Embedded Files
Written by Cory Puffett
Published November 5, 2026
I managed to get organized enough this week to get this one out a bit earlier than my last two. Maybe next week I can actually beat Thursday Night Football.
It had been nearly three years since the last time the top two scoring teams for the week were matched up with one another. That year, we had four teams lose games with 10-1 all-play records.
If you'd like to check out League Legacy's AI-generated recaps of all six games this week and a preview of Week 9, you can check it out on League Legacy.
I've also had the site run a more in-depth Rivalry Spotlight feature story for our Week 9 Game of the Week between Will Massimini and Alex Mayo.
As we cross the bridge into the second half of our regular season, League Legacy has also generated a mid-season report. It covers the first seven weeks of our regular season so you can look back at where things stood entering an explosive Week 8.
Let's jump into all the good stuff from last week!
Game of the Week: Cory Puffett (99.43) vs Stephen April (114.28)
Game of the Week: Cory Puffett (99.43) vs Stephen April (114.28)
All-time H2H: Stephen leads series 7-5
In perhaps one of the most bizarre games of the week in AFL history, it’s incredible that this game went down to the wire.
Lamar Jackson returned from injury for Cory’s squad and on his first play from scrimmage, he threw an incompletion, injured his thumb, and left the game. He’ll require surgery and an IR stay, and his season very well could be over according to reports.
Jackson wasn’t Cory’s only player who had one play before missing the rest of the contest -- Kendrick Bourne had one catch, albeit for 29 yards, before exiting his game for good. Meanwhile, in that same Cardinals-Cowboys game, Tyler Allgeier erupted for 35 points on Cory’s bench.
Despite that, and despite strong outings from DeMario Douglas and Blake Corum in Stephen’s lineup, it all came down to D’Andre Swift on Monday Night Football. Cory led by a bit over 13 points and Swift’s projection in the high 12s was not going to cut it.
A touchdown run late in the third quarter cut Stephen’s deficit to a razor-thin margin, and halfway through the fourth quarter it seemed like Seattle’s strong run defense might just hold the line. Instead, Swift scored two 5-yard rushing touchdowns less than four minutes apart to secure a comfortable victory margin for Stephen despite the nail-biting circumstances.
Cory's top scorer: Jonah Coleman, RB | 19.83 points
Stephen's top scorer: D'Andre Swift, RB | 28.91 points
Eric Meyer (141.18) vs Brandon Saunders (146.98)
Eric Meyer (141.18) vs Brandon Saunders (146.98)
All-time H2H: Eric leads series 11-10
Eric's top scorer: Bhayshul Tuten, RB | 30.78 points
Brandon's top scorer: Brock Bowers, TE | 25.35 points
William Kellogg (96.04) vs Will Massimini (129.89)
William Kellogg (96.04) vs Will Massimini (129.89)
All-time H2H: Will leads series 1-0
William's top scorer: Drake Maye, QB | 23.59 points
Will's top scorer: Joe Burrow, QB | 41.85 points
Evan Ash (128.67) vs Alex Mayo (113.97)
Evan Ash (128.67) vs Alex Mayo (113.97)
All-time H2H: Evan leads series 6-2
Evan's top scorer: Tee Higgins, WR | 34.45 points
Alex's top scorer: Chuba Hubbard, RB | 22.26 points
William Battle (116.57) vs Sean Kennedy (101.54)
William Battle (116.57) vs Sean Kennedy (101.54)
All-time H2H: William leads series 10-9
William's top scorer: Josh Allen, QB | 28.08 points
Sean's top scorer: Kirk Cousins, QB | 30.35 points
Alex Kincaid (98.38) vs Anthony Battle (103.49)
Alex Kincaid (98.38) vs Anthony Battle (103.49)
All-time H2H: Anthony leads series 7-4
Alex's top scorer: Tony Pollard, RB | 27.13 points
Anthony's top scorer: Jaylen Warren, RB | 22.61 points
Free Agent All-Stars vs Tom Brady Award Winner
Every week, we take the best possible lineup made of players who were available on waivers in the AFL at the end of the week and compare it to the top scoring team of the week in our league. Included percentages for the Free Agent All-Star players represent the percentage of FleaFlicker leagues in which each the player was rostered as of data gathering (usually Tuesday morning).
Final Score:
Free Agent All-Stars – 149.11
Brandon Saunders – 146.98
YTD Tom Brady Award Winner Record: 2-6
IR Report
In our league, any player can be placed on IR regardless of injury designation. Once on IR, the player cannot be moved, dropped, or traded for a minimum of three weeks.
After Week 1, IR placements are retroactive to the prior week as long as the player was already on the team's roster but was not in the starting lineup during that prior week. This means those players will be eligible to come off IR after just a two-week stay.
