The Sanderson Gazette - 2025-12-31 - Back on Top

Blingabowl XVIII Recap

Rabbit def. Schertz, 110.55-100.52

The third closest Blingabowl of all-time came down to Monday night. Rabbit's Matthew Stafford (13.95) had a relative dud, but a late touchdown pass, following a TD wiped off the board for Schertz's Kyren Williams (14.27), ended things for good.

Rabs was led by Chase Brown (27.43) and Trey McBride (16.13), but Jaylen Waddle's 0.70 nearly did him in. Schertz's only twenty-point scorer was Joe Burrow (21.95), and he could have used more from Jameson Williams (4.93), Dallas Goedert (7.07), and Nico Collins (7.60).

Third-Place Game Recap

Kevin def. Richie, 108.18-73.95

Richie's charmed season fell flat at the end, as only Trevor Lawrence (24.75) and Quentin Johnston (13.07) came to play. Alec Pierce (zero) and Blake Corum (1.80) were both terrible.

Meanwhile, Kevin got strong showings from Jaxson Dart (26.15), Rhamondre Stevenson (24.03), and Ja'Marr Chase (20.00) as he earned third-place money.

Final Standings

  1. Rabbit
  2. Schertz
  3. Kevin
  4. Richie
  5. Rob
  6. Scott
  7. Dave
  8. Pulley
  9. Ed
  10. Mike R.
  11. Matt
  12. Babel
  13. Pat
  14. Derrek

Final Payouts

  • Rabbit: $352 (Blingabowl champion plus five Team Blangums awards)
  • Schertz: $126 (Blingabowl runner-up)
  • Kevin: $82 (third-place game winner plus two Team Blangums awards)
  • Scott: $60 (three Team Blangums awards)
  • Rob: $40 (two Team Blangums awards)
  • Dave: $20 (one Team Blangums award)
  • Mike R.: $20 (one Team Blangums award)

Awards

Team Blangums

Rabbit won the Sanderson Cup, had five Team Blangums awards, and profiles as one of the best teams in league history (CTRL+F for "2025 Rabbit"). He's the obvious recipient of this award.

Slapped Heartbeat

Derrek finished with the fewest wins, Pat had the fewest points, and Babel had the fewest expected wins. The tiebreaker here will be number of times getting their heartbeat slapped, which means Pat (with four, as many as the other two have combined), will take this award home.

Player Awards

Thank you to everyone who voted in the player awards survey Rob sent out - we got thirteen responses this year!

Regular Season MVP

  • Awarded to the player who was most crucial to the success of their team during the Blingaleague regular season.

Jonathan Taylor (Rabbit) was the overwhelming victor here, getting nine votes. Jahmyr Gibbs (Kevin) finished in second, while Bijan Robinson (Scott) and De'Von Achane (Schertz) also received votes.

Playoffs MVP

  • Awarded to the player whose postseason performance most helped their team advance in the playoffs.

Chase Brown (Rabbit) was equally overwhelming here, also receiving nine votes. Trevor Lawrence (Richie) got the other four.

Pickup of the Year

  • Awarded to the undrafted player who brought the most value to their team after being added via waivers or free agency midseason.

The rest of the player awards were the opposite of overwhelming, as no one received more than 50% for any. This one, specifically, had the winner with the fewest votes; Harold Fannin, Jr. (Matt) received just five. Michael Wilson (Rob) finished second, while Jacoby Brissett (Schertz), Daniel Jones (Mike R.), and Woody Marks (Schertz) all received votes, as well.

Keeper of the Year

  • Awarded to the player who was kept during the past offseason who gave their team the most value against their draft slot.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Pulley) won this award with six votes. Puka Nacua and Trey McBride (both Mike R.) tied for second, and Jahmyr Gibbs (Kevin) also received a vote.

Best Prospective Keeper

  • Awarded to the player(s) who seems poised to be the best new keeper heading into the next season. (Players kept once already and players with first round keeper status do not qualify for this award.)

The rule here was to vote for two, and Emeka Egbuka (Rob) and Drake Maye (Babel) were chosen by six and five voters, respectively. Tyler Warren (Mike R.) was the only other player to receive four or more votes.

