With much still up in the air heading into Week 17, the games brought a lot of clarity to an unpredictable season, with some unpredictable results:
Bengals 34, Chiefs 31: Justin Jefferson’s rookie record for receiving yards lasted one season. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have been one of football’s best pairings and proved it in Week 17 as Chase set an NFL record for the most receiving yards by a rookie in one game with a stunning 266 yards (and 3 TDs) in the win over the Chiefs. This game clinched the AFC North for the Bengals, after finishing 4-11-1 last season. Chase’s big day put him at 1429 receiving yards (4th in the NFL) and 13 TDs (2nd among all receivers) for the season and the Bengals still have a small chance of earning the first round bye by beating the Browns and having the Titans and Chiefs both lose in Week 18 **FULL SCENARIOS CAN BE FOUND HERE!**)
Raiders 23, Colts 20: The Raiders kept their season alive with a big road win at the (previously surging) Indianapolis Colts. Zay Jones had 8 catches for 120 yards, and Hunter Renfrow (not to be confused with new Brewers OF Hunter Renfroe) contributed 7 catches for 76 yards and TD, while Daniel Carlson kicked a game winning 33 yard field goal with no time left on the clock. With all of the turmoil surrounding the team (Gruden, Ruggs, a mini-QB controversy in some sectors of the Raiders media and fanbase), the team has worked through it all to have a shot at the postseason. The Raiders host the Chargers in a win-and-in game this Sunday night.
Buccaneers 28, Jets 24: OK, so the result wasn’t unpredictable (though the Bucs needing to come back from a fourth-quarter 10 point deficit was), the sight of WR Antonio Brown stripping off his pads and walking off the field in the third quarter was… well, if it was anyone other than Antonio Brown. Regardless of the circumstances, it was a very odd situation and may be difficult for Brown to recover from (thirty strikes and you’re out perhaps?)
APY NFL FOOTBALL POOL RECAP
While the results may have seemed unpredictable at times, our top scorer of the week, Salvo, saw everything ahead of time and was just one game away from a perfect week. His 19 points week, only missing the Monday nighter, set him apart from the pack as Salvo made much ground and pushed himself into the top four, now in a tie for second place, with 207 points.
In the standings, Jerome remains the leader at 210 points, holding a three point lead over Salvo, Donna P, and Will with just one week to go. Paul is just outside the top four with 206 points, while Jason G is one point further back at 205.
Here are the standings:
| Name | Total |
| Jerome | 210 |
| Salvo | 207 |
| Donna P | 207 |
| Will | 207 |
| Paul | 206 |
| Jason G | 205 |
| Steve | 203 |
| Sam | 202 |
| Marcus | 201 |
| Baldip | 200 |
| Adam | 198 |
| Neil | 197 |
| Marcel & Aiden | 195 |
| Team Bracken | 195 |
| Denzil | 195 |
| Molly | 194 |
| Alessandro | 194 |
| Courtney | 193 |
| CSA Red Bulls | 192 |
| Jay P | 189 |
| Predictor | 189 |
| Ronda | 186 |
| Terry | 186 |
| Quinn | 186 |
| Joe S | 184 |
| Tom | 183 |
| Matt | 183 |
| Joe L | 183 |
| Keville | 182 |
| Justin | 179 |
| Nigel | 178 |
| Lourdes | 177 |
| Gary | 176 |
| Jason R | 173 |
| Darryl | 169 |
| Des | 166 |
| Farhan | 163 |
| Jason H | 162 |
| Dwayne | 145 |
| Darren | 141 |
| Mark | 132 |
| Donna K | 132 |
| David | 100 |
| Ruby | 19 |
| Average | 178.73 |
MINI POOLS
The mini-pools have encountered somewhat interesting results, as the top two spots in each of the pools are occupied by people already in the top 4. Of course, as per the rules of the pool, you may only win one prize, so that means each of the prizes would be occupied by the third place finishers in each mini-pool, though there is still time to change the results in the final week
Mini-Pool A
Molly finds herself in first place in MPA with 69 points, one point ahead of Paul, Denzil, and Adam. Marcus and the Predictor are just two points off the top with 67 points each. This will be a close finish. Jerome has 70 points but is poised to take home the first prize instead, while Salvo is now in second place both the main pool and this mini-pool.
| Name | Total |
| Jerome | 70 |
| Salvo | 69 |
| Molly | 69 |
| Paul | 68 |
| Denzil | 68 |
| Adam | 68 |
| Marcus | 67 |
| Predictor | 67 |
| Team Bracken | 66 |
| Quinn | 66 |
| Alessandro | 65 |
| Ronda | 64 |
| Joe S | 64 |
| Courtney | 64 |
| Sam | 63 |
| Nigel | 63 |
| Matt | 63 |
| CSA Red Bulls | 63 |
| Joe L | 47 |
| Farhan | 39 |
| Darren | 23 |
| Donna K | 22 |
Mini-Pool B
Marcel & Aiden and Steve are in first place in MPB with 69 points, followed closely by Baldip at 68 and Jason G at 67.
Donna P has been the highest-scoring competitor in the last five weeks, with 73 points (or a 14.6 weekly point average). Since she is in second place in the main pool, she would take that prize instead. She is the most likely entrant to have the mini-pool to fall back on in the event of slippage, as those in the non-money spots are at least four points behind her.
| Name | Total |
| Donna P | 73 |
| Will | 71 |
| Marcel & Aiden | 69 |
| Steve | 69 |
| Baldip | 68 |
| Jason G | 67 |
| Tom | 65 |
| Neil | 65 |
| Jay P | 64 |
| Keville | 61 |
| Terry | 59 |
| Dwayne | 54 |
| Justin | 49 |
| Lourdes | 46 |
| Des | 46 |
| Gary | 45 |
| Darryl | 43 |
| Jason R | 40 |
| Jason H | 38 |
| Mark | 26 |
| Ruby | 0 |
| David | 0 |
PRIZES:
Just to jog everyone’s memory into the final week of the season, the prizes set to be awarded are as follows:
FIRST PLACE: $600
SECOND PLACE: $150
THIRD PLACE: $70
FOURTH PLACE: $20
MINI-POOL A WINNER: $20
MINI-POOL B WINNER: $20
As a reminder, in the event of a tie, winnings will be shared amongst those in the tie – there will be no tiebreakers. Currently, we have three competitors tied for second, if that continues, they will split the second, third, and fourth place prizes evenly ($150+$70+$20 = $240 / 3 = $80 apiece). You cannot win one of the first through fourth prizes AND a mini-pool prize, so if a top score in a mini-pool is also a first through fourth place finisher, that prize will transfer to the next person down the line in the subject mini-pool without exception.