CREATIVE MISFORTUNE'S FANTASY BOWL I ~
(playing at Cincinnati Bengals)
vs
(playing at Green Bay Packers)
Misfortune Bowl I Preview:
The San Diego Chargers come into the championship game an astounding 11-2 (9-2, 2-0) overall on the fantasy season, despite being a mere 8-6 in real life. After clinching the AFC's top seed, they slipped a bit in their effort to gain a solid bye-week advantage, but ultimately did not need the help as they easily knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round without the extra advantage points.
A Thursday Night game against the inept San Francisco 49ers last week helped the Chargers score an impressive 25-point fantasy victory over the New England Patriots, who struggled to gain any fantasy traction against the tough Green Bay defense.
San Diego's championship aspirations, both in the Fantasy Bowl and in real-life, hinge on how well they perform in their upcoming trip to Cincinnati to face a beat-up Bengals team just marking time until the end of the season.
While the Chargers came into the fantasy playoffs as the cream of the AFC crop, the New York Giants had to fight through not only an extra game, but also had to overcome a bye-week advantage, in order to emerge as the champions of the NFC.
A solid, Wild Card victory over the Chicago Bears sent the Giants on their way to a matchup with the #2 seeded Green Bay Packers and their impressive 23-point bye-week advantage. But while New York demolished the Minnesota Vikings to score a solid 77 points, the Lions handed the Packers their worst loss of the season and, even with their great bye-week advantage, Green Bay still fell to the Giants by 20.
Riding high on a wave of emotion, New York stayed strong for three quarters against Philadelphia and scored enough fantasy points to secure a solid 97-66 victory over the NFC's top-seeded New Orleans Saints, who had trouble racking up any significant fantasy points against a Baltimore defense playing for real-life playoff positioning. Despite the great fourth quarter collapse against the Eagles, the Giants remain the only fantasy team standing in the NFC. Will a trip to Green Bay to face a tough defense that derailed New England's Fantasy Bowl hopes also be too much for the Giants to overcome this weekend?
Check back next Tuesday to find out who will be crowned the first ever Creative Misfortune Fantasy Football champion!
Conference Championship Game Results - Week 15
AFC #3 New England Patriots (playing vs Green Bay Packers) at
AFC #1 San Diego Chargers (playing vs San Francisco 49ers)
Fantasy Score: San Diego Chargers 100, New England Patriots 75
New England's Key Performers: Aaron Hernandez (15), Defense (15), Tom Brady (14)
San Diego's Key Performers: Vincent Jackson (29), Philip Rivers (22), Defense (12)
NFC #3 New York Giants (playing vs Philadelphia Eagles) at
NFC #1 New Orleans Saints (playing at Baltimore Ravens)
Fantasy Score: New York Giants 97, New Orleans Saints 66
New York's Key Performers: Eli Manning (25), Mario Manningham (21), Hakeem Nicks (12)
New Orleans' Key Performers: Drew Brees (20), Jimmy Graham (14), Marques Colston (8)
Creative Misfortune Fantasy Playoffs - Seeds and Prior Results
Divisional Game Results - Week 14
AFC #4 Pittsburgh Steelers (playing vs Cincinnati Bengals) at
AFC #1 San Diego Chargers (BWA*: +12) (playing vs Kansas City Chiefs)
Fantasy Score: San Diego Chargers 98, Pittsburgh Steelers 77
Pittsburgh's Key Performers: Defense (25), Hines Ward (11), Shaun Suisham (11)
San Diego's Key Performers: Malcolm Floyd (17), Defense (14), Philip Rivers (13), Bye-Week Advantage (12)
AFC #3 New England Patriots (playing at Chicago Bears) at
AFC #2 Indianapolis Colts (BWA*: +21) (playing at Tennessee Titans)
Fantasy Score: New England Patriots 116, Indianapolis Colts 110
New England's Key Performers: Tom Brady (22), Deion Branch (21), Defense (20)
Indianapolis' Key Performers: Pierre Garcon (21), Bye-Week Advantage (21), Peyton Manning (20), Adam Vinatieri (12)
NFC #5 Atlanta Falcons (playing at Carolina Panthers) at
NFC #1 New Orleans Saints (BWA*: +23) (playing vs St. Louis Rams)
Fantasy Score: New Orleans Saints 105, Atlanta Falcons 82
Atlanta's Key Performers: Michael Turner (30), Defense (13), Matt Ryan (11)
New Orleans' Key Performers: Bye-Week Advantage (23), Defense (19), Drew Brees (16), Marques Colston (16)
NFC #3 New York Giants (playing at Minnesota Vikings) at
NFC #2 Green Bay Packers (BWA*: +23) (playing at Detroit Lions)
Fantasy Score: New York Giants 77, Green Bay Packers 57
New York's Key Performers: Brandon Jacobs (17), Ahmad Bradshaw (17), Defense (13)
Green Bay's Key Performers: Bye-Week Advantage (23), Defense (10), Matt Flynn (6), Greg Jennings (5)
Wild Card Game Results - Week 13
AFC #6 Baltimore Ravens (playing vs Pittsburgh Steelers) at
AFC #3 New England Patriots (playing vs New York Jets)
Fantasy Score: New England Patriots 119, Baltimore Ravens 56
Baltimore's Key Performers: Anquan Boldin (17), Joe Flacco (13), Defense (9)
New England's Key Performers: Tom Brady (29), BenJarvus Green-Ellis (19), Wes Welker (14)
AFC #5 New York Jets (playing at New England Patriots) at
AFC #4 Pittsburgh Steelers (playing at Baltimore Ravens)
Fantasy Score: Pittsburgh Steelers 59, New York Jets 27
New York's Key Performers: Santonio Holmes (7), Shonne Greene (6), LaDainian Tomlinson (5)
Pittsburgh's Key Performers: Ben Roethlisberger (12), Defense (10), Isaac Redman (9)
NFC #6 Chicago Bears (playing at Detroit Lions) at
NFC #3 New York Giants (playing vs Washington Redskins)
Fantasy Score: New York Giants 87, Chicago Bears 71
Chicago's Key Performers: Matt Forte (15), Jay Cutler (12), Chester Taylor (12)
New York's Key Performers: Brandon Jacobs (22), Ahmad Bradshaw (21), Defense (20)
NFC #5 Atlanta Falcons (playing at Tampa Bay Buccaneers) at
NFC #4 San Francisco 49ers (playing at Green Bay Packers)
Fantasy Score: Atlanta Falcons 67, San Francisco 53
Atlanta's Key Performers: Michael Turner (14), Matt Ryan (12), Defense (9)
San Francisco's Key Performers: Vernon Davis (18), Jeff Reed (10), Troy Smith (9)
Top Seeds Playing for Bye-Week Advantage*
AFC #1 - San Diego Chargers (playing vs Oakland Raiders)
Fantasy Score: San Diego Chargers 50
San Diego's Key Performers: Antonio Gates (13), Philip Rivers (13), Malcom Floyd (7)
Divisional Matchup Bye-Week Advantage: 50/4 = 12.5 = +12 points
AFC #2 - Indianapolis Colts (playing vs Dallas Cowboys)
Fantasy Score: Indianapolis Colts 86
Indianapolis' Key Performers: Reggie Wayne (26), Peyton Manning (14), Javarris James (14)
Divisional Matchup Bye-Week Advantage: 86/4 = 21.5 = +21 points
NFC #1 - New Orleans Saints (playing at Cincinnati Bengals)
Fantasy Score: New Orleans Saints 93
New Orleans' Key Performers: Chris Ivory (23), Drew Brees (18), Robert Meachem (16)
Divisional Matchup Bye-Week Advantage: 93/4 = 23.25 = +23 points
NFC #2 - Green Bay Packers (playing vs San Francisco 49ers)
Fantasy Score: Green Bay Packers 95
Green Bay's Key Performers: Aaron Rodgers (26), Greg Jennings (24), Donald Driver (13)
Divisional Matchup Bye-Week Advantage: 95/4 = 23.75 = +23 points
*Bye-week Advantage - To reflect the benefit gained by the top 2 seeds in each conference getting a bye week before they host Divisional Playoff games, the four teams who earn these bye weeks in the fantasy standings will play Week 13 to gain bonus points that will be added to their score in the Divisional Playoff round. For every 4 points they score in their Week 13 game, they will receive 1 bonus point in their Divisional round matchup.
For example, if Indianapolis scores 80 fantasy points in Week 13 against Dallas, they would receive 20 bonus points (80/4) for their Divisional matchup. Conversely, if they had an off week and scored 22 fantasy points, they would only receive 5 bonus points (22/4, any fractional points rounded down).
Since there are no bye weeks between the Divisional games and the Championship Games, bonus points will only be a factor in the Divisional playoff games.
AFC Seeds
Division Champions ~
1. San Diego Chargers (9-2, 905 pts)
2. Indianapolis Colts (8-3, 876 pts)
3. New England Patriots (8-3, 855 pts)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3, 791 pts)
Wild Cards ~
5. New York Jets (8-3, 817 pts)
6. Baltimore Ravens (8-3, 786 pts)
NFC Seeds
Division Champions ~
1. New Orleans Saints (10-1, 814 pts)
2. Green Bay Packers (8-3, 859 pts)
3. New York Giants (7-4, 879 pts)
4. San Francisco 49ers (5-6, 651 points)
Wild Cards ~
5. Atlanta Falcons (7-4, 822 pts)
6. Chicago Bears (7-4, 729 pts)
Tomorrow, The Art of Creative Misfortune Power Rankings. After a ton of upsets and epic collapses in week 15, which teams will move into the Creative Elite?
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