FINAL POWER RANKINGS OF THE SEASON. There will likely be more content, so stay tuned. What a season it has been. It looks like we have 2 rivalry matches booked for the playoffs in all likelihood, which is very poetic in my opinion. One team edges (pause?) regular season greatness, while everyone else is preparing for the playoff push. Meanwhile, Carter had an unceremonious exit to Super League, yet he will be missed (by some, including me).

-Commish

Tier 1: Big Boys

1. Bud Ice Penguins (+1)
No comment. Stay tuned for next week win or lose.

2. Zark's Sharks (-1)

The Sharks look like they will finish with the top scoring team of the season. Incredible, yet expected, stuff from them. The Sharks FINALLY get Justin Jefferson back this week, but have been doing quite fine without him. A BYE is confirmed, and so is a date against step-bro rival Washington Fantasy Team. This team has (as of last week before his BYE) the top scorer in fantasy in Josh Allen, two incredible running backs, 3 legit WR1 candidates, a solid QB2, and more flex options than he knows what to do with. This is as championship winning roster. It's possible this team doesn't win, especially given how dominant Noah's team looked this week, but I think I'd put my money on him to win, despite the rank drop this week.

3. PGH Crooners (+1)

RAHHH!!! What a season from the expansion squad. The Crooners lock up their play-in spot with style, beating likely opponent in the play-in Slat's Slimes by 20, putting up a stunning 160 without three key players in the starting lineup. I would be seriously worried about the Crooners if I was Noah. They have proven that they know how to win big games, and in my opinion proved that they were the stronger expansion team this season, now locking up H2H and overall record advantages over the Slimes (the Slimes have been good too, don't get me wrong). Fields and Moore are an electric tandem, Achane looks like himself in his first real game back, Love is proving himself, Kittle and Pittman have been solid as hell this year. The list goes on and on with this team. Say what you want, but the Crooners are contenders. They will have another matchup with Sam as long as no huge upset occurs in the Sam vs Ghost of Carter game, one they should be favored in. What a debut from the Crooners.

4. Washington Fantasy League (-1)

While I anticipated a drop in the rankings if the RB situation didn't come together, the actual drop comes from how dominant PGH has looked in the last section of this season. WFT is still solidly in control of a first round BYE, but I would not favor them in the playoffs at this point, even with a massive 7 game win streak coming into the final regular season week. Curtis has put together one of the most special playoff runs in league history, and certainly the most improbable, but time will tell if this season can turn into more. This club may have been better off entering the play-in and facing Noah in round 1, which could have been a favorable matchup, especially given the Penguins are banged up themselves now. It does look like Walker will be back in the mix before the playoffs, and Dak Prescott has been unreal in the second half of this season. Add in an electric supporting cast, and you have 7 straight wins. This team is obviously still a contender, but the league is so strong right now.

5. Slat's Slimes (-)

The Slimes lose despite having a bounce back scoring performance, but that's Super League for you this season. They have to take care of business this week against the ghost of his rival/buddy. Carter being kicked from the league may have actually hurt Sam's chances of winning next week.... But only by a fraction of a percent. Sam should roll in week 14 behind a mostly loaded lineup, but problems still exist for this team. They still have yet to get both QBs rolling in the same week, and Herbert especially has been struggling lately. Ekeler is looking like a non starter at this point, but that shouldn't matter too much as there are a few remaining steady flex options for this team. I think this team obviously has the hardest road to the championship, but it's not completely impossible. I think he needs to see signs of life from Justin Herbert or some serious decisions will need to be made about BOTH Chargers going forward. He gets the tier upgrade due to the points bounce back, but clearly 5th in my opinion.

Tier 3: Processing...

1.StepBurrow Stoppppp (-)

StepBurrow has it all in terms of a rebuild: superstar keepers, a mountain of picks, and a manager unafraid of conducting business. Jacob has done about as good of a job as possible to turn around the fortunes of this team for next season, and about the only barriers to a guaranteed playoff are injuries, rule changes that would disadvantage him, or whiffing on draft picks, all of which are unlikely at the level needed to derail this level of value on one squad. Easy number one here.

2. Parma Pirates (-)

The Pirates have been here before, and given extra ammo, have produced solid seasons. Jalen Hurts looks like the top keeper option for next season, and having AJ Brown alongside him is a premium advantage. This team will need to hit on draft picks or make some more savvy moves in order to pass Jacob in expected results due to the deck being stacked heavily in StepBurrow's favor, but still, I think this team has an excellent shot of being in the finals next season.

3. Bridge Road Orcas (n/a)

The Orcas join the rebuild ranks for the first time this season, and while the playoff situation isn't completely dead, it's not looking good by any means. Despite the constant badgering from Noah this week, Jack is a Super League legend in his own right and still set a very good record that was one game away from being perfect itself. We have never seen Jack operate with extra ammo, so it will be interesting to see how he uses it. Stroud is a top tier keeper going forward, and the decision to sell high on Tua may have been a very good one. I think this team is as close to a playoff lock as you can get when you're over 365 days away from said playoffs.

4. Play Action Jackson (-1)

PAJ is a stain on the league. They have narrowly avoided the tanking vote several times now, and they piss me off as a franchise at this point, especially given there being zero incentive to bottoming out in the first place. They do have extra picks next year (quite a few actually), but are behind basically every team in terms of ball knowledge and winning acumen in a fantasy football environment. Still, it's hard to ignore the rebuilding efforts, even if these guys are scumbags in a league sense.

Tier 4: The Graveyard

Ω. The Ghost of Carter Tracey (-1)

Time will tell what happens to this franchise. It's a shame that Carter went out how he did, absolutely not giving a single care about this league. His season can only be called a disgrace on this storied franchise, and a disgrace to the hard work the people in this league put in. After multiple weeks of dragging Carter to attempt to play, he finally gave up on his team despite multiple attempts from the commissioner to avoid this outcome. Carter will be missed, but I do believe someone who has more bandwidth to lead this franchise to greatness would be an improvement. Carter had some of the more unlikely wins and records in league history, so tonight I pour one out for him. Carter did not do the future owner of this team any favors by trading a lot of the pick capital away, but at least they will have multiple firsts, including a pick with the top lotto odds, as a starting point.