Playoff Challenge
Second Season Playoff Challenge
January 2026
Just like most years, the guy who correctly picks the Super Bowl participants at the outset of the Challenge is the guy who wins it. Usually that guy is Max or Greg, but this year it’s Jose. He set a lineup of five Patriots and three Seahawks in Wild Card week and rode those guys to a come-from-eighth-place victory, thanks to a full boat of 4X multipliers in the Super Bowl. The trio of the Seattle D, Kenneth Walker and Drake Maye alone provided 73% of his 314 Big Game points, and their 230 combined was more than any other ‘Ganger scored in that game. It was also more than enough to race up the scoreboard and overtake Haydn, knocking him into second place. Jeff finished third, less than four points ahead of Jim. Just a bad day all ’round for Dr Jim, I’m afraid.
Onward to the Super Bowl we go. Let’s check the multiplier baggage we’re bringing with us.
Just three of us have the Golden Boy with a multiplier: Jose and Juice have Maye at 4X, and Jim has him at 3X. Sam Darnold, who used to be on that meme, is at 4X for Greg. The rest of us start afresh, at QB at least.
In addition to Maye, Jose and Juice each bring another seven guys with multipliers to the Big Game. Indeed, all eight of Jose’s guys are at 4X, while Juice has seven at 4X and one at 2X. Both sit about 220 points off Haydn’s pace, however; can Haydn, with two 4X and one 2X player, hold them off?
To round out the multiplier roundup: Jim has four Patriots at 3X; Doug has four Seahawks at 3X, and Greg has three Seahawks at 4X. Andy has two Patriots at 2X.
Who am I leaving out? Oh, yeah: Jeff, Kurt, Max and Thurm will have lineups filled with 1X players, having seen our hopes of a Rams-Broncos matchup wiped out in round three.
Here’s three (four?) ways of looking the multipliers in our projected SB lineups:
… and Jose… and Juice… but mostly Jim, methinks. Sure, Jose and Juice head into Conference Championship Weekend with Maye and his 3X multiplier in the QB position. But as our resident Pats guy, Jim surely is more amped about Sunday’s AFC title game than anyone.
Let’s not overlook Jose and Juice’s investment in the Pats this weekend, however. As U can see in the table below, Juice has six 3X Pats going and Jose has five at 3X. Haydn has one at 3X as well, while Jim has four at 2X and Thurm has one at 2X.
So is Denver the contrarian play then? Not necessarily. Max and Greg bring four Broncos at 3X to the party, and Thurm has two at 2X.
I’m sad to report that Greg brings ANOTHER four 3X players with him this weekend (all Seahawks), while Jose brings three 3X Seahawks, too. That’s eight fully armed and operational 3X guys in their lineups; Max and Juice have seven 3Xers
Kurt, I’m afraid our days at the top are numbered.
On to Round 2 we go, and with it the multipliers that kick in for guys we’ll carry over from Round 1. Below is a grid of 2X players available to each of us; we can assume all will play. Or will everyone do the right thing and drop all their Rams and Seahawks and Patriots, and JUST GRAB SOME BEARS!!!!!
And remember, we’re using a different format than last year: You’re able to replace the guys you lost last week. Jags can become, I don’t know? 49ers? Eagles can transform into… Broncos? Just reset your lineup before early kickoff on Saturday.
