Fantasy Football Bad Beats: Jets OT win on walk-off punt return flips Week 1 matchups

Ray Charles may not have imagined fantasy football managers when he wrote the song “If it Wasn’t for Bad Luck,” but a healthy number of those people are feeling they’d have no other luck at all right about now.

Week 1 is barely in the rear-view mirror, but the sting of victory being snatched by the jaws of defeat is still very fresh. Maybe even somewhat raw. That’s what this article is for, to deal with that — and will be each week throughout the fantasy season.

We put out the call to the fantasy football community for everyone’s Week 1 bad beats. Call it part group therapy. Part group hug. Even a little bit screaming into the night. We’ve all had those bad beats that are so razor-thin that they hurt like a paper cut with salt dumped on it.

This is to let everyone who had a bad beat know that they’re not alone.

Some ran up against Tyreek Hill's massive game (39 fantasy points). Others had a big lead, only to have the Dallas D pull the rug out from under them. Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury mere plays into the Jets-Bills Monday night clash, zapping the energy out of most of the game. But then the excitement returned with Xavier Gipson’s walk-off, overtime punt-return touchdown that gave the Jets a little bit of joy on an otherwise rough night, while also dumping water on projected 1-0 fantasy starts.

Time for us to commiserate on our shared misery. Just remember, there are 16 more weeks of this if anyone has hopes of making it to the fantasy title games. Be glad that you got this bad beat now and hopefully, it’ll be but a memory come playoff time.

Walk-off punt return not enjoyed by all

Let's kick things off with @FrankLunaNJ's tale of woe. To have to watch the events happening in neighboring East Rutherford, NJ, with Gipson wrecking the dream of an unbeaten season in the first week. To think that Frank spent up in draft season to get Josh Allen, then to have him throw three interceptions and lose a fumble in his 2023 debut. That hurt enough, though he had a lead going into overtime of Monday Night Football.

That walk-off Gipson return stepped on his fingertips and released his hold on fantasy glory, but at least there’s a great story attached to it.

@FrankLunaNJ was far from alone from overtime changing the outcome of a fantasy matchup. Maybe @JoshuaJWord stepped on a crack or ran up against a black cat. Losing by that margin, well, ouch!

Fallout from Giants' disappearing act

@rcarver777 got a double whammy of the bad-beat experience from the Giants debacle, destroying his Week 1 vibe. In one corner, his team Big Blue got done in by the Cowboys putting up 40 points (thanks in large part to the Dallas D putting up the second-biggest fantasy scoring total of the week — yes, a D/ST!) … and Dak Prescott didn’t account for a single touchdown.

In the other game, Big Blue (sensing a trend) had to painfully watch as the Giants D/ST (-1!), Dalvin Cook and Dallas Goedert were anchors for a starting unit that had Aaron Jones go ballistic for two touchdowns and 24.70 fantasy points. Only to then lose to a team with a high-point scorer of Jason Sanders going for 14, while his kicker had a goose egg.

Richard, we feel for you. Time to look at Week 2. Don’t look back. It’s just hurt back there.

Lineup decisions gone wrong

This one from @OAK89 is the classic dropping the bird in the hand (Dalton Kincaid) for two in the bush (Isaiah Likely), only to have his opponent pick up Kincaid. That 3.7-point difference brought just enough heartache to rival any country song. Hey @OAK89 we’ve been there. Keep making moves. If you’re following the analysts here at Yahoo, you’re likely to make more winning moves than end up here again.

Falling to an absentee manager

Oh, this one hurt. Falling to a team with one player on IR, one on PUP and one suspended. Apologies @Kmill_3.

Even when things go right, they go wrong

Yes, when rostering the Dallas DST, most would expect to win. Unless facing Tyreek Hill, who was the only human to outscore that Cowboys’ defensive unit. @Jesse_ochodos you’re right, that does hurt. Take heart that El Burro Guero is probably the most original team name in this article. With that dual-language creativity, wins are bound to happen. Salud!

Moving on to Week 2

Now that we've had a moment to process our frustration and misery, it's time to pound the waiver wire and start making trade offers.

Fortune does not favor the idle. It’s the bold who claim the championships. So everyone, be bold! But more than anything, enjoy the process. We’ve waited a long time for these games, and let’s remember that when MLB playoffs hit and we’re complaining of the cold weather.