Week 4 of the 2024 NPIFL season is in the books and what a week it was. With the ‘0-4 Special’ pitting two desperate teams together, to say the ERS came out swinging is an understatement. With the final fires finally being extinguished after the epic game,‘ the 0-5 Brymbo Originals are again rebuilding atop Mt. Sion.
Before we look at the rest of the league, Nathan’s Pix saw the O’s manager go 3-3, bringing his season totals to 12-18. As for the best bench, in a week where seven teams had under 35 points on their benches, the WWC set an NPIFL record with 92.36.
Here’s the rundown of what happened in Week 5:
SW 49ers (4-1) 121.04 – 125.42 Chubble (4-1)
The San Wrexham 49ers were indeed in Chubble in Week 4 as the Eagles Meadow high-flyers came away with another big score. YAIC looked like they had won this one for much of Sunday, but a big first half on MNF from Travis Kelce almost derailed their chances.
This would have been quite the blow for HC Oliver Bailey, especially given his trash talk over the weekend. That said, 49ers HC Chris “Ledger” Blockley was vocal too:
“@Olly Byron you’re sh*t at fantasy and you’re gonna get f*cked today b*tch,” Blockley wrote via Facebook.
“You’re in big big chubble,” Bailey responded. “You’re confusing sacrifice with being absolutely w*nk at this game. … @Christian Ledger well well Mr. Big D*ck seems to have lost his balls.”
On the field, the game was decided by the difference at QB in the two teams. Where in previous years, Josh Allen would consistently break 20 points, he has struggled in 2024 with questionable offensive line play and seen a fluctuation in performances. Allen’s 14.64-point outing and potential concussion are a concern for SW going forward.
Alec Pierce’s 134 yards and TD for 20.90 points was the main highlight for SW, along with Andrew Van Ginkel’s pick-six in London, giving the Vikings D 16 points.
YAIC saw QB Lamar Jackson put in another big day, and his 4 TDs and 350 yards gave him 35.02 points. Jackson is averaging 25.1 points per game and the Metro division could be in Chubble in the coming weeks when YAIC comes knocking. Stacking Jackson and Derrick Henry has been extremely lucrative (league’s best stack) and Henry came away with 92 yards and a TD for 16.10 points on top.
There were plenty of good performances for the 49ers, including six players going for 10-20 points, but it wasn’t enough on the day.
This was partly due to the inclusion of Tank Bigsby, who broke away for 101 yards and 23 TDs, both of which were very impressive. His 27.40-point day gets this week’s ‘Least Expected Match Winner Award,’ and Bailey was delighted with what he saw:
“I have been anticipating this moment all year—the moment when Chris experiences a setback. It certainly was an eventful time, and once again, Derek Henry with his impressive hair was my standout performer.
“Josh Allen did not perform well; as soon as I saw his name on the team sheet, I had concerns about their chances, I knew they were in Chubble.
“I recalled their manager’s track record, which raises some doubts. Did you know he is crap at fifa and Football Manager as well? I really feel for the lad. He’s a great cook tho I’ll give him that, some say they taste cat p*ss and ash but I wouldn’t put it to that level.”
While the 49ers HC got his wish of “I just wanna see @Nathan Adams go 0-5,” the franchise has lost its first game of 2024 and will now need to focus on San Wrexham. That focus takes them against Tyreek or Treat, who are suffering with the Dolphins’ lack of QB quality in 2024. As for Chubble, a tantalizing matchup with Santos XI is looming large.
ToT (1-4) 117.14 – 138.76 Santos XI (4-1)
Tyreek or Treat are really hurting since Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa went down with a concussion, and since then, star receiver Tyreek Hill has been a passenger. While the Treat put up a solid score of 117.14, Travis Etienne (10.00) and Hill (9.90) have been lacking those big breakaway TDs that put so many teams to bed in 2023.
D’Andre Swift put up 120 scrimmage yards and a TD for 19.00 points, a team-high. Nine players hit 9 points or more, and the Treat would have come out on top against six teams this week.
However, they faced an XI team that put on a 138.76-point masterclass. A few of the XI’s players seemed like gambles in Week 4, but they paid off nicely.
QB Geno Smith put in his best performance of 2024, going for 22.56 points. TE Tucker Kraft came away with 88 yards and 2 TDs for 22.80 points, another season high. Trey Sermon, acquired after Jonathan Taylor went down injured for the Colts, came away with 15.30 points.
Meanwhile, D.J. Moore had 105 yards and a brace of TDs for 25.00 points, while Wan’Dale Robinson was one the chief beneficiaries of Malik Nabers’ concussion, coming away with a TD for 13.00 points. This was some savvy waiver/FA management on Santos’ behalf, and HC Chris Faulkner was delighted with how it went down:
“It was an incredible win. There has been a lot of talk around points we’ve conceded. I won’t get drawn on that because if I speak I will be in trouble…we’ve only conceded 20 points fewer than managers who talk about these things.
“Chubble ahead? Those kinds of puns are your kind of thing, aren’t they? Be a tough matchup. We think we’ll have enough to see us over the edge. Young Oliver’s WR line-up looks likely to malfunction.”
As for the Treat, HC Jordan Clough was less interested in the media than the task at hand:
“No media comments from Tyreek or Treat at this time, whilst I figure out how this is going so badly.”
The Treat will look to trick the 49ers in Week 6, while Santos XI will look to play uno reverso with You Are In Chubble.
Leviathans (2-3) 116.46 – 98.06 OE Pats (2-3)
The Leviathans were looking very ropey as we entered Week 4. With their only win being by a margin of under a point and at 1-3, Lloyds needed this win almost as much as the ERS needed theirs. With the Eagles on a bye week, the Leviathans were without both QB Jalen Hurts and WR A.J. Brown, who has missed all but one game thus far.
