No Sweat: NASA Tuesdays Go 3-0 for the First Time Since 2017
Three teams entered Week 3 unbeaten, and two of them were scheduled to meet. It was billed as a showdown. It played out more like a demolition with a countdown clock.
Jahmyr Gibbs did most of the damage. His 31 points were more than the Collies scored as a team, and it wasn't close to the whole story. Matthew Stafford added 17 and Davante Adams 10, a Rams connection that cooled off to a merely fine 27 combined after their 57 last week. Chase McLaughlin (9) and the Bears' offensive line (9) kept the chains moving, and Travis Kelce (7) and even Sean Payton (5) chipped in. NASA's depth was almost unfair: Arvell Reese scored 10 from the bench, more than either linebacker the Collies started.
The Collies, meanwhile, survived last week by two points and were due for a correction. The correction was 48. Harold Fannin (15), Kenneth Walker III (13), and Tee Higgins (11) held up their end, but Josh Allen went from 35 last week to 8, Saquon Barkley managed 2, and the Buccaneers' line finished in the red at -2. Stefon Diggs, who scored 13 last week, sat on the bench and produced 0. A quarterback who posts 35 one week and 8 the next is the fantasy equivalent of a rental car.
The numbers:
- Margin: 48 points, the largest of the week, on the highest score of the week
- Season to date: 219 points scored (73 per game) against 85 allowed, a +134 differential
- History: NASA Tuesdays are 3-0 for the first time since 2017
NASA gets the Oysters on Thursday, then the Amish in Week 5. The bigger date is with the Lionhearts, who are also 3-0 and share the Burgundy Division. They meet in Week 9 and again in Week 12, so keep your excuses ready. The Collies fall to 2-1 and draw the Amish Electricians in Week 4, hoping to leave this one in the rearview.
Around the League
Rocky Mountain Oysters 25, Omar's Coming 21. The closest game of the week was settled by a transaction rather than a touchdown. Omar's Coming dropped Montez Sweat but left him activated, which cost them 10 points, and the box score shows Sweat at -10. Omar's lost by four. Without the penalty it's 31-25 Omar's. The Oysters got a quietly solid 18 from Marcus Mariota and ground it out despite 3 from Ashton Jeanty and -2 from Sean McVay. For the second straight week the difference in a close game was something a manager did rather than something a player did, and a seminar is probably overdue. The Oysters are 2-1, and Omar's is 0-3 and plays the Norsemen next.
Richard's Lionhearts 56, Amish Electricians 38. Seven straight wins over the Amish now, which makes this less a rivalry than a subscription. Jaxon Smith-Njigba went for 26 after last week's 32, and 58 points in two weeks makes the Lionhearts look like a wide receiver with a supporting cast. Joe Burrow added 20 and Christian Watson 12. Jared Goff (16) and Kyren Williams (11) kept the Electricians from a complete short circuit, but not by much. Richard's is 3-0.
Aint Nothing But a Jew Thing 56, Norsemen 15. After getting flattened by the Lionhearts last week, ANJ found someone else to flatten. Brock Purdy went for 30, with Brock Bowers (17), Nakobe Dean (15), and Derrick Henry (14) all playing along. Drake Maye followed last week's zero with a -5, a descent that at least has consistency going for it. Baltimore's offensive line (17) was the lone light in Valhalla. ANJ is 2-1, and the Norsemen are 1-2.
Sacks on the Beach 48, Crusaders 19. Sacks spread the wealth like sunscreen: everybody got a little. Juwan Johnson (14), James Cook (13), Dak Prescott (12), and Will Reichard (12) all contributed, and yes, the kicker tied the quarterback. The Crusaders got a one-man show from Bijan Robinson (27) and nothing else to speak of, with Hurts and Shanahan combining for 8. Sacks is 2-1, and the Crusaders are 1-2.
MeggaMen 33, Gallic Warriors 8. This was a rematch of last year's championship game, and it showed the MeggaMen finally getting some offense. Last week a linebacker outscored the entire lineup. This week Drake London (18) and Garrett Wilson (16) took care of the offense while the defense piled up 49 points on its own, led by Will Anderson (15), Sonny Styles (13), and Jeremy Chinn (12). Patrick Mahomes was back in the Gallic Warriors' lineup this time, which fixed one problem and revealed there were others. MeggaMen 1-2, Gallic Warriors 0-3.
The Champions' Hangover Watch, Part 2: Last year's finalists finally met, and the rematch nobody ordered went about as you'd expect. They are a combined 1-5. Somewhere, last year's trophy is filing a complaint.
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