Dud of the Year

  • Awarded to the first- or second-round player who most disappointed compared to expectations. (Note: While injuries may be taken into account, keep in mind that an injured player on a team’s bench is not as detrimental as a healthy player scoring poorly in a team’s starting lineup.)

Ashton Jeanty (1.01) edged out Lamar Jackson (1.09) for this award, 6-4. That's not surprising when you also consider that Dave traded Bijan Robinson for the rights to draft Jeanty.

Robby B Memorial Award for Excellence in Kicking

  • Awarded to the kicker who was excellent at kicking.

As one would expect, the top-scoring fantasy kicker, Jason Myers, won this award. Amazingly, Myers was a free agent until week nine, when Rob picked him up... only to trade him to Pulley before week ten.

Game of the Year

  • Awarded to the most noteworthy and exciting game of the Blingaleague season; high scores, narrow margins, and playoff stakes should be taken into account.

It's no surprise that Dave's week nine victory over Mike R. - by a score of 133.48-133.47 - ran away with this award. It's guaranteed to be the closest game in Blingaleague history until #teamtie actually happens.

Season Postmortems

Schertz, 8-6 (0.571), 1,471.16 points (105.08 average), 5th place, 8.13 expected wins

Schertz did a great job sticking to his guns despite sitting at 4-5 at one point. He fell just short of his ultimate goal, but can be proud of what he did accomplish this year.

For the first time in three years, he won't be keeping De'Von Achane and Kyren Williams. Woody Marks (9th) looks like he'll be able to step in as a very good keeper, though.

Rabbit, 12-2 (0.857), 1,692.56 points (120.90 average), 1st place, 10.64 expected wins

What else can we say about Rabs? He took home the Sanderson Cup for the third time ever, tying Matt for the most in league history.

Playoffs MVP Chase Brown can be kept for a 5th next year, which looks pretty good. And Jonathan Taylor for a late 1st or George Pickens for a late 3rd will probably round that out and give Rabs a nice head start to defending his title.

Blingapower Rankings

14. Pat (last year: 13th)

  • 2025: 4-10, 80.68 points per game, 0.294 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 15-27, 91.22 points per game, 0.387 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 87-139, 89.96 points per game, 0.384 expected winning percentage

Pat's horrendous 2025 brings him back to 14th in the Blingapower Rankings, a spot he's occupied at the end of seven of the past thirteen seasons.

NFL equivalent: Las Vegas Raiders.

13. Derrek (last year: 12th)

  • 2025: 3-11, 90.57 points per game, 0.400 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 12-30, 88.24 points per game, 0.349 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 123-116, 97.43 points per game, 0.483 expected winning percentage

It's actually Derrek, not Pat, who has the record, point total, and expected winning percentage over the past five years. But he has raised the Sanderson Cup twice, so he'll avoid the basement for now.

NFL equivalent: New York Giants.

12. Pulley (last year: 10th)

  • 2025: 6-8, 102.25 points per game, 0.549 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 18-24, 101.68 points per game, 0.513 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 131-108, 101.42 points per game, 0.526 expected winning percentage

This seems low for the Pullman, but his epic 2013-2017 stretch of finishing in the top three is now well into the past. And he does have the third worst record over the past three years.

NFL equivalent: New Orleans Saints.

11. Ed (last year: 7th)

  • 2025: 6-8, 92.98 points per game, 0.416 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 23-19, 98.60 points per game, 0.479 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 117-122, 100.07 points per game, 0.515 expected winning percentage

Ed stays ahead of Pulley due to his 11-win Blingabowl appearance in 2023.

NFL equivalent: Cincinnati Bengals.

10. Babel (last year: 6th)

  • 2025: 4-10, 84.01 points per game, 0.287 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 22-20, 97.51 points per game, 0.453 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 121-118, 100.79 points per game, 0.518 expected winning percentage

Babel, like Pulley, is years removed from significant playoff success. An especially bad 2025 causes him to slide into the bottom five in the power rankings.

NFL equivalent: Miami Dolphins.

