1. 2025

The 13th season of 440 and Friends has officially come to a close. For many of us, it's been a year of ups, downs, and maybe one more up... but let's be honest, primarily downs. As we roll into 2026, the transition from fantasy season back to reality can be jarring. And it may take some time for all of us to adjust and remember what it's like to be normal human beings again.

For starters, no more taking extra-long pretend shits while secretly streaming RedZone locked in the bathroom. No more checking the wind conditions in Nashville, Tennessee, 11 days in advance like you're a goddamn meteorologist. No more late-night Google searches: "How long does a grade-2 sprained MCL take to heal?" or "What is Joe Burrow's QB rating while wearing the white Bengal uniforms?" or "Should I drop Noah Fant for Taysom Hill?” Just stop. And of course, the answer is, “Who cares?”

It's over, boys. The fat lady has sung. Time to decompress. Time to chill. Kick back, crack a probiotic soda, plug in the heating pad, and watch the playoffs without a single horse in the race. Enjoy the game in its purest sense—no stress, no lineup anxiety, no desperation, just football. Ya know?

Oh, and also... if anyone wants to get another daily Draft Kings lined up for Wild Card weekend, I'm down. I got the itch.

But before we close the book on 2025 for good, let's take one last look at how we navigated this absolute gem of a season. 

As you look through some of the stats below, the draft scores are determined by Value Over Replacement and Draft Pick (Round/Number) and are compared to the value of every draft pick in league history, not just this season.

Yikes. Schill the Thrill. The 2024 champion. Seven-time league champion. Every single member of the league calls him a living legend. A man whose name would strike fear into the hearts of opponents. And now? The proud owner of a brand new piece of pink and black hardware — the mother effin' PLATE.

How the mighty have fallen.

What's the stronger motivation in fantasy football—winning the whole damn thing, or just avoiding last place at all costs? It’s a pretty similar rush, I’ll give you that. What's done is done, but in the spirit of brotherhood and goodwill, I thought it would be nice to pass on a few nuggets of advice. So if you're hoping to avoid the PLATE in the future, here are a few helpful tips:

• Please refrain from drafting like you're throwing darts blindfolded. Maybe DON'T take a pass on BOTH Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor. At least take one of them.

• Be sure that the top two running backs you do draft don't suffer season-ending injuries. I know this one's tough, but try it.

• Try not to draw the 2nd hardest strength of schedule in the league. No one beats Scarpitti in points against.

• Make sure you can score more than 55 points in a given week. Just once. That's all we ask.

And that about covers it. The rest should take care of itself.

I can’t lie. This season was pretty brutal. I could barely watch football outside of Steelers games… But I’ll be back. Probably. Maybe. We'll see. In the words of Mike Tomlin, “Keep watching.”

As much as I'm sure Scarps would have relished the chance to receive his 3rd PLATE in 5 years, I'm also sure he's more than happy to watch Schilling bolt it to his tailgate and settle comfortably into 9th place.

The story of Galaxy's 2025 season didn't start out as badly as it finished. Through the first six weeks, he was sitting pretty at 4-2 and in 3rd place. Things were looking up. The playoff dream was alive. Hell, maybe even a trip back to the championship was in the cards.

And then Lamar Jackson went down, and the bottom fell out completely. Scarps proceeded to nosedive into a 6-game losing streak that was as brutal as it was relentless. It's worth mentioning that during the aforementioned 6-game death march, Scarps' opponents were averaging over 146 points per game, all culminating in his 3rd Shit Stick Award (Points Against Bonus) since 2021. The man wasn't just losing. He was getting obliterated by the schedule gods on a weekly basis.

So let's recap: Scarps starts off hot at 4-2, finishes ice cold going 1-8 down the stretch, with the lone victory coming in Rivalry Week where he claimed the Solo Cup from Schilling (which, let's be honest, probably felt like a playoff win). You tack on $100 in bonus wins, dodge the PLATE by the skin of your teeth, and call it a season.

