
Fantasy Football show for Dec 30, 2025. Championship celebrations and Week 18 motivation levels on today’s show! Plus, waiver pickups and streamers if your fantasy football league has a Week 18 championship. Don’t miss today’s in-studio surprises, NFL Playoff Scenarios, and more! Manage your redraft, keeper, and dynasty fantasy football teams with the #1 fantasy football podcast.
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Andy Holloway
Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.
Mike Wright
Oh crap.
Jason Moore
It's Mike ride time.
Mike Wright
I didn't know you had a scepter.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, the scepter really takes it over.
Mike Wright
Yeah, Mike is. This is what I expected yesterday. I guess you hadn't.
Jason Moore
I hadn't won yet.
Mike Wright
You had though.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, you had.
Jason Moore
But yeah, there was no stress.
Mike Wright
The champ is here. Mike Wright crown scepter. And I don't know how you could wear two crowns but he'd have the right and ability to do so.
Andy Holloway
I think yesterday the issue was you didn't know by how much will you have won because it's 10 million points. You hadn't had Bijan go yet.
Mike Wright
Never quite seen a performance like the two playoff weeks that Mike had in our league of record.
Andy Holloway
He looked back at the league history on sleeper and the last two weeks in semifinals and championships are two of the top 10 highest scorers of all.
Jason Moore
Time in the history of league including the number one.
Andy Holloway
Well, take it away.
Jason Moore
The number one and the number eight highest scores of all time in our.
Mike Wright
League, which is going into. I just looked it up this morning. Next year will be your 20.
Jason Moore
Oh baby.
Mike Wright
And two of the top 10 scores. So you. You left, no doubt. Oh baby, you had no reason to be stressed even though you were because.
Jason Moore
You handled your business as of yesterday. I wasn't.
Mike Wright
And then he, you know, tortured us all with videos of him dancing in the street and I mean, you honestly don't have very good moves.
Andy Holloway
Oh.
Jason Moore
What?
Andy Holloway
I'm sorry. He's not wrong.
Jason Moore
Those are. Wait, those are bad.
Andy Holloway
Nah, nah.
Mike Wright
Looks made it worse.
Andy Holloway
You're just fanning farts. That's all you're doing.
Mike Wright
Yeah. He's dancing in the street.
Jason Moore
That sounds like non champ talk over there.
Mike Wright
Fireworks in his hands. He had been kind of mild and calm and then now we have to do this show.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
Not to mention I know something's coming on this show. What?
Jason Moore
What?
Mike Wright
I know some kind of.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. It feels like Andy and I are just waiting just to like you've got like this nice. I would never glider that's going over the mud that Andy and I are waiting through as you're circling around us like a vulture.
Mike Wright
I know. I know stuff is coming on the show. Jason and I thought about just not coming in.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
But we're going to have to endure it. But okay.
Jason Moore
What's going on? Hold on.
Andy Holloway
I hate this so much.
Mike Wright
Oh, my God.
Jason Moore
What's happening?
Andy Holloway
Oh, Jeremy. You allowed this.
Mike Wright
You probably facilitated thanks to becoming the.
Andy Holloway
First ever super duper champ by winning both the League of record and the Ballers Dynasty League. The Fantasy Footballers Ring of Honor is proud to re induct the Fantasy Hitman Mike.
Jason Moore
I'm in again, guys. I'm in the Ring of Honor twice.
Mike Wright
Sounded like you re inducted yourself.
Jason Moore
Yeah, it's the same thing two times. Unbelievable.
Andy Holloway
Congratulations, Mike.
Jason Moore
Oh, thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. The people love it.
Mike Wright
For those just listening, I'll just.
Andy Holloway
Green hue.
Mike Wright
I'll describe the hell we're in. There's Mike Wright's name plastered on the back of the wall.
Jason Moore
Oh.
Andy Holloway
Michael Timothy Wright.
Jason Moore
Oh.
Andy Holloway
Respectfully referred to as the FF Hitman.
Mike Wright
As last year's League of Record champion.
Andy Holloway
And the man which you destroyed in.
Mike Wright
This year's Dynasty championship.
Andy Holloway
It is with a little pride and.
Mike Wright
Immense sadness that I present to you.
Andy Holloway
For the first time ever the Fantasy Footballers Championship trophy stuff stack.
Jason Moore
Oh my gosh.
Andy Holloway
He's got that one right there.
Jason Moore
I'll just gear up. I'll just gear up. Boys.
Andy Holloway
This is the. If I had the outro button to this show. Oh, I would hit it right now.
Jason Moore
Oh, my goodness.
Mike Wright
I was going to describe this to the. To the listenership, but I'm not going to subject you.
Andy Holloway
They need to go watch.
Jason Moore
Unbelievable.
Mike Wright
I. I am the greatest. I know that it would be bad for us here, but I almost want to ask people to unsubscribe.
Andy Holloway
Right.
Jason Moore
Yeah.
Mike Wright
You know what I mean? It'd be bad for our living.
Andy Holloway
I really hope nobody sees this episode ever.
Jason Moore
What a moment.
Andy Holloway
I'll take your time producing this one today.
Mike Wright
Yeah.
Andy Holloway
If this one doesn't hours late.
Mike Wright
If it doesn't hit YouTube due to processing difficulties.
Andy Holloway
I understand YouTube. Sometimes they've got issues.
Mike Wright
I will throw that monetization in the trash.
Andy Holloway
Oh, for sure. In fact, find some music to play.
Mike Wright
Oh. Find some kind of copywritten music to hit.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
I can ruin the monetization. I will look into it.
Jason Moore
That's weird because you can't take my trophies away.
Andy Holloway
I'm tempted to knock it down. That's glass.
