The 1v4 matchup was pretty much determined heading into Monday night even with one player left for each manager. Anthony needed a huge game from Green Bay’s defense with Josh Jacobs and a lead of 17.63 points favoring Sean.

In the end, the Packers turned in a strong effort for Anthony, but he’ll have to wait at least another year for a shot at his first Sabol Bowl title.

This was the second time Sean and Anthony met in the AFL semifinals. The last time was in 2019 when Sean also won by a score of 160.78-143.90 a week before Sean won Sabol Bowl VII against Brandon Saunders.

The 2v3 matchup went down to Sunday Night Football. Brandon led Stephen by 2.64 points with Rico Dowdle left to play against Brandon Aubrey.

Tampa Bay’s 9th ranked rushing defense held Dowdle to 23 yards on the ground and he didn’t do nearly enough through the air to fend off Aubrey and his four field goals of 49+ yards.

Like the other semifinal matchup, this one featured managers who had faced off once before in the playoffs. Unlike the other semifinal matchup, you didn't have to turn the page back multiple seasons to find their last postseason meeting. Just a year ago, Brandon defeated Stephen 143.81-119.50 en route to his first ever Sabol Bowl title. Stephen was able to flip the script this year.

Butkus Bracket

The 5v8 matchup featured Cory Puffett against his oldest friend and also newest leaguemate, Jeffery McDonald. Outside of a strong Saturday evening outing from Lamar Jackson, Jeffery's team didn't really show up for him, least of all Nick Folk who was left in his lineup despite being inactive on Sunday. Cory enjoyed terrific outings from his Lions players, Ameer Abdullah, and Tank Dell prior to his heartbreaking, season-ending knee injury to earn a shot at a second straight Butkus Award.

In the other matchup, both managers left inactive tight ends in their lineups. Though Jaxon Smith-Njigba showed up for Evan Ash, Alex Kincaid demolished him by more than 60 points, almost double the next largest margin of victory this week. Saquon Barkley and James Cook provided the fireworks while Jake Elliott and five other double-digit scorers handled cleanup duty.

Snyder Bracket

In an intense contest to try and avoid playing in the AFL's Snyder game, Eric Meyer and Will Massimini were the week's two highest scorers. It proved too little, too late for one of them. Eric was the final Tom Brady Award winner of the 2024 regular season but he fell off just enough in Week 16 for Will to avoid playing in the punishment game for a third straight year. It's slow, steady progress for the manager who had to serve the AFL's first ever punishment in 2023 and then avoided serving this year's punishment thanks to a Snyder game victory. Jonathan Taylor's 42-point performance was the difference-maker as he took a 17.07-point lead into Monday night and Brandon McManus came just three points short in Eric's comeback bid.

Meanwhile in the 10v11 matchup, an early exit for Jalen Hurts against Washington wasn't great for Alex Mayo's win probability. Fortunately, De'Von Achane and Jameson Williams showed out to keep him even with the strong performances Patrick Mahomes and Bijan Robinson turned in for William Battle. When the 49ers defense lost just over 3 points for William, Alex avoided going from the #1 seed in the 2023 AFL playoffs to playing in 2024's last-place game.

For the first time since 2018 when Stephen joined the AFL, he and Sean will face off for a second time in a season. They have never shared a division, never been interdivision rivals, or faced off in the postseason. Now they have a second date scheduled for Week 17 and guarantee themselves meetings in Weeks 1 and 5 of the 2025 regular season.

Meanwhile, two other managers will face off with the goal of avoiding the AFL's last-place punishment. Eric Meyer and William Battle are featured in this year's Snyder Game. The loser will have to cover the shipping cost of both the championship and loser belts to their new owners (if shipping is necessary) and will be responsible for completing a punishment to be selected by the winner of this year's Pro Bowl.

If Brandon Saunders beats Cory Puffett in this year's Pro Bowl, the loser of the Snyder Game will have to complete a timed 40-yard dash before the 2025 AFL Draft and send the video to the rest of the league.

If Cory beats Brandon, the punishment for the loser of the Snyder Game will be to purchase and feature a deep pink license plate cover with the words "I SUCK" along the top bar and "AT FANTASY FOOTBALL" along the bottom bar. This cover must be displayed on their vehicle from the day of the 2025 AFL Draft through the end of the 2025 AFL season (the final day Sabol Bowl XIII).