The Sanderson Gazette - 2026-10-21 - Six for One, Half a Dozen for the Other

Mike R. and Pat are just the fifth and sixth 6-0 teams ever (and the first pair of such teams in the same year).

Meanwhile, poor Rob is just the fifth 0-6 team we've seen.

Week 6 Recap

Mike R. def. Rabbit, 100.95-93.93

Mike stayed undefeated thanks to Christian McCaffrey (23.47) putting up his best score of the year on Monday night... while Rabbit's Mike Evans (12.53) left the same game early. Outside of McCaffrey, it was a week to forget for our current first place team, as every other player came in below their projected score. Rabbit was mostly in the same boat, with only Jonathan Taylor (21.00) and Trey Smack (11.80) outpacing his projections by more than a point.

Pat def. Matt, 102.84-85.65

Pat also needed a Monday night rally to remain undefeated, with a second half TD from Jayden Daniels (22.00) to Stefon Diggs (11.87) putting him up for good. Prior to that, Kyle Pitts, Sr.'s 20.00 points - much of which came when his team was down multiple scores - put Pat in a winnable situation. Matt's tight end, Juwan Johnson, put up a zero, and he also got substandard games, if not outright duds, from Josh Allen (19.95) and Zay Flowers (8.90).

Pulley def. Scott, 97.63-96.01

"Ah, yes. Losing by less than two again." - Scott

Scott's close game fortune was short-lived, as he fell to 3-3 thanks to Dak Prescott's (13.10) late TD on Sunday night for Pulley. The MondoSquad is up to 5-1 on the year, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba (17.87) and Malik Nabers (22.00) once again leading the way. Scott got 23.23 from James Cook III and 16.00 from DeVonta Smith, and saw his QB (Bryce Young (21.65)) outscore the one he traded away last week (Josh Allen), but still couldn't earn the victory.

Ed def. Schertz, 124.31-113.56

Ed snatched victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to Jordan Love (21.50) and Matthew Golden (19.87) outdueling CeeDee Lamb (9.33) on Sunday night. That was after Schertz got blow-up games from Trevor Lawrence (30.40), Tre Tucker (24.93), and Isaiah Likely (21.20).

Babel def. Dave, 127.25-57.32

Babel put up his lowest score of the past three weeks, which is saying something given that he - spoiler alert! - won Team Blangums. It was a pretty balanced effort, in which his leading scorer had 26.15 (Drake Maye) and his lowest non-kicker had 10.67 (Puka Nacua). Meanwhile, Dave's team continued to faceplant, with five players score less than three points each (Malachi Fields (2.53), Pat Freiermuth (1.47), Brandon Aubrey (1.00), Tyler Higbee (0.93), and the Houston defense (-1.00)).

Kevin def. Rob, 86.77-72.85

It wasn't pretty, but Kevin moved up to .500 for the season behind Bayshul Tuten's 22.30 and George Kittle's 15.20. His opponent, Rob, came the closest he has yet to winning in 2026, but was undone by Najee Harris (0.20), Jaylen Waddle (3.20), and Michael Wilson (4.30).

Richie def. Derrek, 82.16-64.90

Richie earned his second win of the year thanks to Tyler Shough's 28.40 (we'll mostly ignore the rest of his underperforming team). More notably, it appears he's transferred his injury bug to Derrek, who just in week six lost Davante Adams (5.20), Romeo Doubs (11.60), and Terry McLaurin (3.60) - as well as bench players Jalen Hurts (zero) and Ladd McConkey (2.27) - to serious injuries.

Trades

Trade between Mike R. and Pat

Mike R. received:

  • Trey McBride - from Pat - keeper cost: 2nd
  • Cooper Kupp - from Pat - keeper cost: 9th
  • Tyjae Spears - from Pat - keeper cost: 9th

Pat received:

  • Travis Kelce - from Mike R. - keeper cost: 7th
  • Deebo Samuel, Sr. - from Mike R. - keeper cost: 9th
  • Emanuel Wilson - from Mike R. - keeper cost: 9th

The two (at the time) 5-0 teams swapped tight ends, with Pat getting more value from the other players on his side due to McBride being rated higher than Kelce.