Mike Wright
Yeah.
Jason Moore
If that thing falls, we're both.
Mike Wright
This day has been very bad for two years in a row for me because on this episode last year, I had lost to Al in the championship and he had my family taunt me on the show.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
And then today, that's actually pretty great. Double Mike Insufferable Mike, which we knew was coming.
Jason Moore
Oh, man. Two time Ring of Honor.
Mike Wright
Nobody in the history of Ring of Honors has ever been reintroduced to the same Ring of Honor.
Jason Moore
I know. It's. What an honor.
Mike Wright
You're not the only champion in the world. Believe it or not, in Zoe We Trust is the official Megalobol winner.
Jason Moore
Do we have an applause? I don't know if.
Mike Wright
20,000 entries.
Jason Moore
Congratulations.
Mike Wright
That's one winner. And Matt Razka. Oh, try that one on for size.
Jason Moore
Matt Razka seems pretty easy. Roska.
Mike Wright
That's what I was wondering. But the listener league winner, Matt Razka. Razka. So in Zoe We Trust and Matt Roska, champions. Also. Mike's probably bought out the inventory, but shotballers.com if you want to check.
Jason Moore
There's a couple of scraps if you.
Mike Wright
Want to check out the. We have two different shirt designs for champions this year. I tried to reply to as many people on. On X on Twitter as I could. The champions are out there. We also saw the bad breaks.
Jason Moore
Yeah.
Mike Wright
And if you had the courage and the ability to come and listen to this show the day after your bad break, I applaud you. I would not have that. Like, I am contractually obligated to be here today.
Jason Moore
I'm here so I don't get fucked up.
Mike Wright
But we knew. I mean, if you have anybody like Mike in your league, you're. You're suffering right now. And everybody wanted advice. I was. I was on our stream last night. Mike was on there. And they wanted advice on dealing with the bad breaks. And the advice is you can't. It's to wait. It's just wait. Just suffer a little while longer and eventually you'll want to play again.
Andy Holloway
What's crazy is oftentimes at the end of a Football season. The hatred for this game we play is real and alive. And then by the time that the next season starts getting close, it's like, oh, I can't believe it's been too long. It happens every year.
Mike Wright
This can't happen every year.
Andy Holloway
This can't happen again.
Mike Wright
He's holding a ruby scepter.
Jason Moore
It's very heavy.
Mike Wright
Is it? Let me see this. Goodness gracious weapon. Oh, my gosh.
Jason Moore
It's way bigger.
Mike Wright
It's like from the Queen of Narnia. What the heck is going on? Well, you're doing it right. Yeah. You're doing it right. If you won, haunt your league.
Jason Moore
Like if you have the pain. Like I've. I've had the pain.
Mike Wright
Yeah.
Jason Moore
Like I've had it. I've had big, big, big, big pain. Makes this so much better.
Andy Holloway
That is the truth. So sweet. The highs are higher when the lows are lower.
Jason Moore
Yeah, that's right.
Mike Wright
Yeah. Yeah. My goodness. We are going to talk about other things. Today we have the Monday Night Football game, which was crazy and creates a horrific situation for Tampa Bay fans.
Andy Holloway
Oh, man.
Mike Wright
Because the Falcons upset, the Rams took care of business. The Falcons were up 21 nothing and then gave up the lead and then won the game 27, 24. Bijan unstoppable. A 93 yard touchdown. If you had him and needed him, that was. I mean, there were so many people that sent me messages yesterday. Bijan v. Puka. That's their situation. Right? Because those guys were on championship teams and. Yeah, advantage Bijan.
Jason Moore
Serious.
Mike Wright
Two touchdowns. Oh, oh, Mike did lose something, by the way. Oh, he did lose something. He lost our head to head tiebreaker in prize picks. He is the shame this week.
Andy Holloway
Oh, yes. Yeah. Oh, no.
Mike Wright
I don't know what I can do to him.
Andy Holloway
Just Saran wrap his face.
Mike Wright
Saran wrap his face.
Andy Holloway
Don't let it breathe.
Mike Wright
Oh, my gosh.
Jason Moore
The go to sleep.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, it's just called the.
Mike Wright
The sleeper.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
That's murder.
Andy Holloway
It's an accident.
Jason Moore
I'm going out on top.
Mike Wright
Then Kyren Williams ended up with the majority of the work in the backfield. Blake Corum got hurt in this game.
Jason Moore
I watched this whole game, guys. I have no idea what anyone did but Bijan. I have no recollection of any statistics being gathered other than you were dancing in the street.
Mike Wright
Mike Puka was 5 for 47 and a touchdown.
Jason Moore
Almost one of the best catches you've ever seen.
Andy Holloway
Oh, my gosh. That catch, which wasn't, but mostly was absolutely the best non catch I've ever seen in my life. He also had 77 yards and a touchdown called back on penalties.
Jason Moore
Right?
Mike Wright
Yeah. That when that catch happened on the sideline, that ended up not being a catch because it actually wasn't by the rules now. But the catch child would be like.
Andy Holloway
Well, I don't know.
Jason Moore
Yeah, it's a touchdown.
Mike Wright
But that just made me wonder what new scientific substances were attaching to gloves at this point. Because there's no one on this planet.
Jason Moore
Hands don't do that.
Mike Wright
No. And whatever. The stick em of the Jerry Rice era also doesn't do that. That is a new part of the periodic table that they are injecting into the gloves. Because that ball didn't move once it hit his hand. That was unbelievable. But here's the situation that it puts us in. The Falcons winning. And this is a massive algorithm of strength of schedule that comprises who makes the playoffs. But because the Falcons won, if the Falcons win next week against the New Orleans Saints and Tyler Schuck, which it's pretty impossible, the Saints are, you know, on fire. Right. But that's a winnable ball game.
