Forget the turkey. Is Blayze done?

Or is that a rhetorical question? There will almost surely be one leader in each division after Week 12 concludes on Monday night. But will the Saddles be one of them?

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy those turkey legs.

Three weeks ago, we had the Blazing Saddles and Recliners penciled in as division champions and the most likely pair to meet up in the 2022 JSFL Super Bowl. Fast forward to the final four weeks of the regular season, and Blayze is in the fight of his life to make the playoffs.

What the heck happened?

Welcome to Blayze’s first week of what will be a two-week death march through the depths of hell in the Shit Talkers Division. If he can survive the next two weeks, he has a chance. If he can split games against the Tirades and the Pack, he has a chance. If he gets blanked in the next two weeks, he might be done. The ray of hope is on the horizon. If we look into the early part of December, Blayze closes the season against two cupcakes – the two lowest-scoring teams in the league, the Pillow Biters and the Invalids. But, can he keep the rails on the track long enough to make one or both of those likely wins count?

Yeah, we didn’t think so. Back in October, Blayze was in cruise control and had, what looked at the time, a hammerlock on the division lead.

But many a nightmare unfolds in November in the JSFL.

Getting back to that question a few paragraphs ago, we at the JSFL Today staff want to spend a little more time looking into what the heck happened to the Blazing Saddles to put them in this position in the first place. Could it simply be Blayze’s reluctance to trust Tua? Or was it injuries to Jonathan Taylor and Aaron Jones? Or simply the failure of Taylor and Jones to be the workhorse backs they were expected to be?

The staff at JSFL Today believe it could be something much more sinister and evil. Could Blayze be in cahoots with father-in-law Bob Garcia to ruin the foundations of the JSFL brotherhood? Yeah, we don’t think those two are that whacked out and crazy.

Just call it a bad string of bum luck. He lost to the Band Aids last week, for god’s sake. No one would intentionally do that, unless Bob has something really damaging to hold over Blayze’s head.

Maybe Blayze just wanted to keep the final four weeks of JSFL regular-season play interesting. There is a two-way tie with the Tirades for first in the Shit Talkers Division, with two more teams – the Pack and the Gerbils, both at 5-6 – lurking just one game back.

Over in the Senior Circuit, the Recliners sit two games clear of a second-place tie between the Spread Beaters and the Rangers (with the same 6-5 record as the Saddles and Tirades) with the 5-6 Pillow Biters somehow lurking and still potentially in the mix.

That is a lot of drama to unpack in the final four weeks. The only other drama unfolding is the tie for the first pick next year between the Invalids and Band Aids. Bob further hamstrung his chance for wins down the stretch by dealing his first pick this year, TE Mark Andrews, to Blayze for Dalton Schultz and a seventh-rounder next year. The rest of the Band Aid squad is on the trading block but he does not seem to be getting many nibbles.

We won't even talk about the trade the Band Aids accepted with the Tirades (for Cooper Fucking Kupp) but then reneged on, other than to say "I didn't read the fine print" is a pretty pathetic excuse, especially for a lawyer.

The full slate of games is on tap this week, but a quick reminder that six teams play Thanksgiving Day, so we hope you guys adjusted those lineups accordingly. The Turkey Day schedule calls for the Detroit Lions to play host to the Buffalo Bills in the early game; the Cowboys and Giants play the afternoon contest; and the Vikings and Patriots play the evening game.

Game of the Week

Blazing Saddles vs. Tirades (-8): And, then there were two vying for the top seed in the Shit Talkers’ Division. And, two more lurk not far back in the rear-view mirror. And, if ESPN is to be trusted, it does not think the Saddles have the horses to make the playoffs. ESPN is projecting a 48-percent chance for the Saddles to enter the money round, and have four other teams – the Recliners, Spread Beaters, Tirades and Rangers with better odds to advance. This week’s action, and, in particular this game, will go a long way to determining the Saddles’ chances. It appears Blayze has finally come to his senses and has benched Justin Herbert at QB and is giving the nod to Tua. It might be too little too late, especially against the Tirades. Ron counters with Patrick Mahomes and is favored in that pairing. The Saddles RBs carry a slight scoring advantage over Dalvin Cook and Rahmondre Stevenson. But the scoring edge and what probably will tip this contest is the scoring edge Ron has in the receiving corps, especially with the addition of Travis Kelce at TE. Ron likely will have to sweat out a big night from Taylor on Monday against Pittsburgh. Take the Tirades and 3.

Rest of the Best

Spread Beaters (-12) vs. Rangers: The Spread Beaters did what they had to do in Week 11 – paste the top-seeded Recliners. Now, Pringle has to do it again this week by taking down another division rival, the Rangers. Jalen Hurts, Derrick Henry and Kenneth Walker III might be too much for the Rangers to overcome. The Rangers will need a huge Turkey Day performance by Justin Jefferson to make this one interesting. Take the Spread Beaters by a dozen.

Recliners (-2) vs. Gerbils: This one is suddenly full of intrigue. The once-dominant Recliners got caught in a shootout last week and lacked the firepower to hold off the Spread Beaters. Now, the Gerbils are one of the highest-scoring teams over the last three weeks and could give Chris plenty of trouble. The Recliners have a scoring advantage in almost every key position. QB Lamar Jackson, who has looked mortal in recent weeks, is overdue for a huge game and might land the knockout punch in this one when he takes on Jacksonville.

The Recliner RBs – Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard – face either other on Turkey Day. One may go off, but not likely both. The receivers – Tyreek Hill, Tee Higgins and George Kittle – all have favorable matchups for the Recliners. The Gerbils counter will most of their potential big guns going on Thursday. If Chuck does not drop 30 or more on Thanksgiving Day, this one is probably over.

Blowout(s) of the Week

It is a rare and sad affair when we have two candidates for the woodshed routine. The Pack and Pillow Biters are both double-digit favorites over the Band Aids and Invalids.

Packers (-15) vs. Band Aids: Bob just has nothing left in the cupboards to throw at opponents. His spark of lightning – QB Justin Fields – looks to be on the sidelines for the next few weeks, potentially forcing Russell Wilson Jr. III back into a starting role. For Band Aid teams of the past, that used to be a strength, but not so in 2022. As of this writing, the Chicago QB was still in the starting lineup for the Band Aids. How far have the mighty fallen?

This one also will likely be closer than the early line suggests. Expect to see Tyler Lockett and his 9 points get the nod, leaving the The Pack as 6-point favorites but still more than likely to be double-digit winners. Jeff and the Pack counter with Josh Allen, bum elbow and all on Turkey Day. The Pack has a scoring edge at almost every starting position in this one. Take the Pack and 10.

Pillow Biters (-14) vs. Invalids: First team to 70 wins this one. Huey still has something to play for. Big Vern punted this season a month ago. Take the Pillow Biters and 10.