Lloyds got it done in the end, and their gritty win came down to the wire. The Leviathans needed Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (14.00) and their D (9) to outscore Saints WR Chris Olave (2), which they did on MNF.
A lot of heavy lifting was done by Darnell Mooney on Thursday, and his 105 yards and 2 TDs for 27.00 points were crucial for Lloyds, as was TE George Kittle’s 18.40. If the Leviathans’ RBs and WRs can start to find themselves in the end zone, they could certainly mount a challenge, and going 2-3 instead of 1-4 feels significant.
HC Tom Lloyd was pleased with the win:
“Another victory on the road and the Leviathans are not dead yet. It’s been a tough start to the season and I’m proud of our boys, lotta heart on this team. Next week we will be seeking to derail the Love Train with hopefully the return of the Screaming Eagle. Watch this space.”
As for the Patriots, this felt like a game they could have had and the loss will sting. A brace of TDs (including his career’s 100th) by Mike Evans for 22.70 points overshadowed some disappointing performances, with only Brock Purdy (13.06) and Stefon Diggs (12.20) breaking 12 points.
Old England was dealing with the Lions’ bye week, and the absence of Jared Goff and Sam LaPorta may have been decisive here. HC Aminul Hassan spoke to NFLFantasyQs on Wednesday:
“Very disappointed in my team, Purdy and the 49ers were cruising until it all fell apart and the Browns D need to get their act together.”
The Pats travel to take on the 4-1 Miners in Week 6, while the Leviathans look to unleash their ‘Screaming Eagle’ against a Love Train looking to get back on track following two defeats.
SL Rams 100.52 (4-1) – 101.50 WWC (2-3)
The Rams’ undefeated streak came to an abrupt halt against the WWC. With St. Lewis getting by for four weeks on just one running back, losing Jonathan Taylor (for potentially multiple weeks) was going to be significant.
The Rams’ WR trio of Justin Jefferson (12.20), Nico Collins (14.80) and Diontae Johnson (4.40) couldn’t paper over the 11.10 total points at RB between Antonio Gibson (6.10) and Travis Allgeier (5.00). Meanwhile, Jayden Daniels couldn’t quite pull out enough points to win this one (19.72).
It will be interesting to see if the Rams can cope with an extended injury to Taylor, as their weakness at RB is heaping a lot of pressure onto the other positions.
While this game saw only a 1-point margin, that is because the WWC elected not to field Xavier Worthy on Monday, taking the instant win over his 12.30 points.
Kyler Murray led the team with 24.10 points, while the trio of running backs put the WWC over the line. Rhamondre Stevenson’s 17.20 points were complemented by 16.90 from James Cook and 15.50 from Chuba Hubbard, and the WWC will be looking to Week 6 and a potential three-game winning streak.
There will be some interesting decisions ahead, as 92.36 bench points, including 27.40 from Drake London and 18.70 from Brandon Aiyuk will likely lead to some changes.
Rams HC Lewis Done told NFLQS:
“I’d like to congratulate my opponent on a remarkable performance. Given the injury crisis currently hitting the squad I may have to rethink the hiring of Dr Carneiro; we as an organization believe her presence in the treatment room may be leading to an increase in player visits.
“I look forward to getting some players back off IA and getting back to winning ways to keep up our position at the top of the Metro.”
NFLFQS notes that the “injury crisis” Done alludes to was only Jonathan Taylor for Week 4, but could include WR Nico Collins (hamstring [Q, day-to-day]). Jonathan Brooks entered the draft on the PUP list, while Keaton Mitchell has been on the IR since Dec. 17.
Therefore, two of these players are management decisions rather than recent misfortunes, and almost all NPIFL teams have suffered at least two injuries this season, with many handling more than that in Week 4.
As for the WWC, HC Chris Ward was quick to reference his bench and thank his trio of RBs who put the game on their backs:
“Things started off ropey as I made the wrong WR picks, but my RBs thankfully dug us out of a hole. It’s a good job we caught the Rams on an off-day.”
Miners (4-1) 100.00 – 88.64 Love Train (2-3)
The Brymbo Miners continued their good form/fortune against the Love Train, and now have a four-game winning streak against Damen Griffiths’ team. The Miners got off to a good start on Thursday night, with Kyle Pitts (12.30), Chase McLaughlin (16.00) and Jesse Bates (9.50) putting the team in a good position.
The issue for Brymbo was that they couldn’t build on this, and only Deshaun Watson (8.40) recorded a touchdown in the game. Other than the above, only WR Christian Kirk broke 10 points and the Miners were lucky to win.
Brymbo was missing some big names, but just about got the job done with Malik Nabers, Anthony Richardson and Cooper Kupp out injured, and with J.K. Dobbins on a bye week.
Picking a highlight for this almost touchdownless victory allowed us to look closer at Jessie Bates’ 2 forced-fumble display on Thursday, one of which came at a crucial point in the game.
The Love Train got off to a very slow start and for the most part, were dormant in Week 5. Brock Bowers (20.70) pulled the game close with a 57-yard TD, and Brymbo fans were likely starting to sweat. That, however, was really it, as only the Packers D (11), Budda Baker (10) and QB Justin Fields (17.94) broke 10 points, while seven key players hit between 2-6.
Aaron Jones going down early in London was a stumbling block TLT couldn’t quite overcome, and his and Breece Hall’s combined 12 points from that game were unexpected lows.
Miners HC John Maxwell was less interested in his own team than his crosstown rivals this week:
“I just can’t believe the O’s lost this week. Just … wow.”
As has been noted in 2024, Love Train HC Damen Griffiths was unavailable for comment after a defeat. The Miners will host the Pats in Week 6, while the Love Train will try to pick up some steam against the Leviathans.