Jason Moore
Sure.
Mike Wright
Either team could win that game. If that happens, then the Panthers Buccaneers game that we thought would be just a heads up matchup to make the playoffs would not matter for Tampa because if they won the game, they'd still be out and the Carolina Panthers would still win the division.
Andy Holloway
Just nasty.
Jason Moore
So the Falcons are early favorites, two and a half point favorites.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
I mean it kind of makes sense after the way they played this week. And they probably have the better personnel.
Andy Holloway
So in the last eight weeks. So since week 10, the worst teams in the NFL, you have the winless Raiders, you have the winless hour. Arizona Cardinals.
Jason Moore
Yeah.
Andy Holloway
Oh, and eight. Oh and eight. Then you have the one in seven Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Mike Wright
Oh, that they look about. It's like that.
Andy Holloway
It's crazy how they have just colored.
Mike Wright
So they deserve to win in the final week and miss the playoffs.
Andy Holloway
I mean. Yeah. I mean when you go 1 and 7, you shouldn't be a playoff team.
Mike Wright
No, that's why I said just give it to the Saints.
Andy Holloway
You're right.
Mike Wright
Award it to the Saints if they win next week. But that's your situation today. We're going to talk about basically some of the playoff motivation levels in NFL playoff picture situations. If you are playing in week 18, this will help you. If you're not playing in week 18, this is why you watch football. It's for, you know, some playoff spots on the line, some draft pick situations on the line. And you know, we'll be talking the draft before you know it, so. And doing all of our collegiate scouting. The Dynasty Pass is coming out February 8th, which is super Bowl Sunday, so lots going on. Let's talk some news.
Andy Holloway
News and notes from around the league presented by Progressive Insurance.
Mike Wright
Well, we did have the injury to Blake Corum, which put him much lower in our waiver wire rankings for Week 18 than where he was because they'll probably manage him in light of the fact that they, if they win, they can improve their positioning a little bit from six to the five seed. But at the cost of your playoff success.
Andy Holloway
It does. It does matter. The Rams are playing for a much better spot as far as who they play against. And McVeigh, liar, liar, pants on fire. McVeigh very much came out and said that they are going to play their starters, which is not the usual McVeigh way. But I agree with you, Andy, that the guys who are currently banged up, like Corum, Devonte, Adams, you know, you know you're going to the playoffs, yes, the seating could change, but if you are actually hurt, I'll bet they give those players the week off.
Mike Wright
Yeah. And the thing is, is they can win and not move a seat. And so that's a tough situation for them. If they win. But San Francisco wins, they accomplish nothing with playing these players and taking that risk. So we'll see if Mr. Maybe the biggest liar in football, Sean McVeigh.
Jason Moore
It's unfortunate.
Mike Wright
Well, you know, competitive advantage, Mike.
Jason Moore
Right. But, yeah, just what he means to us in the fantasy community.
Mike Wright
Well, let's talk through the AFC playoff picture. Starting with basically clinched playoff spots, but little to gain by playing players this week. And we already know one of them is not really going to play their starter at quarterback. The Chargers, they're locked into a wild card spot at the five, six or seven seed. Jim Harbaugh already came out and said that Herbert will not start their 12 and a half point underdogs to Denver because Denver just needs to win to secure home field throughout the playoffs.
Jason Moore
So Justin Herbert's not going to play, huh?
Mike Wright
No.
Andy Holloway
We'Ll get there later. I mean, the year of Mike has to conclude. Trey Lancet, I mean, we should have seen this coming two weeks ago. This is unbelievable. It's just. I'm on a heater, baby. That's not a heater. That's. This is like.
Mike Wright
That's like dark magic.
Andy Holloway
Dark, dark, evil magic.
Mike Wright
Yeah, that's like toil and trouble or whatever.
Andy Holloway
We've got to find someone who Mike Loved who's not in the league anymore, who's still young enough and just bet money that he comes back because he's going to be.
Mike Wright
Well, it was basically Trey Lance. Yeah. I mean to start a game.
Andy Holloway
Unbelievable.
Mike Wright
Is Jeremy Hill on the way back?
Andy Holloway
Yes, exactly.
Mike Wright
RG3 won Mike a title a long time ago. Maybe he'll play again. The Bills are the seventh seed. They are locked into five, six or seven. They can improve to the five seed with a win. And losses by Houston and Jacksonville. Neither of those are likely. It does make you wonder if they're going to manage the foot of Josh Allen. I would do that if I were the Bills.
Jason Moore
They can win. They're playing the Jets. Yeah.
Andy Holloway
They go.
Jason Moore
You can win with your backups.
Mike Wright
Certainly.
Jason Moore
Like the jets are. They're done. And breeze hall banged up his knee a little bit. I won't if I'm Breece, I'm not playing.
Mike Wright
I believe the jets are. It's possible. Unless they. I don't think they intercepted a pass this weekend.
Andy Holloway
No, they did not. They are.
Mike Wright
So they could go. Zero interceptions as a team for a season after hiring the defensive guru and genius as their head coach.
Jason Moore
Brutal.
Andy Holloway
And if you're wondering, well how often, how, you know, how common is that to go a whole season without an interception. It's never happened.
Mike Wright
No. Because you would imagine you would luck into something.
Andy Holloway
A tip.
Mike Wright
Hail Mary.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
Afc.
Andy Holloway
Just good defensive play. Like just luck into one good defensive. You have NFL players.
Mike Wright
Sure.
Andy Holloway
Like just accidentally, you know, a bad pass to your defense.
