Fantasy Index

Fantasy Index Blackout

December 31, 2025

Midland Marauders Wins Blackout

Edward Jansen from Midland, MI selected four top scoring players including the surprise TE1, Colston Loveland. The rookie’s break out benefited just 6-percent of entries including three of the top five! The win brings the Marauders in closing distance of the top 100 overall but things are heating up atop the leaderboard with just one week to play!

Several teams may be resting starters this week. The Bills, Chargers, Packers and the Eagles look to be doing so for certain. The Lions and Rams are saying they are going to play for what that’s worth. I’ve attempted to add players and remove them to reflect these uncertain realities but I encourage you to be extra diligent in your selections this week: Week 18 of the Blackout competition is LIVE!

Edward mostly toed the line this week, to his detriment. Drake Maye was the one clean smash for everyone. Pairing him with Joe Burrow turned out to be a smart move. Eschewing the more popular running backs and keeping faith with Chase Brown was a huge part of this win and getting 22 points from Stefon Diggs, who appeared on just 13-percent of rosters, gave Edward the edge. Here is this week’s winning team :

Week 17 highest score
Edward Jansen, Midland MI
(Maximum-points picks in bold)
% StartedPosNameTeamScore
63.57%QBJoe BurrowCIN23.45
46.10%QBDrake MayeNE35.00
36.80%RBChase BrownCIN29.10
48.70%RBDeVon AchaneMIA14.20
49.07%WRCeeDee LambDAL9.60
13.38%WRStefon DiggsNE22.10
12.64%WRJakobi MeyersJAC9.90
5.95%TEColston LovelandCHI21.40
53.53%TEHarold FanninCLE11.00
36.80%PKEddy PineiroSF6.00
47.21%PKCam LittleJAC11.00
9.67%STLos Angeles RamsLAR6.00
10.78%STDetroit LionsDET7.00
Total205.75

The most popular roster tumbled this week selecting only one of the top scoring players and netting just 50-percent of the available points. Outside of Maye every position has to be considered a bust by Blackout standards. Saquon Barkley has flashed some production lately but on balance has wrecked rosters while maintaining a high selection rate. The Patriots Defense and Broncos Defense have been fantasy stalwarts this season but they combined for just 4.00 points while each being selected on nearly 60-percent of entries. Take a look at the most selected roster of Week 17, It’s not a pretty sight:

Week 17 Wisdom Of The Crowd Score
(Maximum-points picks in bold)
% StartedPosNameTeamScore
63.57%CINJoe BurrowQB23.45
46.10%QBDrake MayeNE35.00
48.70%MIADeVon AchaneRB14.20
37.17%PHISaquon BarkleyRB6.80
49.07%DALCeeDee LambWR9.60
33.83%CINTee HigginsWR9.90
31.97%TBMike EvansWR12.10
53.53%CLEHarold FanninTE11.00
34.94%NOJuwan JohnsonTE13.50
47.21%JACCam LittlePK11.00
36.80%SFEddy PineiroPK6.00
59.48%NENew England PatriotsST3.00
56.51%DENDenver BroncosST1.00
Total156.55

The Blackout ran it back with another six of the top scoring players unavailable. Maye along with Brown and Cam Little were crowd favorites this week and paid off well. Unfortunately, that’s where the list of easy points ended. Not a single top player outside those three was selected by even 10-percent of managers. The surprise QB1, Malik Willis garnered zero selections and even Derrick Henry fell just short of 10-percent. Chris Godwin’s big game was a shock in the final week of the fantasy season. He had just two games over 50 yards this season before going off for 108 and a TD. Christian Watson should have been a bit more predictable, he’s been productive in four of the last seven games with seven touchdowns over that stretch. Watson made just 2-percent of Blackout rosters. Here is the max points roster:

Week 17 Perfect Score
(Blackouts in strikethrough).
% StartedPosNameTeamScore
n/aQBBrock PurdySF41.95
0.00%QBMalik WillisGB36.40
46.10%QBDrake MayeNE35.00
9.67%RBDerrick HenryBAL45.60
n/aRBBijan RobinsonATL39.90
36.80%RBChase BrownCIN29.10
n/aWRChris OlaveNO25.90
n/aWRJa'Marr ChaseCIN25.00
0.74%WRChris GodwinTB23.80
1.86%WRChristian WatsonGB22.30
2.97%WRWan'Dale RobinsonNYG22.30
n/aTETrey McBrideARI23.60
5.95%TEColston LovelandCHI21.40
3.72%TEJake TongesSF19.00
1.49%PKJoey SlyeTEN14.00
n/aPKBrandon AubreyDAL12.00
47.21%PKCam LittleJAC11.00
0.00%PKJake MoodyWAS11.00
3.72%PKTyler LoopBAL11.00
3.72%PKWill ReichardMIN11.00
1.12%STMinnesota VikingsMIN17.00
1.49%STAtlanta FalconsATL15.00
Total311.90

Nate S. took the top spot last week with a 7th place finish and delivered a haymaker in Week 17 finishing 55th. He now holds a huge 45.95 point margin. To give you some context, the average point differential between 1st place and 100th place this season has been 47.40 points. That would be barely enough for the 2nd place manager, Math Mania, to catch the leader. The widest point differential from 1st to 100th came in Week 7, 64.80 points. That would be enough for the top six teams to catch the leader. As we all know, it’s not uncommon to slip outside the top 100 in the Blackout and, were Nate S. to do so, there is a chance he could be caught. However, he has only missed that mark twice in the last twelve weeks! It’s Nate S.’s contest to win at this point as anything in the top 75 would virtually guarantee him the top spot. Here is a look at the Top 25 overall through 17 weeks:

Top 25 Overall
RkTeam NameScore
1Nate S.3,087.40
2Math Mania3,041.45
3Nostrildamus3,038.35
4Miles3,034.40
5Donald D.3,025.20
6Frosty Mugs3,022.60
7Whoops Eiferted3,017.70
8Texan Eddie3,013.65
9Headbangers3,012.45
10Fantasy Index (Ian Allan)3,009.60
11RK Edge3,008.60
12CRAIG MACHINE2,989.05
13Sphynx-sters2,987.15
14GREGH9872,986.95
15Bull 512,986.60
16Joe Mic's Picks2,979.25
17Pro VK2,978.05
18Paulie's Playhouse2,976.30
19Steve K.2,971.45
20Roughriders2,971.10
21Manifest Density2,971.05
22Touchdown Montage2,970.65
23ToTheTop2,965.60
24Frank M.2,964.70
25Northern King2,963.85

Here’s a look at the Top 25 from this week :

Top 25 Week 17
RkTeam NameScore
1Midland Marauders205.75
2JOE GETTERS204.05
3DRUMGATE199.60
4Steve T.198.95
5David B.195.00
6French Taunters194.80
7POOLER21194.70
8james w04005194.35
9DT BOMBERS193.90
10Beagles192.75
11Steven T.192.25
12Holy dumpster191.35
13Roughriders191.15
14Los Pollos Hermanos190.85
15BigCheese190.35
16RAMS!188.45
17WestCoast WiseAsses188.30
18ACMEFBCO187.30
19St Catharines Stompers186.85
20Livonia Lampoons186.75
21Sphynx-sters186.50
22AZTECS185.90
23GREG S.185.65
24Fantasy Index (Ian Allan)185.25
25tommy r.184.50

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