It could have been worse. But not by much.

The honest truth about Coyne's season is that it was unremarkable. Call a spade a spade. It was a disappointing year, but when you have a mediocre draft, you get a mediocre result. It’s science.

This was Coyne's 3rd straight year missing the playoffs—a streak that's starting to feel less like bad luck and more like a trend. But give credit where credit's due: after stumbling out of the gate at 1-4 and flirting with last place for a week or two, Coyne clawed his way back to finish the season 5-5 and keep it respectable. The tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and Josh Jacobs kept him competitive week to week, even if it wasn't enough to get him into the playoffs.

The problem? Outside of his running backs, his roster had more holes than a bucket golf course. Inconsistent play from AJ Brown and injuries to Joe Burrow and Garrett Wilson were too much to overcome. Put it this way. When the top half of the league is eating prime rib, and you're tapping the bottom of an upside-down Pringles can hoping some chip dust will trickle out, it's not your year.

It's back to the drawing board in 2026. Three years is long enough. Time to figure it out.

Coyne, would you agree?

“My season felt like the Pocono trip where the pulled pork went bad. I just let things go for too long. I never stayed focused on the prize. So I lost AKA botulism.”

It's tough to put my finger on exactly what went wrong for Anderton's Revenge this year. Well, actually it's not. After reviewing the game film, it appears this team was only going as far as Josh Allen would take them. When you secure the #1 league QB, you guarantee yourself to be relevant. But that's about it.

The rest of the squad was a jumbled mess of inconsistencies that would make your head spin. Emeka Egbuka started off crazy hot, looking like a league-winner through the first few weeks, then fell completely off the map. Same deal with Quentin Johnston. Jaylen Waddle would put up 20 points one week and 2 points the next—pull your hair out. The Patriots forgot they had Treveyon Henderson on their team until Week 10, at which point it was too late to matter.

I can only imagine trying to set this lineup week to week, knowing you could put up either 150 points or 60 points depending on which version of your roster decided to show up. Add in a Brock Bowers injury and a CeeDee Lamb injury, and you've got yourself a recipe for a frustrating, middle-of-the-pack finish.

Kudos to Garrett. He had the pieces to compete. He just couldn't get them all working at the same time. Story of the season. At least you didn’t get the shit stick, right? In fact, Garrett had the fewest points against with only an average of 108.7 PA per week. So I don't want to hear it.

This was a "Coach of the Year" type performance out of Hayden in 2025. This team had no business sniffing the playoffs, and yet here we are talking about how close he came to pulling off a miracle.

Brian the Maintenance Guy’s core roster was hit with injuries early. He couldn't crack 100 points, stumbled out of the gate at 1-4, and looked absolutely cooked. He finished the year 8th in total points—not exactly the profile of a playoff team. But Hayden wasn't going down without a fight.

He made 43 roster moves throughout the season, grinding through every week, refusing to mail it in. And then, out of nowhere, he ripped off a 7-game win streak that had everyone wondering if he was about to steal a playoff spot.

Rico Dowdle… WHO? Rico Dowdle was one of the best pickups of the year, posting multiple 30-point performances and keeping Hayden afloat in the middle of the year. Then it was time for Jameson Williams and Ja'Marr Chase. They came on strong near the end, giving him just enough firepower to stay in the hunt.

It came down to the final week, and we all watched the Cinderella story come up one win short. But damn, what a run. Respect.

I feel like I'm actually living out Groundhog Day. Why must this man continue to finish in 5th place? This is the 3rd time in 6 years! We all know he cries about the March Madness squares every year, so that's out. And just when we were going to introduce a new category of power tools to determine draft order, he goes and finishes 5th again. No!

What will he do to us this time? Go back to the Kentucky Derby? Race marbles or nano bugs? Or is he going to get dark and have the foot fetish community rank our tootsies on Reddit? Or perhaps we just fight to the death—winner gets Bijan Robinson, and everyone else dies? Seems fair. No matter what, I don't like it.