Mike Wright
Impossible. No AFC playoff bound teams that can improve their seating. Denver becomes the number one seed with a win. They're heavily favored against the Chargers. Now sitting players. Chargers are willing to give this one up, it seems. And so it's a big deal for Denver because if they lost they could drop as low as the number three seed.
Andy Holloway
Do you think that Harbaugh and the Chargers, they view the Patriots the way that you do, Andy, in the sense.
Mike Wright
That like they'd rather play them.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. Because if they. If they lose, they go down to the number seven seed. They face the number two Patriots. Maybe they're like, yeah, they haven't really been tested by the team.
Mike Wright
What is the most fair way to criticize a 13 and 3 team with an MVP?
Andy Holloway
I know, right?
Mike Wright
What's the most fair minded way to do that? The patriots have defeated one team above.500. The giants have defeated two.
Jason Moore
It's wild.
Mike Wright
So it's nothing like the Patriots are going. He's going to win the mvp. Drake may is going to win the mvp.
Jason Moore
Yes.
Mike Wright
And you know, I don't know what Mike Vrabel will do in this final week. I don't know if Stafford and May will both play this final week or not. If they won this week, that would mean they get the number one seed if Denver lost. But Denver's probably not going to lose.
Jason Moore
Denver's 12 1/2 point favorites.
Mike Wright
Yeah, exactly. So New England, not a lot to play for Jacksonville. It's highly unlikely they would need Denver and New England to lose to get the number one seed. Otherwise, you know, they win and they clinch the division.
Andy Holloway
Jacksonville has this wild. Very unrealistic, but they could finish as the number one, number two, number three, number five, number six or number seven seed.
Mike Wright
Really?
Andy Holloway
Yeah. It's. I mean, amazing. Different things have to happen, but I.
Mike Wright
Think they're definitely going to play to win this game. They're obviously heavily favored. It wins them the South. It stops Houston from passing them. They're highly motivated.
Andy Holloway
They are very motivated. They don't necessarily have the division in lockdown. Obviously they're playing against Tennessee, so they should win this game when they're motivated. But Tennessee's been playing better. Houston plays at the same time. I was looking this up earlier for CJ Stroud. Motivation. And the Jags and the Texans play the 11 o' clock a.m. eastern Time.
Jason Moore
Usually pretty good.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, they've gotten better at that over the years.
Mike Wright
And Houston's got this game in the bag as well because they're facing Riley Leonard now.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. So if they. But if they win in the Jaguars lose, then Houston takes the division.
Mike Wright
That is correct. So. And D' Amico Ryan's already came out and said that C.J. stroud will start and that Houston, they've now won eight in a row. And then the big game in the AFC is the Sunday night showdown between the Ravens and Steelers. It is for the AFC north title. And the number four seed in the.
Jason Moore
AFC fumbled the bag and so Pittsburgh.
Mike Wright
Now three and a half point home underdogs. Crazy. We don't know the status of Lamar Jackson right now. It's up in the air, but.
Jason Moore
And yet they still favor Baltimore.
Mike Wright
Yeah. Yeah, it's. It's. This one's the. The one true on the line game now that we have a little bit of variable in play with the Panthers Buccaneers game on the other side. But that's your AFC playoff picture. We'll take a quick break. We'll talk through the nfc.
Andy Holloway
It's also.
Mike Wright
You want to add something?
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I just want. I Know, we threw like a fire hose of information out. And when you're making your lineups later in the week, you might be like, I forget we have a Week 18 motivation article on the website. All this information is there so that if you're like, oh, I forget, just go to the fancy footballers dot com. Go to the articles. Matthew Betts wrote up an article recapping this.
Mike Wright
All right, we'll talk NFC in just a moment.
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Mike Wright
All right, on the NFC side, when you look at clinched playoff spots and little to gain, here we find the packers seven seed locked into the seventh seed. Zero motivation this week. Jordan Love, coming off of a concussion. You see any reason for him to be out there?
Jason Moore
I mean, I think I would play him at least a half just to.
Mike Wright
Give him some primer before playoffs.
Jason Moore
Do that. You know, stay in the routine, prepare for the game, go out, get some reps.
Mike Wright
They'll be facing the number two seed on the road, which is currently Chicago, which would be a crazy, wow, repeat.
Andy Holloway
Game in the playoffs.
Mike Wright
In the playoffs, Green Bay has lost three in a row. They are not going the right direction. I feel like from the moment that's.
Jason Moore
Why you play your guys.
Mike Wright
I feel like from the moment that we were like, you know what? It's probably going to be Buffalo and Green Bay, both those teams just completely.
Andy Holloway
It really felt like it was from the moment Micah Parsons went down.
Jason Moore
Yes.
Mike Wright
Yeah. And then they lost. I mean, they've lost other pieces as well. In the NFC side, when you're looking at playoff bound teams that can improve their seating, you've got a big game, Seattle, San Francisco, the winner gets the buy.
Andy Holloway
I mean, this is massive.
Mike Wright
It's like winning two games, right?
Jason Moore
Yeah. Or lose and go on the road.
Mike Wright
Right. Because they would become a fifth seed. Yeah, well, that would not be fun. But they would play the NFC south champion. Right. So that would be kind of seemingly a nice matchup.
Andy Holloway
It's a nice consolation for having to fall so far in the seating if.
Mike Wright
We want to based on what happens this weekend, like maybe we just don't even have a South represent for the nfc. Yeah, you just give a double buy. Don't even send one.
Jason Moore
Can we give it to.
Mike Wright
That's a lot of extra fees and hotel rooms and Things like that.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, it's a lot of extra cash.
