, it will be a huge game for seeding purposes.
Need for K1Speed
Week 11 vs. Shit Eating Skunks
This is about pride for K1Speed. As the leading candidate to lose the Toilet Bowl and become the Skunks, wouldn't it prove to the league that they were not going down without a fight by taking down the current Skunks? Any win is a good win for this franchise right now, but beating the Skunks would just feel great.
Week 12 vs. The Bridge Road Orcas
The two bottom seeds currently will face off in week 12, which will hand one of these teams a key tiebreaker in the toilet bowl standings. The problem for the Orcas is that K1Speed is very likely to finish last anyways, so that tiebreaker is likely to only really be worth the 11th seed toilet bowl BYE if it's being used. This is a must-win for either team.
Parma Pirates
Week 9 vs. For(th)ky Down
While For(th)ky Down has been trending down recently, they are still in contention for a playoff spot, and an easy way to get momentum rolling would be to beat the Pirates. This should be a very contested matchup that hinges on how much Cook and JSN are going to explode this week. Having the tiebreaker on the Pirates is also a benefit if both teams end up in the Toilet Bowl.
Week 13 vs. Zark's Sharks
While these teams must play two more times, this is the matchup that projects to be the most competitive, as the Pirates best two players are out on BYE in the week 10 version of this matchup. Winning this matchup for the Pirates would likely even the tiebreaker (if the Sharks don't hold the Mickey Cup), as well as apply pressure in the division. If the Pirates were to make the playoffs, this could be a huge reason why if they could pull off an upset.
Rubber Buckys
Week 11 vs. The Bridge Road Orcas
The week 11 matchup sees two of the bottom teams face off as both teams are missing key pieces (D Jones, Olave, Kamara, Pittman, Colts D and Jacob's kicker). This could easily be a toilet bowl preview, or a deciding matchup in the toilet bowl seeding. It's also a Mickey Mouse Cup game, but neither team seems to be pushing towards that goal at the moment.
Week 14 vs. Parma Pirates
The Buckys could have the chance to play spoiler in week 14 if the Pirates are still in the playoff mix by then. If not, it's a game for bragging rights and Toilet Bowl seeding. Either way, this game will have more weight than even the Week 2 game where the Buckys won. The Buckys sweeping the Commish on the season would be one of the better achievements of the franchise.
Sacks in the City
Week 11 vs. GIRTH
If Lamar Jackson comes back for Sacks, this could turn into a really important and contentious game. Saquon's availability will be major here, as will Omarion Hampton's, though it's looking like he won't suit up based on the latest reporting. These are teams that are fighting to get into the top three seeds right now, and an out of division loss is the last thing either team needs here. Sacks in the City has promised glory in the Mickey Cup (based on their awesome hype movie), so we have a little extra to play for there as Sacks looks to make the finals.
Week 14 vs. Bona Vista Beer Wolves
The regular season finale could have massive implications on both teams here, as the Beer Wolves go for the #1 seed, and Sacks in the City looks to improve its standing in the seeding. The Beer Wolves have an opportunity to sweep the defending champs in this game as well. It could be a match that decides the division if luck favors the Sacks leading up to this game.
SLATTS SLIMES
Week 9 vs. Washington Fantasy Team
With Fantasy Team being hot, and the Slimes losing a matchup in week 8, this matchup holds more importance than it would have previously to both teams. For WFT, a win here would vault them up the pecking order significantly, while the Slimes could retain the #1 seed headed into the Mickey Mouse Cup / full pick window opening in week 10. While I don't see a tiebreaker coming into play much with this matchup, both teams would love a win here.
Week 12 vs. Zark's Sharks
This matchup could be huge, but could is the operating word here. Week 12 is the Mickey Cup Finals, which will see the two highest scoring teams of the Cup getting into the finals. With the Sharks being a top two scoring team, it's possible that the Slimes are flexed into a different matchup. Still, being down Harvey will test this team's depth against a quality opponent. It's also possible that this team is celebrating a franchise record in wins leading up to this week, or even going for the record. It's a great time to be a Slimes fan.
Shit Eating Skunks
Week 10 vs. Bona Vista Beer Wolves
This is a divsional matchup that you think would favor the Beer Wolves, but with Pickens and Mahomes both being on BYE in week 10, the Skunks are very much in play here. The sad thing for the Skunks is their second best player right now, Chase Brown, will also be on BYE. If the Skunks want to make the playoffs, they'll have to beat some tough teams, so why not the team sitting with the best record as of today?
Week 11 vs. Need for K1Speed
The Skunks would want to prove that they are not the worst team in the league anymore, by beating the worst team in the league now. Basically, this is a Skunks present vs Skunks future (possibly) matchup. If playoffs are on the line for the Skunks, even better. I think we will know after week 11 how serious the current Skunks are in terms of being a playoff team.
Washington Fantasy Team
Week 9 vs. SLATTS SLIMES
With Fantasy Team being hot, and the Slimes losing a matchup in week 8, this matchup holds more importance than it would have previously to both teams. For WFT, a win here would vault them up the pecking order significantly, while the Slimes could retain the #1 seed headed into the Mickey Mouse Cup / full pick window opening in week 10. While I don't see a tiebreaker coming into play much with this matchup, both teams would love a win here.
Week 11 vs. For(th)ky Down
The Fantasy Team has been hot as of the writing of this, and both teams sit at the same 3-5 record. Something tells me that both teams will need a win one way or another this week. Let's put it this way, if either team wants to make the playoffs, they need to win this game. If they want seeding advantage in the Toilet Bowl, same thing. It's an out of division game in the bottom half of the league that still holds a ton of weight.
Zark's Sharks
Week 11 vs. Bona Vista Beer Wolves
This could be the matchup of the season. The #1 and #2 offenses in the league going at it in a Mickey Cup game, with a tiebreaker on the line, and they're currently both sitting at the top of the standings by record. With Week 12 being the Mickey Cup Finals, it's possible if this matchup turns into a high scoring one, that there's an immediate rematch.
Week 13 vs. Parma Pirates
While these teams must play two more times, this is the matchup that projects to be the most competitive, as the Pirates best two players are out on BYE in the week 10 version of this matchup. Winning this matchup for the Pirates would likely even the tiebreaker (if the Sharks don't hold the Mickey Cup), as well as apply pressure in the division. The Sharks could be looking to get a BYE around this time, and they likely won't be able to afford a loss here. Getting the season sweep would be even sweeter if it came with a 10th win on the season, which would match the franchise record for the Sharks.