Super Bowl XVI

What did we say last week? "Eric will have to rely on some witchcraft for that once in a decade upset…” Well, it happened, and it looks like our fourth three-time champion will be Fat Jubas! We gave the Tiiite End Jammers the edge at nearly every position but come game time, everyone not named Andrew Luck, LeVeon Bell, and Antonio Brown came up short for Jammers. In fact, while Sunday and Monday represented hope for Lei, this matchup was almost over by Sunday as Fat Jubas jumped out to a huge lead on Saturday night.

Playoff MVP David Johnson had another 100+ combined yards game, and threw up 31.6 points. The quarterback juggling that ended up starting Jameis Winston was a great move by Eric. And that big game Jubas needed from slumping receiver Mike Evans? Got it! Having another receiver step up to help him? Hello Alshon Jeffery's 11.7 points! And with LeGarrette Blount pounding his way to 17 pts himself, Jubas were looking great early on.

The Jammers did make a game of it though. Any time you have Bell and Brown yet to play, any lead can be overcome. And the two Steelers did combine for 47.8 points to close the gap, but a dud by Demaryius Thomas and negative five points from Titans defense really hurt. In the end, the golden trio of Luck, Bell and Brown -- plus Matt Bryant’s 17 pts -- weren’t enough to complete a comeback win for Jammers.

• Fat Jubas (9-4) def Tiiite End Jammers (10-3), 119.9 - 103.9

How did Jubas get here? Well, to be honest, they’ve always been here. Like we said last week, this was their third back-to-back title showing, and they already had two rings (2005, 2012) in their trophy room. Jubas missed the playoffs just once in recent years (starting off 1-8 in 2014), and the last decade has seen them go as far as the division finals seven out of ten times, plus four straight division titles from 2010-2013 (and an additional one this year), and four Super Bowl appearances. Are they the best team from Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses division? That’s a definite “yes.” Are they one of the best franchises in CTDB history? Again, that answer must now be answered in the affirmative.

In the 2012 title game, the hero for Jubas was Cam Newton, who subsequently became a keeper for the next two seasons. And then, starting in 2015, GM Eric decided to ditch keep-ing a quarterback and opted to stream options. Meanwhile, his entire roster has changed from then, as Chris Johnson, Darren McFadden, Vincent Jackson, and Jimmy Graham gave way to the current crop of Jubas’ champs.

The biggest pickup of all was sophomore running back David Johnson -- undrafted as a rookie -- who has emerged as the greatest fantasy weapon of all. And while there’s been ups and downs for the likes of CJ Anderson, Alshon Jeffery, and Emmanuel Sanders over the last few years, each has served their time with Jubas, with Jeffery and Sanders completing their third season before finally getting a long awaited ring.

This year, Jubas started off 5-0 before suffering a 2-4 midseason swoon, but they picked it back up for a 4-1 record to clean up the division title and earned a crucial bye. Then we had the 0.4 point win over Battle Angel to get into the Super Bowl. And then, amidst all the doubters, Jubas came through and finished the job, and got their much deserved third title! Congrats to Eric on his third ring!

As for the Jammers, this Super Bowl collapse was a disappointment but a second finals showing in three years definitely signals that the franchise is back as an every season contender. After going to our first three Toilet Bowls (2010-12), the Jammers have worked themselves up over the past few seasons, culminating in one of the most dominant seasons ever, in 2014. Coming up just short this year is still a win for a team that dropped out of the playoffs last year.

Overall, all this success signals a return to glory for Jammers, and their fantastic keeper core will keep them in title contention for years to come. GM Lei has shown a deft touch on the waiver wire, and this season unearthed Jordan Howard, Tyreek Hill, and Taylor Gabriel, among others. With Luck, Bell, Brown, plus DeMarco Murray and Demaryius Thomas on-board, this is still the most talented team in CTDB and Jammers won’t likely fall prey to the championship curse they suffered last season.