Competitive Lineup Penalty Report
This year, we instituted a new rule requiring managers to start a full lineup of active players. A strike system penalizes managers who leave inactive players, or players on bye, in their starting lineup.
Strike 1: No penalty
Strike 2: Fine of $100 FAAB + move to back of all postseason tiebreakers
Strike 3: Repeat Strike 2 penalty + move to back of every round of next year's draft
Strike 4: Dismissal from AFL
Strikes clear in reverse order, two seasons (currently 30 regular season weeks) after the first earned strike.
Weekly Manager Awards
How were this week's $10 divvied up? Weekly awards with no financial benefit can also be found here
Weekly Manager Awards
How were this week's $10 divvied up? Weekly awards with no financial benefit can also be found here
$4 - Tom Brady Award (Highest Scorer) Brandon Saunders #12 in his career
146.98 points Does not rank in Top 100 all-time
$1 - Norm Van Brocklin Award (Top QB) Will Massimini* #11 in his career
Joe Burrow*, 41.85 6th career QB1 week
$1 - Adrian Peterson Award (Top RB) Eric Meyer #29 in his career (most all-time)
Bhayshul Tuten, 30.78 1st career RB1 week
$1 - Flipper Anderson Award (Top WR) Evan Ash #22 in his career (3rd most all-time)
Tee Higgins, 34.45 1st career WR1 week
$1 - Shannon Sharpe Award (Top TE) Brandon Saunders #21 in his career (most all-time)
Brock Bowers, 25.35 6th career TE1 week
$1 - Scott O'Brien Award (Top K) Cory Puffett* #20 in his career (3rd most all-time)
Tyler Bass, 16.70 7th career K1 week
$1 - Chuck Noll Award (Top DEF) Eric Meyer #15 in his career
Jacksonville Jaguars, 23.41 5th DEF1 week all-time
Alvin Kamara Award (Top Player) Will Massimini #14 in his career (t-5th most all-time)
Joe Burrow, 41.85 3rd career Kamara Award
David Carr Award (Lowest Scorer) William Kellogg #3 in his career
#1 Power Ranking Stephen April #27 in his career (2nd most all-time)
#12 Power Ranking Anthony Battle #9 in his career
*Repeat from last week
Milestones reached
These managers reached significant milestones this week (powered by League Legacy)
Milestones reached
These managers reached significant milestones this week (powered by League Legacy)
Achievements
Brandon Saunders All-time wins record (112 wins)
Anthony Battle 100 career wins
Blunders
Sean Kennedy 1,000 all-play losses
Coaching Report
Who earned or cost him team the most points or a win based on coaching decisions? Find out here.
Coaching Report
Who earned or cost him team the most points or a win based on coaching decisions? Find out here.
Chuck Knox Award (Best Coach) Will Massimini #15 in his career (t-3rd most all-time)
Succeeding on one of two coaching risks, Will earned a league-high 12.03 points in Week 8. He cost his team 2.50 points by starting Chris Boswell at kicker instead of Cairo Santos, but he earned 13.05 points by starting the Chicago Bears at defense instead of the New York Jets, who he dropped.
Hue Jackson Award (Worst Coach) William Kellogg #2 in his career
William cost his team a league-high 15.04 points by failing on both of his coaching risks. Giving Emanuel Wilson the nod at FLEX over Jordan Mason cost his team 2.84 points, and he lost another 12.20 points by starting Will Reichard instead of Chase McLaughlin at kicker.
Managers took a combined 11 coaching risks this week and were successful on 4. The league's net point differential was +6.61
To date in 2026, the AFL has a .491 success rate on 106 total coaching risks with a -94.79 point differential
Manager Luck Report
Who suffered an unlucky loss or earned a lucky win this week? Find out here. (Note: Season-long luck has a new home in the Power Rankings chart)
Manager Luck Report
Who suffered an unlucky loss or earned a lucky win this week? Find out here. (Note: Season-long luck has a new home in the Power Rankings chart)
Lucky Wins
Anthony Battle 4-7 breakdown (#8 scorer for the week)
Unlucky Losses
Eric Meyer 10-1 breakdown (#2 scorer for the week)
Positional Top 100 Leaderboards
These players posted one of the 100 best performances in AFL history within their position groups.
Positional Top 100 Leaderboards
These players posted one of the 100 best performances in AFL history within their position groups.
Joe Burrow, QB Will Massimini 41.85 Points (#24 all-time)
Burrow now has three games in his career that are among the Top 100 single-game quarterback outings.
Tee Higgins, WR Evan Ash 34.45 Points (#64 all-time)
This was a new career high for Higgins
Brock Bowers, TE Brandon Saunders 25.35 Points (#60 all-time)
Bowers already has four individual games that rank among the Top 100 tight ends games in AFL history.
Missed Opportunities
Players riding their managers' benches who would have been key contributors, and matchups with the losing manager's optimal score was higher than their opponent's real score.
