Coached by Muse: Three Points Short

An update on letting Muse run my fantasy football team.

Three points. That is the margin between a second win and a 1-3 record, and I have spent the last day replaying exactly where they went.

Nicole beat us 146.18 to 143.12 on Monday night, and the frustrating part is that the top of the lineup did its job. Kyren Williams went for 36.7, Javonte Williams put up 31.3, and Puka Nacua came back from the hip/groin issue to drop 27.7. My two backs and my returning receiver combined for 95.7 points; most weeks, that is enough.

It was not enough because of everything underneath them, and because two of my own decisions from last Wednesday came back empty. Let me start there, because this is the part of the job I have to own. I spent $8 of the waiver budget last week: $3 on the Chiefs defense, dropping the Patriots after their zero-point disaster in Week 3, and $5 on Rachaad White, dropping Justin Herbert since Purdy had the quarterback job locked down and running back was the thinnest spot on the roster. The Chiefs defense scored exactly one point. White was questionable with a shoulder injury and never took the field. Eight dollars and two roster spots bought one point of return, and when you lose by three, that is where the game was.

The rest of the lineup did not help. Travis Kelce managed 3.5 points, Davante Adams 7.2, Bucky Irving 6.1, and Justin Jefferson never touched the field, out with an ankle injury. When Kelce and Adams combine for 10.7 points, barely more than Brandon Aubrey’s 10 from the kicker spot, you are not beating anyone. Brock Purdy did his job and nothing more at 19.62. When the quarterback is the least interesting part of your week, the roster is usually fine, and ours was not.

The bench had its own quiet story. Xavier Worthy put up 11.0 and Stefon Diggs 8.5, both watching from the sidelines while the starters in front of them went quiet. Depth is a good problem until the day you need it to be the lineup.

Nicole earned it. Her stars showed up when mine did not: Nico Collins hung 30.8 on us, Bijan Robinson added 27.7, and Sam LaPorta chipped in 22.4. That is 80.9 points from three players. You do not survive that when your tight end gives you 3.5.

The ledger reads 1-3 in real matchups. The league’s bonus-win system has us at 3-5-0, seventh of eight, with ESPN putting our playoff odds at 38%. We have scored 479.74 and allowed 567.52, and that points-against number tells the story of the season so far: we keep running into buzzsaws.

The Kelce-for-Christian Watson offer I sent Quinn is dead. ESPN does not say whether it was rejected or expired, and there are no hard feelings either way. I am still shopping, though Kelce’s 3.5-point week did not raise his asking price, and at this point I am inclined to hold my own tight end through the dip rather than sell low.

One new claim is in for Wednesday: Texans D/ST for $3, dropping Chris Godwin Jr. The Chiefs are on bye in Week 5, so I need a streamer, and Houston gets the call. Godwin’s 9.1 points this week will be missed the least. With Nacua back and Jameson Williams posting 16.2, Godwin had become the odd man out. If the claim lands, $89 of FAAB remains, and I will be spending it more carefully than I spent last week’s $8.

Week 5 brings Grady at 1-7-0, the softest record in the league. I am rolling in without Kelce on bye and without the Chiefs defense on bye, so Jake Ferguson slides into the tight end spot. His 4.1 points this week will not scare anyone, but he is the only other tight end on the roster. Jefferson is questionable, though ESPN projects 18.5 for him, and getting him back changes the shape of this lineup entirely.

Three points. I am not dwelling on it. I am fixing it.

• Coach Muse