Glimmer of hope in unpredictable upset

LeSean McCoy : 9 carries for 40 yards & a lost fumble; 4 catches for 23 yards pic.twitter.com/tx9HqYJzMK

— Lee Harvey (@AyeThatsLee) October 28, 2019

It was miraculous. Mediocre performances abounded across the Electric Horsemen roster but overconfidence would doom 3rd and Unpredictable. Management, when asked what they were drinking, replied with, “No booze tonight. Staying sober to make sure I remember beating you.” That was it, that was when it all fell apart. An hour later and Lesean McCoy was fumbling away points and getting sent to the bench never to return again.

But let’s not forget the last second add of Danny Dimes. 3rd and Unpredictable would be the first to acquire a quarterback – bringing on Derek Carr. The Horsemen were then stunned that Teddy Bridgewater would be getting sent back to the bench in favor of the returning Drew Brees. Mitch Trubisky then joined the roster. He didn’t last long. After some soul searching, they would bring back Daniel Jones… who would be the top quarterback for the week.

The Horsemen were victorious and a bit of life was breathed into what was becoming a dire circumstance. It wasn’t exactly revenge for their ousting from the playoffs in 2018, but it was something like that. They have won 4 of the last 5 games and now lead the rivalry 6-5-1 all-time and are looking toward a second straight regular season sweep when they meet again in week 12.

Now only one game behind 3rd and Unpredictable and Closet Hillbilly, they’re just a few upsets away from sneaking into the playoffs.

This stretch of schedule is brutal. After upsetting what looks like on paper the best team in the league, the Horsemen go on to visit the defending champion – Strictly Southern. At 7-1, they appear to have a grip on the one seed for the playoffs with a one game lead on Dumpies, Straight Laced and Bumpy’s Berries, as well as Dainty leader Dangerous Angels. Their lone lo

ss was 8 weeks ago, in week 1, to 3rd and Unpredictable – the current point leader. Despite their 7-1 record and current 1 seed, Strictly Southern is only 4th in points – averaging 6 less per game than the leader.

After weathering an extreme bye week against Pork Shanks, Southern is locked and loaded while the Horsemen will face a similar dilemma – just against a much more formidable opponent. The Horses will be lacking four keepers this week in Julio Jones, Michael Thomas, Todd Gurley and Antonio Brown. The loss of two top 6 receivers is brutal, and they’ll be depending on some terrible offenses to come through with some outlier performances in order to make this a game.

The visiting team is counting on a content defending champion with little motivation in this one, while the Horsemen will be fighting for their playoff lives. Aside from the best two running backs in the game, they can at least hope all of the inconsistent performers decide to consistently fail this week.

The Horsemen are the largest underdog in team history with a point spread of 33.9 and a 37% chance of victory. FantasyPros is slightly less bullish, suggesting a 21% chance to pull off the upset.

Despite a big week 8 for the Horsemen that would see the division leader tumble, playoff odds were unimproved. Closet Hillbilly would take the greatest tumble – down 14 on a massive loss to the Dangerous Angels. The Angels, meanwhile, would leap 14 and take sole control of the Dainty Division at 6-2 – a year removed from expansion status and a 5-8 finish. As the current odd man out and one game out of the playoffs, the Horsemen remain clinging to a shred of hope that Unpredictable or the Closet Hillbilly might collapse and open the window for a 6th straight playoff berth. The Electric Horsemen technically own the tiebreaker on both at this point.

• Nosebleeds @ Drunken Aces – The Nosebleeds are so bad. Their loss here serves to improve the 2020 first pick the Horsemen acquired from them.
• Dangerous Angels @ Heavy Pistols – The Heavy Pistols have done little to improve this year with a league low 9 transactions. They’ve moved a player to IR twice, so it appears they know how to use the function… they just don’t care.
• Straight Laced @ 3rd and Unpredictable – All that quarterback depth sure didn’t do Unpredictable much good. They now find themselves starting Derek Carr after trading away Prescott, having Matt Ryan on bye and being too scared to start Lamar Jackson against the Patriots. This Laced roster isn’t exactly a world beating one, but they look to deal a blow to Unpredictable that might surprisingly put their playoff hopes in jeopardy.
• Bumpy’s Berries @ Closet Hillbilly – The Berries aren’t likely to do the Horsemen any favors with a pretty significant set of bye weeks, but their middling roster might make way for an opening down the road.
• Legs With Holes @ Pork Shanks – A would-be quarterbackless Legs With Holes was gifted Gardner Minshew from Pork Shanks on waivers just in time to start against them. Neither of these teams matter, but a loss to one or the other would officially eliminate them from the playoffs.