Mike Wright
Yeah. Seattle, San Francisco. Who do you think wins that game? It's in San Francisco. And by the way, San Francisco, they win this game. It's, it's home all the way out.
Andy Holloway
I, I, I think Seattle is the better team. I think San Francisco, but I, I think San Francisco wins this game. Being at home. I'm going to go with the, I'm going to go with them.
Jason Moore
Causes the line is moving back and forth, but currently it's at Seattle minus one and a half.
Mike Wright
They're trying to get some people back on that side.
Andy Holloway
Goodness, that game, that game will be awesome.
Mike Wright
Yeah, that's crazy. I think it's going to be fun. Chicago, they are right now the number two seed. They're trying to lock that up. Philly, if they lose to Washington or if Chicago wins against Detroit, they lock up the number two seed. If they lose and the Eagles win, they drop to the three.
Jason Moore
That's not locked up.
Mike Wright
No, no, no. They've got, they've got to win the game. And it's Detroit and there's a lot of. That's a two and a half point line right now. Detroit, a lot of pride there. Divisional matchup. What game was it? I think Al will know. This wasn't the final game in the season. When Detroit knocked Green Bay out of the playoffs two years ago. Do you remember this? Green Detroit had nothing to play for.
Andy Holloway
It sounds familiar. I don't, I don't know.
Mike Wright
I'm surprised you don't know that off the top of your head. That's, I think that's packers fan. Think that's what happened? No, we just blocked those things out. That makes sense. What's Philadelphia's situation right now? Third seed. If they win, Chicago loses, they become the two.
Andy Holloway
I don't think that they are extremely motivated. The Eagles team, to me, seems like one that might, might still rest, people.
Mike Wright
Nick Sirianni said, we're still thinking through whether they will play their starters in week 18. So they could end up just not playing them at all. Probably not going to see Mariota in this game. Josh Johnson, I mean, they can win without their starters against Josh Johnson. So, Jeremy, did you find the answer to my question? Yeah. It was the 2022 season and the Lions knocked the packers out of the playoffs. They had nothing to play for. And beat them at Lambeau 20 to 16.
Andy Holloway
Correct. That was what they had to play for.
Mike Wright
Yeah. It just feels like Detroit's going to be highly, highly motivated to send A message to Chicago.
Jason Moore
That's got to feel good. If you're like a team or you're knocked out in your final week against the Lions, Green Bay, and you're probably looked upon. You're like, no, Green Bay is going to go right through. And you beat him. They don't go to the playoffs. Yeah, that handshake at the end of the game with Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Wright
You're welcome.
Jason Moore
Hey, good game, Aaron. See ya.
Mike Wright
And then we talked about the Rams. They're locked into the five or six seed, so not a ton. You know, they got some players they need to get healthy. Devonte Adams. We're not going to see him. We probably won't see Blake Corum. So on the NFC side, fighting for the playoffs, Carolina, Tampa Bay, we talked through that entire scenario. You know, Carolina can make it easy.
Jason Moore
Just win and then we. Then we don't have a sub.500 team getting a home. I am. I like divisions. I think it's fun in football, in the actual NFL, a sub.500 team should never host a playoff game. I believe that with all of my heart.
Andy Holloway
I feel like they shouldn't play a playoff game.
Jason Moore
Okay, you're going a further step.
Andy Holloway
I do. I think that a team that, like you're in a division that was bad. Meaning you had an easier path, you played easier. Teams within your division that you won with a sub.500 record, you are taking a playoff spot away from someone who is a better football team. It's bad for the fan who wants to see every team in the playoffs with a chance to make some noise. You don't want there to be a game where it's like everyone's hoping they play against this matchup.
Jason Moore
Thankfully, it's not. I don't think it's really egregious this year. Sometimes you get someone being held out.
Mike Wright
Obviously you rotate the divisions that the divisions play. So sometimes they get tougher divisions that they play against. And then sometimes there's a lot of parity within the division. So you end up eating yourself a little bit. Right. Like all the different teams within the division.
Jason Moore
The Snakes.
Mike Wright
Yeah, they. They. There's no dominant team, so the records can bounce around a little bit because of that.
Jason Moore
It's. Yeah.
Mike Wright
Who is there? Who is their AFC division that they played this year? Do you know off the top of your head?
Jason Moore
I do not.
Andy Holloway
We can figure that out.
Mike Wright
No.
Jason Moore
No, we can't figure it out. Okay.
Mike Wright
We can't figure it out. It looks like the. It was the. They played the East.
Jason Moore
I like that.
Mike Wright
They played the.
Jason Moore
Jason was going to go figure it out. The king of divisions.
Mike Wright
Yeah. You don't even know who are in the divisions. Who's in the AFC East, Jason?
Andy Holloway
I know every. Every single division, every single team who plays against every team in the division. I just don't ever remember the names.
Mike Wright
So who's in the East? That's all I'm asking. That's who they played this year. I'd like to know the East. The AFC East. Yeah.
Andy Holloway
You know, the ones on the eastern side, like the Steelers.
Jason Moore
You were like, look down. You're like, yeah, I'm going to figure this out.
Mike Wright
Yeah. They played Buffalo, New England, New York and Miami this year. And then we're going to. We're going to enjoy the Panthers Buccaneers game. And maybe, you know, is there a team you'd rather see between those two in the playoffs for.
Jason Moore
Between who?
Mike Wright
You want to see Dave Canales and Young.
Jason Moore
I think the Panthers would be a better playoff team. Yeah.