Those tight ends each scored exactly 7.07 this week, and both teams won, so we can call this a wash so far.

Standings

  1. Mike R., 6-0, 710.42
  2. Pat, 6-0, 694.86
  3. Pulley, 5-1, 766.84
  4. Babel, 4-2, 688.71
  5. Schertz, 4-2, 585.81
  6. Scott, 3-3, 615.67
  7. Kevin, 3-3, 548.84
  8. Ed, 2-4, 652.34
  9. Rabbit, 2-4, 627.56
  10. Matt, 2-4, 606.67
  11. Dave, 2-4, 513.74
  12. Richie, 2-4, 496.32
  13. Derrek, 1-5, 563.12
  14. Rob, 0-6, 487.37

Blingalytics Ratings

  1. Pulley, 757 (5-1)
  2. Mike R., 723 (6-0)
  3. Pat, 704 (6-0)
  4. Babel, 644 (4-2)
  5. Ed, 620 (2-4)
  6. Rabbit, 562 (2-4)
  7. Scott, 531 (3-3)
  8. Matt, 503 (2-4)
  9. Schertz, 454 (4-2)
  10. Derrek, 391 (1-5)
  11. Kevin, 359 (3-3)
  12. Dave, 313 (2-4)
  13. Richie, 238 (2-4)
  14. Rob, 202 (0-6)

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums

Babel's 127.25 earned him Team Blangums for the second time in three weeks.

Slapped Heartbeat

Dave's 57.32 was the low mark this week. This is the fourth time already that Dave has scored less than 70 points, getting his heartbeat slapped each time.

Those four Slapped Heartbeats are the second most ever through six weeks (only Pat's legendary five-for-five run in 2018 tops it). In fact, only two teams ever have had more Slapped Heartbeats over the course of a full season: the aforementioned 2018 Pat, and 2021 Scott.

Weekly MVP

The highest scoring player in a winning lineup this week was Tyler Shough, who had 28.40 for Richie. While that's not the explicit criteria for weekly MVP, it makes the most sense for week six.

Dud of the Week

Keaton Mitchell scored just 0.40 for Rabbit in a close loss.

Start of the Week

Pulley played R.J. Harvey (12.63) over Marvin Harrison, Jr. (4.53) and won by less than two points.

Misplay of the Week

Scott played Wan'Dale Robinson (2.93) over Alvin Kamara (14.07) and loss by less than two points.

Pickup of the Week

Rob can't blame Kirk Cousins for his loss this week; the free agent pickup scored a solid 21.65.

D'Ernest D'oh

Ed had the winning waiver priority on Germie Bernard (17.60), but declined to play the rookie. If he had, he'd have won Team Blangums.

Week 7 Preview

Game of the Blingaweek

The Vistas are Back (Pat, 6-0, 2nd) vs. Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 5-1, 3rd)

Pulley leads all-time series, 15-2.

Undefeated Pat will be facing his toughest test of the season by far this week, so he has to be thrilled Jahmyr Gibbs (vs. GB), Tee Higgins (@BAL), and Jared Goff (vs. GB) are all back from their byes. Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy are both @SEA, though, so it's not the rosiest outlook for Pat.

Pulley's in a similar situation. Christian Watson (@DET) and Derrick Henry (vs. CIN) have great matchups, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba (vs. KC) and Malik Nabers (@HOU) have tougher ones. Which means this game probably comes down to how well Dak Prescott (@PHI) does on Monday night.

Pick: Pullman's MondoSquad wins and passes Pat in the standings.

Other Blingamatches

Keep Calm & Dameon (Babel, 4-2, 4th) vs. Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 2-4, 9th)

Rabbit leads all-time series, 13-9.

Babel is coming off a three week stretch that included two Team Blangums awards and another 130-point showing, so he has to feel good about his chances to contend this year. Drake Maye's (@CHI) resurgence has a lot to do with that, as well as the play of Ollie Gordon II (@NYJ) since De'Von Achane tore his ACL. Oh, and Josh Jacobs (@DET) looks like he'll be back on the field this week, too.

