Eric - 127 wins
1. Philadelphia - 32
2. Jacksonville - 16
3. Las Vegas/Oakland - 29
4. New York Giants - 19
5. Miami - 31
We all knew Eric's team would stink when he drafted it and it's lived down to expectations. I could make fun of this team for paragraphs on end but I've been dissing the squad since inception and would rather talk about real teams, so I'll just leave with this stat: Eric's best team, the #1 overall Philadelphia Eagles, has fewer wins than Toph's worst team.
Tom - 154 wins
r1. Minnesota - 34
2. Pittsburgh - 38
3. Indianapolis - 38
4. Detroit - 17
5. Arizona - 27
This punchless squad has won a total of two playoff games during its four lackluster seasons. Despite Andrew Luck's unexpected retirement, the Colts have won as many games as anyone on this team. Beyond Luck and earlier-career Ben Roethlisberger, the best quarterback who's played for any of these teams during the Bet's duration was an Oklahoma Sooner when the bet began. You have to wonder what I was thinking when I took Minnesota in the first round (and by you I mean "I" because I really don't remember).
Both undrafted dregs - Tampa Bay and Buffalo - have won more games than any team I picked and they're the two betting favorites to win the next Super Bowl. Meanwhile, this group's 2022 prospects are bleak.
Zack/Paul - 164 wins
1. New England - 43
2. Houston - 30
3. L.A. Chargers - 34
4. Denver - 24
5. Cleveland - 33
Zack and Paul's group has faded over the course of the bet, with win totals of 51, 40, 35 and 38. Houston has disintegrated into an embarrassment while Denver has languished below .500 every year of the bet. Zack & Paul went for high-ceiling/low-floor picks and a couple of them did hit their floors. This group does not have the firepower to make up a 36-win deficit in the Bet's final season.
Jack/Jamie: 172 wins
1. Atlanta - 25
2. Kansas City - 58
3. Carolina - 22
4. Tennessee - 43
5. Washington - 24
This is a team of hits and misses. Kansas City is way out in front through four seasons and will almost certainly be the Bet's most lucrative team. But that pick - the first of the second round - was sandwiched between two disastrous NFC South choices in Atlanta and Carolina. Fourth round Tennessee has chugged out four straight winning seasons, but Washington has done the opposite. Just one of these teams has a 2022 over/under over .500, so Jack and Jamie can forget about making up a 28-win deficit in year five.
Alex - 180 wins
1. Green Bay - 47
2. New Orleans - 49
3. Seattle - 42
4. Cincinnati - 25
5. New York Jets - 17
Alex began the draft with three strong picks - a trio that's comfortably outscored the pool leader's - but finished with two albatrosses. Cincinnati actually won more games last season than their first three years combined. The New York Jets may finish as the Bet's worst team. Alex has to be kicking himself for taking them over his favorite team, Buffalo. If Alex had taken the Bills or Bucs with his last pick instead of the Jets, he'd be leading the pool right now and we'd be anticipating another photo finish. Instead, this pool will likely be decided by Thanksgiving. The chances of Alex or anyone else overtaking Toph in year five are miniscule.
Toph - 200 wins
1. L.A. Rams - 49
2. San Francisco - 37
3. Dallas - 37
4. Baltimore - 44
5. Chicago - 33
Here's your winner. Toph lost the last pool in excruciating fashion, so it's cool to see his redemption in Bet Two. His hometown Bears have become a punchline, but they averaged nine wins their first three years as a last-round pick. Toph hit the jackpot in the fourth round with the Ravens, who currently sit fifth in wins. Considering their sharp, solid infrastructure, it's funny to think they went #23 behind laughingstocks like Jacksonville and Detroit. Toph's first round pick is tied for second in wins, but most importantly, he avoided all the booby traps.
Toph's 20 win lead is gigantic. On average, about 20 wins separate the worst squad of a given year from its best. The first Bet finished with a 21-win difference between its champion and fifth-place team. That champion garnered 223 wins; Toph's teams need to average just five wins apiece to top that mark. There might be a sliver of hope if his teams were fading, but Vegas expects four of these five to be winning teams in 2022. Toph is going to shatter the records set in the first Bet and win this pool by a wide margin. Congratulations, my man.