Andy Holloway
I want to see the Buccaneers figure this thing out. I don't want them to go. It feels like. It does feel like that. But I'm still rooting for the Buccaneers. Like, I know we were just talking about Todd Bowles and maybe you need to wrap that up. And I think the fans are sick of it and they're sad that they let Liam Cohen go and all that. Todd Bowles, a good coach. He's won the division many years in a row. They've had a good run. Exactly. You guys are saying. Exactly my point, from my perspective, which is it is so easy to look at a bad stretch run and just be out on a player, on a coach, on a. What? You know, it's not the truth. The truth is.
Mike Wright
So his record with that team with Tampa, 8 and 9. 9 and 8, 10 and 7. 7 and 9. Any change of opinion there?
Andy Holloway
No.
Mike Wright
Before that, as the jets head coach, obviously. 5 and 11. 5 and 11. 4 and 12 the previous three years. Which means he definitely doesn't have a winning record as a head coach.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. Even close to in totality.
Mike Wright
But I'm just a defensive coordinator.
Andy Holloway
Historically, most of the times when head coaches are replaced, it's not always. It's not just, oh, hey, we got a new head coach, so things get better. Teams that fire their head coaches end up doing it again and again and again because they keep searching for the next McVeigh and they don't usually find him. They end up with the John Gannon. And so I just feel like some of these franchises having stability is worth A ton. And I don't think he's a bad coach. So my point is I just hope they figure it out, win this game. Baker starts figuring it out, they make the playoffs and even though they kind of backed in, maybe they, they just end the year with a little bit of momentum. That's my hope.
Jason Moore
Todd Bowles is A Defensive Coach 2025. What I'm seeing right now is they in terms of their. One of the worst in yards. 20th last year, 18th the year before that 23rd. The only. I mean it was first yard wins.
Mike Wright
Liam Cohen.
Jason Moore
Right.
Mike Wright
You know who might go to the playoffs with a win this week? Dave Canales.
Jason Moore
Which NFL.
Mike Wright
I think those were masking issues on this team.
Jason Moore
Don't hire defensive head coaches.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Jason Moore
Really don't do it. It doesn't work.
Andy Holloway
Number two.
Jason Moore
It just, it doesn't in the long run in my. It just doesn't work because you're, you're. The ebbs and flows of your team are going to be oh, oh, you had Liam Cohen's coming and then they're going to go get a head coaching job and your team's going to fall apart. And I think Dan Campbell is a great coach. Ben Johnson leaves and I mean I know Aaron Glenn left and things too. But you, it's hard not to be like let's see what happened. You, you lost your brilliant OC and then it wasn't as good.
Mike Wright
You said they're one in seven. Is that right?
Jason Moore
The Tampa Bay Bucks?
Andy Holloway
I believe so, yeah.
Mike Wright
I mean and that is, that's losing to New Orleans. That's losing to Miami.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. They had a lot of.
Mike Wright
That's losing to Atlanta. That's beat. They did beat Arizona 20 to 17.
Jason Moore
Barely.
Mike Wright
The Cardinals have been losing by a million otherwise. I mean they've, they've lost 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. If they had not lost that one game, my goodness. I just think that it's been a collapse. It's been both sides of the ball. The offense you can't trust in, the defense is getting defeated. So it's wild. I missed the beginning of the year when a buco is exciting and fun and Bucky Irving was healthy and looked.
Andy Holloway
Good and the Buccaneers were chanting MVP for their division leading super bowl contending awesome team that. I mean that was this season the.
Mike Wright
Colts and Buccaneers first half versus second half, very different story. That was news and notes sponsored by Progressive Insurance. Quote Today at progressive.com, progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and third party insurers not available in all States or situations coverage subject to policy terms, limits and conditions. Did you have something you wanted?
Andy Holloway
I was just looking at the beginning of the year. They were 5 and 1. They beat Seattle, they beat San Francisco, they beat the Texans. Like this team was so good this year and then it just like something broke them.
Mike Wright
Yeah, yeah, they. And even getting players back hasn't made the difference on the offensive side. It's crazy. We've got our favorite segment of the entire year. Week 18 waivers.
Andy Holloway
Welcome to the waiver wire. I prefer week 18 waivers to week 18 matchup. So I'll be honest.
Mike Wright
We'll have a Megalodon show tomorrow. All the Week 18 matchups.
Andy Holloway
That'll be awesome.
Mike Wright
AI can't do that, right? We're not there yet. Soon, Al. Yet.
Jason Moore
Okay, yeah.
Mike Wright
Little delay. How those buttons work?
Andy Holloway
Not yet.
Mike Wright
Give me. We'll blitz the waivers for those that are playing.
Jason Moore
Blake Corum was going to be pretty high on this list.
Mike Wright
Audric estimate should play a full allotment of snaps. We know the plans, not Taysom Hill at this point. Jakori Koski. Merritt will probably get some work. He's been on fire.
Jason Moore
He's a little more difficult of because like crud was an illness. What do they do?
Mike Wright
I just think he's been successful two weeks.
Jason Moore
I know. That's what I'm saying.
Mike Wright
He'll get some shots.
Jason Moore
Do they say, okay, you know what, last game of the year, let's see what Bill Crosky can do. I just.
Mike Wright
I think that's possible.
Jason Moore
So I feel like that one. It makes sense. It's Philadelphia and Philadelphia is probably going to want to win. That's a. That's a tougher one. You're going to need more information.
Andy Holloway
It's also one that you want to pay attention to. Later in the week. The Eagles will either say we are starting our guys or we're, you know, if, you know, Jalen Carter is shelved because he's been dealing with injuries. Great. That's, you know, much better for the run game. Run game with your.
Mike Wright
Faded out like you turned your volume down.
Andy Holloway
Week 18, it's really great.
Mike Wright
For the run.
Jason Moore
Guard.
Mike Wright
Devin Single. Terry, Malik Davis, Emmanuel Wilson, other players you can consider.
