Weeks 13-14 [GFL]

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From the start of deciding to do this project, nothing went as planned. Just as things were settling enough for me to commit to it, things spiraled in several different ways personally that were not in my control. Generating games doesn't take long, of course - the Haffner programs do that in seconds. But with the original LFL effort, the fun was having a sense of what was going on each week, what struggles teams had, where stats were, etc.

That has not been the way things have gone with the GFL, despite me trying my hardest. Even after breaking for a few weeks, coming back has been more difficult because the Super Bowl is over and so is the excitement of football, for now. The further behind I am finishing the effort, too, the less time I have for other efforts and projects I've been anticipating.

With that said, I've decided to shortcut the remaining season weeks and focus on results and outcome, rather than a full experience. All results were generated for the remaining 4 weeks, at least giving the season a sense of closure with standings/stats. What shows up later in this post is simply highlights I've decided on from those games.

This leaves me to discuss standings / stats next week, and then postseason following that. Given that post-season for LFL fell into predictable results up to the Patriots' loss, I was reminded of how much the randomness of the game makes it hard to consider results as "final". Plus, the main purpose of running GFL was to see if certain teams performed better than their LFL counterparts. Given all that, I am uncertain about whether I will even do postseason. But if I do, it's most likely I will do all games in a week and post them all at once.

Without further ado...results are below for weeks 13-14.

Week 13 Highlights

77 Dallas - 7; 06 Baltimore - 20

00 Oakland - 23; 98 NYJ - 45

Testaverde tosses for 368 yards and 3 TD's; a 21 yarder, 48 yarder and 55 yarder. Martin and Wheatley both have 100 yard rushing days.

07 Indianapolis - 17; 18 Texans - 38

70 Detroit - 0; 06 Chicago- 20

One of the few shutouts all season. Detroit totaled less than 200 yards. Chicago did not play excellent - they just were able to score.

81 Cincinnati - 20; 84 Miami - 48

Marino completes 26/31 (89%) for 363 yards, 4 TD's and no picks. 90 yard KO return by Walker for Miami.

83 Washington - 27; 04 Pittsburgh - 28

Redskins shutout Pittsburgh for 3 straight quarters, leading 24-0. Pittsburgh gets a boost by a 48 yard pass to Randle El early on, but a Mosely FG threatens the Steelers chances. As the game ticks down to under 5 minutes, the 27-7 lead seems insurmountable. But somehow the Steelers get 3 TD's, the final one with just 8 seconds on the clock. Roethlisberger only completed 18 throws, and was picked off 4 times - but his bold moves paid off for 383 total yards.

05 Jacksonville - 24; 98 Minnesota - 45

The Vikings rack up over 260 yards rushing alone and over 500 yards total offense. Randy Moss caught 8 for 123 yards.

92 New Orleans - 34; 10 Atlanta - 17

87 Cleveland - 10; 93 Oilers - 7

99 Rams - 31; 74 Cardinals - 16

Holt and Faulk both have 100 or more yards receiving each. But in just 3 catches, Smith for the Cardinals had 132 yards receiving. Warner was 77% accurate.

08 NYG - 30 ; 05 Seattle - 28

80 Philadelphia - 7; 01 Green Bay - 42

Favre destroyed the Eagles with 31/43 for 381 yards, 5 TDs and no picks. Schroeder was his lead receiver with 8 catches for 152 yards.

16 New England- 21; 06 San Diego - 28

15 Denver - 14; 19 Kansas City - 45

Mahomes was 31/43 for 456 yards, 4 TDs and just 2 picks. Averaging 10 yards/attempt was double that of Manning.

80 Buffalo - 24; 94 San Fran - 10

Week 14 Highlights

16 Patriots - 10; 99 Rams - 35

The Rams still seem unstoppable. Faulk ran 18/128 with 3 TD's. Holt and Hakim combined for over 200 yards receiving.

18 Texans - 34; 06 Bears - 14

Hopkins had 9 catches on the day for 138 yards.

19 Kansas City - 31; 84 Miami - 28

Tied by the end of 3rd quarter, the Chiefs answer a Marino-Duper TD with just a FG. But later, Mahomes hits Hardman in the end zone with 17 seconds left. Mahomes had 4 TD throws, completing 62.5% for 389 yards.

77 Dallas - 13; 81 Cincinnati - 6

93 Oilers - 38; 05 Jaguars - 16

01 Green Bay - 7; 70 Detroit - 3

With the Lions having shown themselves to be one of the worst teams in the league, they gave the Packers a tough time with perhaps the lowest scoring game all year. After a scoreless first half, Detroit would get the game's first score with a 33 yard FG. They would keep the 3-0 shutout until about 5 minutes of gametime remained, when Favre hit Martin for a TD pass.

74 Cardinals - 20; 08 NYG - 41

Gray couldn't save the day for St. Louis, even with 4 catches for 149 yards. The Giants had more rushing TD's (3) than passing (2).

15 Denver - 25; 08 Carolina - 25

We don't have too many ties, but each quarter of this game ticked away with a 1-2 point deficit. Manning passes for over 420 yards; Denver totals 450. Thomas makes up 211 of those yards in 10 catches. Carolina meanwhile passes for 243 and rushes for 160.

98 Minnesota - 26; 79 Tampa Bay - 7

Minnesota has over 100 yards rushing; Tampa Bay over 200. Bell is 12/125, thanks to a 76-yarder.

07 Indianapolis - 30; 00 Oakland - 10

98 NYJ - 31; Seattle - 27

10 Atlanta - 10; 06 San Diego - 31

Chargers rush for not 100, not 200, but 300 yards total. LT takes 26 carries for 234 yards on the help of an 86-yarder. Somehow stopped short of the goal line all game, Rivers still had no problems making the most of the efforts.

83 Washington - 0; 94 San Fran - 23

The 49ers reverse their fortune against a strong balanced team.

92 New Orleans - 38; 80 Philadelphia - 21

The Eagles suffer another loss. Hebert throws 4 TD passes, unanswered, from 2nd to 4th quarters. The Eagles managed 500 yards offense despite their low scoring.