WTNE was thisclose to first win

Down by a point going into fourth quarter, Dak Prescott and re-injured Saquon Barkley get shut out; Gerbils and Band Aids post victories

Dak Prescott threw for three TDs and also has a two-point conversion on Monday Night and led WTNE with 22 points. Unfortunately, Jordan Garcia needed him to score 23 points.

I'll be completely honest here. When WTNE QB Dak Prescott threw his third TD pass of the night with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter -- his second of the night to WR CeeDee Lamb, more about him later -- and then ran in the two-point coversion on a designed QB keeper, I filed it away as yet another Tirades loss.

The two-pointer gave Prescott 22 points on the night, and WTNE was one point away from a 73-73 win over the Tirades (WTNE would have won the tiebreaker easily, as Tirades QB Brock Purdy had only 11). There's no way an NFL quarterback whose team has a 28-21 lead and a full quarter to play does not score a single point, right?

So I shut off the TV and assumed that Jordan had ended his losing streak at six games and had logged his first win. I wrote a headline and the start to this story in my head (WTNE ends losing streak!). And I went to sleep. I did not read a strange 12:01 am text from Invaiders owner Vern Ahrendes that said (sarcasticaly) "Tirades in a landslide."

So to Jordan: Sorry. You should have won. More about the recaps later, lets discuss injuries and my Saquon Barkley was not able to lift WTNE to the win on his own after scoring 11 in the first quarter.

Injury update

WTNE RB Saquon Barkley (WTNE) had missed the previous two games (two Eagles losses) with a hamstring pull going into Monday night's tilt with the Cowboys and re-aggrivated the injury ion his first carry, a 29-yard gain. He got sideline treatment, got on a stationary bike on the sideline, and managed to get in for nine plays and a TD before leaving for good in the second quarter. He finished with 11 points.

RB Aaron Jones Sr. (Recliners) exited Sunday's win over the Colts with a left knee injury (aggravation of a previous MCL sprain) and did not return.

RB Cam Skattebo (WTNE) felt tightness/pain in his hamstring during a 42-yard overtime run against the Texans. If you are thinking about grabbing his backup, Tyrone Tracy Jr, don't bother. He was also injured Sunday.

WR Jaylen Waddle (Tirades) suffered a chest/shoulder injury late in the fourth quarter on a reverse attempt and did not return. he isn't worth starting when healthy anyway and we're not sure why he's still on the team, but there it is.

RB Christian McCaffrey (Tirades) briefly managed and exited with a thigh injury during the loss to the Falcons before returning in the second half. He'll get a much-needed bye week to recover.

WR Mike Evans (Gerbils) was inactive for Week 7 due to an Achilles injury and has been playing with broken ribs, also will get a much-needed bye week off and is expected to be back in Week 9 against the Raiders.

QB Lamar Jackson (Packers) missed his third straight game with a sprained ankle and is questionable for this week.

Week 7 recap

Band Aids 118, Who Dey 98: Former Cowboys RB Tony Pollard scored 32 on Sunday for Bopb Garcia and current Cowboys RB Javonte Williams had 21 on Monday night against the Eagles as the Band Aids (5-2) ended their one-week skid with the win over Matt McCumber and the Bengals Mafia (5-2). Band Aids K Brandon Aubrey added 14 points and both QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Puka Nacua had 13. Matt's QB Joe Burrow had 28 points, almost all of them in a spectacular second half against Baltimore. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 22, RB D'Andre Swift 14 and TE Colston Loveland 12.

Rangers 105, Beaters 77: This one was already over before John Lambert's keeper, WR CeeDee Lamb, went off for 19 points on Monday night. The Rangers (3-4) had six guys in double figures, led by RB Bucky Irving (22) and QB Matt Stafford (17). WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) and Malik Nabers (11) and K Chris Boswell (11) round out the half-dozen. For the Spread Beaters (2-5), QB Drake Maye led three players in double figures with 26. WR Tre Tucker and RB Jonathan Taylor each had 16.

Invaiders 94, Recliners 56: This one gets rebranded as after-the-fact Dog of the Week. The Recliners (2-5) went in as three-point underdogs before laying down and wetting the doggie bed. Vern and the Invaiders (4-3) can now hold their heads high as they lead the Shitty Division and also have a winning record. WR Jameson Williams led the way with 21 TE Trey McBride had 17, RBs Bijan Robinson and Braelon Allen combined for 24 and QB Jordan Love had 16. WR Zay Flowers (19) led a trio in double figures for Chris Zimnoch's team, who got 14 from RB Josh Jacobs in his return after missing six weeks due to girlfriend abuse. Ja'Marr Chase had 12 more for the Recliners.

Gerbils 92, Packers 81: WR George Pickens won this one for the Gerbilson Monday night, including a spectacular TD catch, outscoring Packers TE Dallas Goedert 11-4. The quarterback merry-go-round appears to be working for the all-alone-in-first-place Gerbils (6-1), who started Kirk Cousins of the Raiders this week (19 points) and have either given up on Tyler Shough of the Saints (dropped for Cousins in Week 5) or not (they re-acquired Shough last week, dropping Sam Darnold). Stay tuned for "Who's Playing QB for Chuck Nelson this Week?" coming soon to a streaming service near you. Chuck also got 19 from WR Luther Burden III, 13 from RB Jaylen Warren and 12 from RB Jamyr Gibbs. The Packers (5-2), who dropped into a three-way tie for second with the Band Aids and Who Dey, got 16 each from RBs Ollie Gordon II and Kyren Williams and 13 from QB Kyler Murray.

Tirades 73, WTNE 72: We've already opened the wound on this one as the Tirades (3-4) somehow survived a ferocious comeback effort from Jordan Garcia's WTNE (0-7). WR Tee Higgins had 20 to lead the Tirades, who also got 16 from RB Christian McCaffrey and 13 from RB Ashton Jeanty. As noted last Friday, the Tirades were leaving a lot of scoring on the bench in this one and it continued through Sunday. QB Caleb Williams outscored starter Brock Purdy 21-11, K Cairo Santos outscored starter Dominic Zvalda 15-2, WR Omar Cooper Jr (picked up last week) outscored Christian Watson 17-5 and the Seahawks defense outscored the Texans 10-2 (despite the fact that Seattle was playing unbeaten KC and the Texans were playing and NFC Least team).

As usual, Vern will be back on Thursday (or maybe Wednesday night if he feels perky) with the Week 8 preview that features another round of byes, that includes San Francisco (Go Niners!).