Andy Holloway
I think running Singletary is probably one of the best bets. You know, last week, Dallas, right? Yeah, it's Dallas, which we saw Bill have a lot of success with last week. And he's getting enough work, 15 opportunities. So, yeah, singletary. Okay. Week 18, that's.
Jason Moore
I was going to say Malik Davis. You got to monitor Javante's injury. But that's two weeks, right? Two weeks in a row that he kind of got banged up and knocked out of the game. I think he's on a one year so maybe he wants to come back in and put some more stuff on tape. But I think he is secured at least a mid level contract from Dallas so I think Malik Davis might be the guy.
Mike Wright
Luther Burden at wide receiver, Parker Washington at wide receiver. Maybe some Ricky Pearsall at wide receiver. And what did you make of Jalen McMillan's ascension? He's basically doing what he did at the end of last year and being trusted to do so. Nine targets.
Jason Moore
I mean yeah, that's wild of so he's played three games, 46% of the snaps, 53 and 52. That was two targets. Three targets, nine. So I mean I think the dart throw makes sense because he's a good player but I'm not going to expect nine targets.
Mike Wright
Is Peirsol going to start a form now into the playoffs?
Jason Moore
Pearsall was so frustrating this weekend because he was. He was highly questionable going into the game and when I'm on Sunday hurt during the game on Sunday live it kind of the reports I think it was from Glazer was like he's going to go. But his last practice it was pretty rough or someone had reported that it's like oh well that I mean a guy coming off of his injury that keeps getting re aggravated. I don't know that he's a strong play and then 5 for 85 is not outrageous but it's very good. And he looked awesome on the field and it was like who. Who is Ricky Piersall?
Andy Holloway
What? The player I like. Ricky Piercel's like individual traits. I think he's a good route runner. I think he's got very good hands. Like he's all the things I like in a wide receiver I like but.
Jason Moore
He sounds like a good wide receiver. He hasn't been good routes, good hands.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, he hasn't been putting it together.
Mike Wright
He plays in the nfc. What's the division that he's in?
Andy Holloway
West, baby. But the thing is is the matchup. I know it's a really important game and you know oftentimes those big all eyes on it games they can turn into shootouts but it's divisional. Seattle's defense has been great. I would rather if I had to take a shot on Ricky Pearsall or Parker Washington who's got back to back 10 targets has been good. The matchup against Tennessee I'd go Parker.
Mike Wright
Washington, would you play Luther Burden above?
Andy Holloway
Yes. Luther Burton would be my number one.
Jason Moore
Assuming his leg is okay, that's the quad very needed.
Mike Wright
So Burden, Washington, Pearsall, then McMillan. McMillan will be playing, you know, Carolina. He's the most widely available, so he is an option. If the other guys are rostered, take a break and we'll talk some tight ends and quarterbacks. All right. Colston Loveland, Mr. Loveland himself. I believe he will have two entrants in the footies nickname category this year, which are on the way. Could have three cats and Dogland Colston. Mr. Loveland. Six for 94 on a touchdown last week. Pick them up if you can. It's a big game. Jake Tonjas. If George Kittle misses again, Ton just stepped right in. Seven. Seven for 60 and a touchdown. Big game against Seattle for the number one spot. You want something on the line there and then beyond that, grab one of those darts and just throw it at the wall. Barner, Parkinson, Waller, Ferguson.
Andy Holloway
Did they. I forget. I know. They ruled Bowers out. Did they just put him on ir? He was on ir, yeah. Okay, so, I mean, mayor is.
Jason Moore
I mean, getting an actual target share over, you know, Waller was three Barner scored, but it was three targets. It's. I prefer a guy who is going to be more involved in the offense and I think may or will be.
Mike Wright
I'm just catching up on this breaking news that we can't barely comment on, but some Stefan Diggs accusations coming out. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The New England Patriots are aware of the accusations that have been made regarding Stefan Diggs. Stefan Diggs has informed the organization that he categorically denies the allegations. We support Stefan. We will continue to gather information and we'll cooperate. Yeah. Some sort of arraignment that was supposed to happen today, I'm not going to get into anymore because it's all coming out right now.
Andy Holloway
But, yeah, we can figure it out and talk about it tomorrow.
Mike Wright
Not good. He also is one of the players with the.
Andy Holloway
He's massive.
Jason Moore
So close to 500 grand.
Mike Wright
So right now, Stefan Diggs needs eight catches for 500,000.
Andy Holloway
That is the perfect line to me, where it's like, you have to start off strong targeting him a lot to get that number. And it's high, but it's achievable. And it's not like 100,000. That's a half a million dollars.
Mike Wright
I Believe Pollard is 66 yards from 250k. You see the Keenan Allen numbers?
Andy Holloway
He can make like, if he gets two touchdowns.
Mike Wright
Yeah. He can make 250, but he can make 750 for six more catches. And the easiest one to accomplish. Rico Dowdle gets a million bucks if seven more total yards.
Jason Moore
Yeah. Nice. Good for you, rico.
Mike Wright
Hunter Henry, 5 catches for 250k.
Andy Holloway
I want to say Rico also has a touchdown. He's one touchdown away from above.
Mike Wright
He is from 250k. You are correct. Dawson knocks a touchdown away from 100k. Saquon's 87 yards away from 250 in Darnold. One hundred and fifty passing yards for 500k. Okay, but probably not. Not going to be paying too much attention to that. They would like the number one seed on the defensive side, guys. Week 18.
Jason Moore
Yeah. So the, the packers, they. Our numbers are showing. They're out there in about half of leagues. They will be playing Minnesota. I can only assume it is Max Brosmer again. And while the Green Bay packers defense is not what it was as of two months ago. Max Brosmar is just it, man. I don't want to be mean to him, but he ain't. He's not an NFL quarterback.