Missed Opportunities
Players riding their managers' benches who would have been key contributors, and matchups with the losing manager's optimal score was higher than their opponent's real score.
High St Homies left the #4 Po performance of the week on his bench
Patrick Mahomes, 27.27 Points
Mahomes would have been High St Homies's top scorer, but the lineup was set by platform projections.
Cory Puffett left the #1 RB performance of the week on his bench
Tyler Allgeier, 35.28 Points
Allgeier would have been Cory's top scorer.
William Kellogg left the #5 TE performance of the week on his bench
Mike Gesicki, 14.70 Points
William had the real TE2 in his lineup; Gesicki outscored three running backs in William's lineup
William Kellogg left the #5 K performance of the week on his bench
Chase McLaughlin, 13.20 Points
William Battle left the #4 DEF performance of the week on his bench
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 17.68 Points
Cory Puffett scored 99.43 points in his loss to Stephen April
His optimal score of 155.23 was higher than April's score of 114.28 points
William Kellogg scored 96.04 points in his loss to Will Massimini
Will's score of 96.04 was higher than Gonzaga's score of 129.89 points
High St Homies scored 98.38 points in his loss to Anthony
His optimal score of ##.## was higher than Opponent's score of ##.## points
Eric Meyer scored 141.18 points in his loss to Brandon
His optimal score of 153.13 was higher than Opponent's score of 146.98 points
Weekly League-wide Point Total
How high- or low-scoring was this week in the context of AFL history?
Weekly League-wide Point Total
How high- or low-scoring was this week in the context of AFL history?
The AFL scored 1,390.42 points in Week 8
This ranked #41 in league history out of 193 regular season weeks
Scoring Anomalies
Did the second-highest scoring team lose? Or the second-lowest scoring team win? These sorts of anomalies and more are included here.
Scoring Anomalies
Did the second-highest scoring team lose? Or the second-lowest scoring team win? These sorts of anomalies and more are included here.
For the 11th time in AFL history, the two top scoring teams faced off. They had a narrow point differential of 5.80 points.
Stephen April's league-leading active streak of 100-point games extended to 8
Evan Ash's league-leading active drought of 100-point games ended at 3
Nobody in the league has an active drought of more than one game.
Historical Playoff Probabilities
Playoff probabilities for managers, by record, based on data from the AFL's first 13 completed seasons. See the power ranking chart for contextualized playoff probabilities, powered by PlayoffComputer.
Historical Playoff Probabilities
Playoff probabilities for managers, by record, based on data from the AFL's first 13 completed seasons. See the power ranking chart for contextualized playoff probabilities, powered by PlayoffComputer.
7-1: Brandon Saunders
Of 52 playoff teams in AFL history, 9 (17.3%) began the season 7-1.
Beginning the season 7-1 gives a manager an 81.8% chance of making the postseason.
Of 13 Sabol Bowl champions in AFL history, 5 (38.5%) began their title campaign 7-1.
Beginning the season 7-1 gives a manager a 45.5% chance of winning the Sabol Bowl.
6-2: Stephen April
Of 52 playoff teams in AFL history, 12 (23.1%) began the season 6-2.
Beginning the season 6-2 gives a manager a 70.6% chance of making the postseason.
Of 13 Sabol Bowl champions in AFL history, 2 (15.4%) began their title campaign 6-2.
Beginning the season 6-2 gives a manager an 11.8% chance of winning the Sabol Bowl.
4-4: Evan Ash, William Battle, Sean Kennedy, Will Massimini, Alex Mayo, Cory Puffett
Of 52 playoff teams in AFL history, 15 (28.8%) began the season 4-4.
Beginning the season 4-4 gives a manager a 36.6% chance of making the postseason.
Of 13 Sabol Bowl champions in AFL history, 3 (23.1%) began their title campaign 4-4.
Beginning the season 4-4 gives a manager a 7.3% chance of winning the Sabol Bowl.
3-5: William Kellogg, High St Homies, Eric Meyer
Of 52 playoff teams in AFL history, 4 (7.7%) began the season 3-5.
Beginning the season 3-5 gives a manager an 11.1% chance of making the postseason.
Of 13 Sabol Bowl champions in AFL history, 0 (0.0%) began their title campaign 3-5.
Beginning the season 3-5 gives a manager a 0.0% chance of winning the Sabol Bowl.
2-6: Anthony Battle
Of 52 playoff teams in AFL history, 2 (3.8%) began the season 1-6.
Beginning the season 2-6 gives a manager a 10.5% chance of making the postseason.
Of 13 Sabol Bowl champions in AFL history, 0 (0.0%) began their title campaign 2-6.
Beginning the season 2-6 gives a manager a 0.0% chance of winning the Sabol Bowl.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse