Welcome to the first installment of the weekly recaps for the BBL! In the NFL, almost two games ended in a tie, (one did) but the week ended with a bizarre decision in the Monday night game. Brandon McManus was called upon to kick a 64-yard field goal rather than having the ball in the hands of their best player on 4th and 5. If you didn’t catch the game, McManus missed and the Broncos lost the game. Not a good start. But the best part of the night was after the game on Sportscenter with SVP when Ryan Clark was breaking down the game and threw shade at Drew Lock for being on the bench. Hope you caught it.
Not a good start, is also a good saying for half the teams in the BBL after week one. Two matchups came down to the wire late in the fourth quarter on Monday night, with one team completing the comeback win while the other did not have such luck.
On to the recaps!
WINNER: Tundra Icecaps 148.59
The Icecaps put up the second highest scoring team on the week on the backs of Herbert, Cousins, Diggs, Mixon and Dillon. Playing a relatively clean lineup, only four starters scored in singles digits, with one scoring less than five. It was a good start for a team with championship aspirations.
Good Starts: Herbert (29), Cousins (22), Diggs (20), Mixon (17), Dillon (17)
Bad Starts: Eagles defense (3)
LOSER: Hurts so Good 131.87
131 was a solid showing this week but HSG just had a better opponent. Five players scored in single digits while three players scored less than six including Rodgers with a cool two points. Hurts, Pittman Jr. and Barkley tried willing this team to victory, but it could not overcome.
Good Starts: Hurts (26), Pittman Jr. (21), Barkley (30)
Bad Starts: Rodgers (2), Green Bay defense (1)
WINNER: Tropical Thunder 120.14
Facing a 15-point deficit entering Monday night, the Thunder slowly erased the gap throughout the night, taking the lead late in the fourth quarter and held the lead to complete the win. Williams and the Broncos defense combined for 20 to take the five-point win from the Squatches. First round pick Justin Jefferson went off for 32 points while second round pick Swift scored 26. Even with three players scoring one point or less it was enough to start the year 1-0.
Good Starts: Jefferson (32), Swift (26)
Bad Starts: Mike Williams (1), Njoku (0), Prater (1)
LOSER: Everglade Squatches 115.80
As mentioned, the Squatches saw their lead dwindle on Monday which turned into a loss. They got off to a bad start on Thursday when they got a combined 16 from Stafford and Tyler Bass, but the only person they can blame is themselves. A late roster move cost them the victory by playing Brandin Cooks over Michael Thomas, which proved to be the deciding factor in winning or losing. That roster move came four minutes before rosters locked for the day so that one is going to sting. Kelce and Brown were the bright spots for this squad this week.
Good Starts: Brown (19), Kelce (21)
Benched: Thomas (18)
WINNER: Alpine Avalanche 123.58
Andrew Erk is kicking off the season 1-0 thanks to first overall pick Jonathan Taylor who scored 27 points. They also got 24 points each from Winston and Murray. Half the roster scored in single digits but it’s all they needed to start the year off right. The only bad news of the day was finding out starting running back Mitchell will be out for eight weeks after a knee injury.
Good Starts: Taylor (27)
Bad Starts: Folk (1)
LOSER: Sahara Sandstorms 118.07
Needing a come from behind victory at the hands of Russell Wilson, Logan is someone who has to be frustrated that Wilson didn’t have the ball in his hands at the end of the Broncos game. Adams was the best part of this team making an immediate impact in Vegas scoring 23. Sporting a strong special teams part of the roster, kicker Greg Joseph and the Baltimore defense combined for 26 points. The Sandstorms first round pick Austin Ekeler was only able to get eight points, surely less than the Sandstorms had hoped.
Great Starts: Adams (23)
Bad Starts: Jones (10), Pitts (2)
WINNER: Mistreated Misfits 156.18
Scoring the highest point total of the week, Ben can thank Mahomes for accounting for 28% of the team’s points, putting up 44 alone. Sanders, Kupp and the Tampa Bay defense also helped the cause, with the four of those players combining for 104. If your Ben, this week could not have started any better.
Good Starts: Mahomes (44), Kupp (21), Sanders (18), Tampa Bay defense (21)
Bad Starts: Knox (0)
LOSER: Amazon Piranhas 129.25
Another loss on opening day for this team, the Piranhas have to frustrated playing against the highest scoring team of the week. Thinking they had the QB 1 on the week after Josh Allen put on a clinic on Thursday night, they unfortunately witnessed a masterclass put on by Patrick Mahomes on Sunday afternoon. Half the roster scored in single digits, but otherwise put up a reasonable week.
Good Starts: Allen (38), Davis (15)
Bad Starts: Robinson (1)
WINNER: HCTM 125.79
Due to my own refusal to fully type out the name of this gimmicky player name, HCTM pulled out a win on an already injury riddled GWW team. After starting Cam Akers on Thursday night who scored a cool zero points, they overcame with five players scoring over 16 points, including Chase with 23.
Good Starts: Chase (23), Chubb (17), Gibson (17)
Bad Starts: Akers (0)
LOSER: GalensWinningWinners 101.98
If any team embodied the ‘not a good start’ line, it would be this one. Facing immediate regret after benching the Bills defense on Thursday, it didn’t improve after they had to watch Wentz and Jeudy score a lot of points on the bench. Adding insult to injury, this team will be without Prescott for the foreseeable future. Six starters scored in single digits, all of them scoring less than seven points. GWW will look to put this week behind them as soon as possible.
Good Starts: Jackson (26), Fournette (16)
Tough Starts: Prescott (4), Higgins (3), Moore (6)
Benched: Wentz (35), Jeudy (17), Bills defense (21)
Week 2 Matchups
Piranhas vs. HCTM
Sandstorms vs. GWW
Thunder vs. Icecaps
Squatches vs. Misfits
Avalanche vs. HSG
Closing
On to week two!
Cheers!
Books Boss League 