Mike Wright
And I mean the Vikings will. They have a great defense. They'll be facing probably some backups with Green Bay since they're locked in. The Rams take on Arizona. The Cardinals are 14 point underdogs no matter who plays there. Buffalo takes on the jets and Brady Cook.
Jason Moore
Yeah, that would be available. That would be great. And I'm okay playing the Chiefs against the Raiders. I know that the Chiefs are like they're down to the nubs.
Mike Wright
Wanna be Pickett. Yeah, it probably will Pickett and Michael Mayer. Yeah, I'm not intimidated by that.
Jason Moore
Yeah.
Mike Wright
Let's talk some quarterbacks.
Andy Holloway
Full stream ahead.
Mike Wright
I'm going to go Malik Willis against Minnesota. I think he'll get the start. He runs the football 9 for 60 and 2. If I needed a spot start, I don't mind winning at week 18.
Jason Moore
He finished the game right.
Mike Wright
He.
Jason Moore
Because he left for at the end.
Mike Wright
Yeah. Okay, monitor that. But he was the quarterback.
Jason Moore
3.
Andy Holloway
Minnesota's defense has been so good though lately. That's tough. But Malik Willis looked great. I'm going to go with C.J. stroud. They're playing for something. They could still win the division. Their 10 point home favorites against the Indianapolis Colts. You know, they should really, really handle their business there with Riley Leonard starting instead of Philip Rivers. But hopefully Stroud. Stroud's been getting it done. He's. He can always throw a 70 yard touchdown to Nico or Higgins or Noel.
Jason Moore
Come on.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, we know.
Jason Moore
Come on. Justin Herbert's not going to play for the Chargers. It's Trey Lance time, baby.
Andy Holloway
Honestly.
Mike Wright
Oh, my gosh. That's all the time we have for today's show.
Andy Holloway
Honestly, you've got to throw Trey Lance in there. He's Mike's dude. He's going to be the number one.
Jason Moore
Paragraphs to talk about Trey Lance.
Mike Wright
Oh, you do?
Andy Holloway
Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter @the ffballers.
Jason Moore
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Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike “The Fantasy Hitman” Wright
Date: December 30, 2025
In this vibrant and celebratory episode, the Fantasy Footballers crew revels in championship week, reflecting on their own League of Record results, discussing league title stories from listeners, and delivering sharp Week 18 waiver recommendations and playoff motivation breakdowns. The hosts dissect team motivations across both conferences, explain complicated playoff scenarios, and guide managers still playing through the final week. The show maintains its usual blend of comedian banter and incisive fantasy football analysis.
The episode kicks off with raucous celebration for Mike Wright, who claims dual victories in both the League of Record and the Ballers Dynasty League.
Mike sets historic marks, with his two playoff weeks ranking among the highest scores ever in their long-running league.
Andy and Jason bemoan their fates with playful annoyance as Mike is (re-)inducted into the show’s “Ring of Honor.”
Quote [03:00, Andy]: “You’re just fanning farts. That’s all you’re doing.”
Quote [04:07, Andy]: “The Fantasy Footballers Ring of Honor is proud to re-induct the Fantasy Hitman Mike.”
Mike jokes about being “super duper champ” and relishes the rare moment:
Quote [05:25, Mike]: “I am the greatest. I know that it would be bad for us here, but I almost want to ask people to unsubscribe.”
Recognition is given to listener league winners, including “In Zoe We Trust” (Megalobol winner) and Matt Razka (Listener League champion).
Mike applauds listeners for joining the show despite tough championship losses and notes the emotional cycle of fantasy football.
Quote [07:45, Mike]: “If you had the courage … to come and listen to this show the day after your bad break, I applaud you.”
Quote [08:21, Andy]: “The hatred for this game we play is real and alive… then by the time next season starts, it’s like, oh, I can’t believe it’s been too long.”
Bijan Robinson has a monster game, swinging championships.
Rams/Falcons recap: Falcons win puts Buccaneers’ playoff fate in jeopardy.
Noteworthy near-catch by Puka Nacua is discussed as the “best non-catch I’ve ever seen.”
Quote [11:04, Andy]: “Absolutely the best non-catch I’ve ever seen in my life.”
AFC Breakdown
Quote [16:27, Andy]: “We’ve got to find someone who Mike loved who’s not in the league anymore, who's still young enough and just bet money that he comes back.”
NFC Breakdown
Quote [27:25, Andy]: “I feel like they shouldn’t play a playoff game.”
Quote [30:22, Mike]: “It is so easy to look at a bad stretch run and just be out on a player, coach… The truth is [coaching stability] is worth a ton.”
Running Backs:
Wide Receivers:
Tight Ends:
Quarterbacks:
Quote [43:40, Andy]: “Honestly, you’ve got to throw Trey Lance in there. He’s Mike’s dude.”
Defenses:
Debate over defensive head coaches being frequently replaced, and how chasing offensive gurus isn’t always the answer.
Strong case for coaching stability, with long-term improvements over reactionary firing.
Quote [31:53, Jason]: “Don’t hire defensive head coaches… Really, don’t do it. It doesn’t work.”
This episode encapsulates everything Fantasy Footballers fans love: victory lap banter, championship stories, fantasy heartbreak, and sharp actionable advice for Week 18. The hosts balance rich humor and relentless analysis, breaking down playoff scenarios, team motivations, waiver-wire priorities, and fantasy philosophies that reach beyond just roster management. Even as Mike basks in glory, the group arms listeners with everything they’ll need to finish strong or mourn a tough loss in style.