Rabbit needs a win here to keep his title defense hopes alive, as no 2-5 team has ever made the playoffs before. Saquon Barkley (vs. DAL) is probably back this week, but Mike Evans (@ATL) might miss. And Jonathan Taylor (@MIN) is up against the league's top defense.

Pick: Keep Calm & Dameon shuts the door on Pralines & Dick.

Bernie's Bullies (Mike R., 6-0, 1st) vs. The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin, 3-3, 7th)

Mike R. leads all-time series, 11-8.

Mike's made it to 6-0 without any truly elite players. Sure, Trey McBride (vs. DEN), Christian McCaffrey (@ATL), and Chris Olave (vs. PIT) are among the top players at their positions, but they aren't exploding for wild scores like some others. I view this as a positive for Mike's team, by the way.

Kevin has won two in a row to pull into playoff contention, also doing it without any single player carrying a heavy load. Kyren Williams (@LV), Ja'Marr Chase (@BAL), and George Kittle (@ATL) have been very good, but also have had at least one disappointment each in that time frame. Again, I mean this as a compliment to Kevin, whose team hasn't needed outlier performances to have success.

Pick: Bernie's Bullies finds a kicker and doesn't have to try to pull a Kevin and win with a zero-point slot.

schertzopotamus (Schertz, 4-2, 5th) vs. Harrison Hammers (Matt, 2-4, 10th)

Matt leads all-time series, 12-3.

Despite losing in week six, Schertz's record is still outpacing his peripherals. He should feel fine, though, as more than half the teams who have been in a similar situation historically have made he playoffs. He can move to an even stronger position if Isaiah Likely (@HOU) and Tre Tucker (vs. LAR) repeat their week six outputs in week seven. We'll know a lot about his outlook after Thursday night's game, which features Rome Odunze (vs. NE) and Demario Douglas (@CHI).

Matt has to be worried that his 2026 is playing out just like his 2025 to this point: two wins followed by four losses. He'll be without Josh Allen (bye) this week, as well - which means Kyler Murray (vs. IND) needs to step up, and that Amon-Ra St. Brown (vs. GB) needs to start playing like a WR1 again.

Pick: Harrison Hammers ends its skid.

Let him Cook! (Scott, 3-3, 6th) vs. Double Digits (Dave, 2-4, 11th)

Dave leads all-time series, 7-1.

Scott has had both a three game winning streak and a three game losing streak, which means his overall record is .500 - not out of line for a team that has been one of the ten most consistent ever through six weeks. Bryce Young (vs. TAM) looks more and more like a good QB to bet on every week, and DeVonta Smith (vs. DAL) is back healthy again, which bodes well for our least-tenured franchise.

Dave's team is the opposite of Scott's when it comes to consistency; every single one of his scores has had a win expectancy below 5% or greater than 85%. Caleb Williams (vs. NE) has been emblematic of this, having scored more points in week one than he has in total for the rest of the season.

Pick: Let him Cook!'s consistency wins out.

Live Commish (Ed, 2-4, 8th) vs. Barftastic (Richie, 2-4, 12th)

Richie leads all-time series, 9-5.

Ed has hope again, winning two straight and moving up to 8th place following an 0-4 start. Kenneth Walker III (@SEA) and Matthew Golden (@DET) have been huge for the commish, but inconsistency from DK Metcalf (@NO) and D'Andre Swift (vs. NE) means he can't be too confident moving forward.

Richie's team is basically back to full strength, as Justin Jefferson (vs. IND) is back from bye and A.J. Brown (@CHI) is off IR. Oh, and Brock Bowers (vs. LAR) looks totally healthy again.

Pick: This is the kind of game Ed has made a habit of losing, so Barftastic it is!

D's Nuts (Derrek, 1-5, 13th) vs. Rob for Today (Rob, 0-6, 14th)

Rob leads all-time series, 14-10.

Over the 2024-2025 span, Derrek was 7-21 while Rob was 23-5. This year, they're both playing like Derrek.

Pick: Rob for Today gets his first win of the year.

Closing Thoughts

Despite being 12-0 combined, Mike R. and Pat have just one Team Blangums between them. That's as many as Derrek and Rob, who are 1-11 combined.