Domination in 2015 Battle of TC Jester

 

It wasn’t an easy road to get there, but the Horsemen managed to slip into the playoffs with their week 13 slaughter of division rival The Nosebleeds… and it wasn’t even close.

In game 2 of the season series (a series that had never been swept) the Horsemen put up the largest BOTCJ victory in franchise history. They destroyed the division ‘champions’ by 60 points to follow up their week 2 trouncing by 46 – setting consecutive matchup records for largest margin of victory. Ben Roethlisberger, strangely dropped by Legs With Holes earlier in the season, set a franchise record for most points in a single game (41) and Antonio Brown set a new personal best (29).

 

After 8 total games in the series, they now lead 5-3 with an average margin of 15.25… this means the Horsemen only have a larger margin against the lowly Extreme Baby Throwers. The Battle of TC Jester, you ask? The Horsemen have now kept the trophy for three straight years.

That’s back to back to back rivalry champions.

The Nosebleeds are now on the hook for league entry fees for the Horsemen in 2016.

The Horsemen have now led the Inner Loop in scoring for 3 consecutive years and set a league high in the process. In those three years they have not won the division once. The balanced Outer Loop only takes one team to the playoffs… again… and the season ending trophy ceremony will have 4 teams splitting the tab.

So now, the Horsemen (7-5-1) look to make it 3 straight victories against the Nosebleeds (8-5), in what is arguably the most important game in the Battle of TC Jester rivalry. The matchup seems like a good one… but so do the rest of the remaining contenders. Of the remaining playoff teams, Bumpy’s Berries and Drunken Aces, are 3rd and 4th in margin of defeat.

The only teams not in the playoffs with positive margins in favor of the Horsemen are Strictly Southern and XBT.

Team	APF	APA	Delta	W	L	T	%	Games
Extreme Baby Throwers	109.56	87.78	21.78	5	3	1	63%?	9
Nosebleeds	110.75	95.50	15.25	5	3		63%	8
Bumpy’s Berries	120.00	106.00	14.00	5	0		100%	5
Drunken Aces	96.10	84.80	11.30	7	3		70%	10

Another interesting trinket. Bumpy Berries have lost 3 games this year. All of those losses were to Inner Loopers. And they will have a chance to redeem one – if not two of them in the playoffs because every one of the teams they’ve been beaten by made it to the playoffs.

The Horsemen should see the return of Tyler Eifert after his neck stinger a couple weeks ago, deepening a pretty stout starting lineup. T.J. Yeldon looks to make a fifth consecutive start after a season high 18 last week, and Antonio Brown (now 3rd in all-time franchise scoring) has his eyes set on overtaking Matt Forte at #2.

It’s hard to disagree with the oddsmakers who have the Horsemen favored by nearly 8 points – but there are some huge motivating factors for the Nosebleeds to come out strong, including the fact that the Horsemen ownership put on a vulgar tirade of a show in post game interviews, calling the Nosebleeds’ coach a bitch multiple times, and also the alleged lead role the Horsemen played in Vetogate 2015.

This first ever playoff matchup edition of the Battle of TC Jester should pull the highest ratings in Cosmopolitan Outlaw League history.