9. Scott (last year: 14th)

  • 2025: 8-6, 113.80 points per game, 0.669 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 21-21, 99.77 points per game, 0.492 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 47-62, 97.96 points per game, 0.464 expected winning percentage

Scott finally made the playoffs, only bowing out in a close game to the eventual Blingabowl runner-up. He was a strong team all year and will move way up because of that.

NFL equivalent: San Francisco 49ers.

8. Richie (last year: 9th)

  • 2025: 8-6, 88.98 points per game, 0.407 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 20-22, 96.99 points per game, 0.461 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 83-104, 95.43 points per game, 0.445 expected winning percentage

Richie made the playoffs for the second straight year, but - as the Gazette has pointed out all year - he didn't really deserve it. Still, results matter, so he inches up to #8.

NFL equivalent: Pittsburgh Steelers.

7. Kevin (last year: 11th)

  • 2025: 12-2, 109.44 points per game, 0.617 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 21-21, 101.64 points per game, 0.492 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 117-122, 99.70 points per game, 0.505 expected winning percentage

Kevin bounced back from a few bad years in a very big way.

NFL equivalent: New England Patriots.

6. Matt (last year: 3rd)

  • 2025: 4-10, 90.99 points per game, 0.403 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 21-21, 102.43 points per game, 0.540 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 133-106, 102.93 points per game, 0.546 expected winning percentage

Matt's playoff success, like Pulley's and Babel's, is getting smaller in the rear view mirror, and he was nearly as bad as Babel in 2025. But he's still one of the best franchises in league history, so he won't fall too far.

NFL equivalent: Baltimore Ravens.

5. Mike R. (last year: 4th)

  • 2025: 5-9, 109.40 points per game, 0.622 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 21-21, 108.92 points per game, 0.609 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 117-122, 99.89 points per game, 0.510 expected winning percentage

Mike's Blingabowl win has fallen out of the "last three years" statline, but he was very good in 2024 and much better than his record in 2025, so he won't fall very far.

NFL equivalent: Detroit Lions.

4. Dave (last year: 2nd)

  • 2025: 7-7, 99.54 points per game, 0.512 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 22-20, 100.89 points per game, 0.502 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 111-128, 99.24 points per game, 0.505 expected winning percentage

Dave's just a year removed from a championship, so he'll remain in our top four despite missing the playoffs.

NFL equivalent: Kansas City Chiefs.

3. Schertz (last year: 8th)

  • 2025: 8-6, 105.08 points per game, 0.581 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 21-21, 100.06 points per game, 0.501 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 94-93, 100.82 points per game, 0.514 expected winning percentage

Schertz not only ended his playoff drought, he nearly won the Sanderson Cup. He shoots up the rankings for that. And an iffy start to the year turned into a red-hot finish, like the...

NFL equivalent: Jacksonville Jaguars.

2. Rob (last year: 1st)

  • 2025: 11-3, 97.19 points per game, 0.483 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 31-11, 105.99 points per game, 0.580 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 135-104, 101.48 points per game, 0.534 expected winning percentage

Rob's three-year Blingabowl streak ended, and while he did win 11 games, he definitely didn't deserve to. It's hard to find an exact NFL equivalent that hasn't been taken. Let's just give him the Broncos, I guess?

NFL equivalent: Denver Broncos.

1. Rabbit (last year: 5th)

  • 2025: 12-2, 120.90 points per game, 0.760 expected winning percentage
  • Last three years: 26-16, 111.24 points per game, 0.641 expected winning percentage
  • All-time: 143-96, 104.96 points per game, 0.572 expected winning percentage

Rabbit dominated this season, but was challenged by an upstart in the finals. His comp will take us away from the NFL...

NBA equivalent: Oklahoma City Thunder.

Draft Lottery

The odds of getting the #1 pick next year are...

  • Derrek: 19.46%
  • Pat: 16.51%
  • Babel: 16.29%
  • Matt: 15.83%
  • Mike R.: 11.03%
  • Ed: 8.50%
  • Pulley: 7.90%
  • Dave: 4.48%

Closing Thoughts

Thank you all for another great season! Happy New Year, everyone!