To be honest, I'm not even sure how we got to this point. I hate to admit it, but this was a very good team. On paper, this roster makes the playoffs 99 times out of 100. His draft score was the highest the league has ever seen. I’ll repeat that, this was a record for the strongest draft. Trey McBride was a stud, Pickens and Etienne were middle-round steals. He was 2nd in total points scored and 1st in "All Play" standings, and had the healthiest team by a mile.

So what the hell? Why? What gives? It's a game of inches. A slow start from Derrick Henry, a roster decision here and there, mediocre QB play mixed with facing the 3rd highest strength of schedule. He was sitting pretty in 3rd place in Week 11, then a brutal 3-game skid down the stretch cost him his shot.

OK Gangus, you get a pass this time. Go ahead and have a box of tissues. You're allowed to hate fantasy football.

My second nominee for "Coach of the Year" goes to Scotty. It was a hot start to the season, and Scotty was sitting atop the standings in Week 2. A stumble in Week 3, then disaster struck in Week 4. Malik Nabers—his #1 overall pick—gone. Torn ACL. Tyreek Hill—gone. Dislocated knee. Jayden Daniels—turned out to be an injury-ridden bust. This team was in complete disarray.

But hold up. Take a breath. He was still rockin' with De'Von Achane, and the season was young. After suffering a 3-game losing streak early and watching his team literally lose their knees, he squeaked out a big-time 1-point victory over Hayden in Week 6, and that's when the back half of his draft began to show up. Tet McMillan, Chris Olave, and D'Andre Swift all started mixing in some big games. Hell, even Kyle Pitts became relevant down the stretch.

All of it carried him to a monster, must-win Week 15 victory that punched his ticket to the playoffs. You couldn't write a better script.

Unfortunately, we all know the rest. A haunting decision to bench Matthew Stafford for Jordan Love in the semifinal, and CMC's Monday Night miracle ended Scotty's run. It was a more than solid postseason showing. What else can you say? He got the shaft. But the fantasy gods gave him a nod with the DraftKings Challenge win and Zay Flowers' 100-yard, 2-TD fourth quarter heroics. It's no championship title, but hey—it's something.

Panty was the team to beat for most of the regular season. Through the first 10 weeks, he was absolutely trucking opponents. He had more quality running backs than he had active roster spots. Jonathan Taylor was looking unstoppable, and his rookie tandem of Judkins and Skattebo seemed like league winners. Diggs and Davante Adams were rolling back the clock. Not to mention, he had the potential NFL MVP—Drake Maye—at QB. At this rate, his lineup was set it and forget it. Which is perfect, because we all know he barely checks it.

But then, things started to take a turn for the worse. His new toy, Skattebo, suffered a season-ending injury. JT was running into elite defenses week after week. Davante Adams cooled off. Saquon was no longer backwards leapfrogging defenders. It was quicksand, and he knew it. This team petered out like Scarpitti pissing on the fire—just one little trickle at a time.

He had stockpiled enough wins to get into the playoffs, but Anthony already knew the writing was on the wall. He ran into a semifinal blowout, and that's all she wrote.

Believe it or not, Panty now holds the 2nd most playoff appearances in league history (7). He's one of the best regular-season teams in league history, just can't seem to finish—with a postseason record of 5-9. It's his third 3rd-place finish. Another year, another missed opportunity for Panty.

Dust off those MF cobwebs! This man has a real trophy to put on his shelf! Is it the trophy he was hoping for? No. But we still need to appreciate that after 12 seasons of disappointment and heartache, Graham finally walks away with some proof that he was in the playoffs. I mean, up until his 193-point beatdown on Anthony in the semifinals, our friend had never even experienced the glory of a playoff win! He had twice as many last-place finishes as playoff appearances. But he got it done and made it to the championship final.

The season wasn't all roses and champagne. It was an up-and-down first half of the year. Puka was fighting some midseason injuries, and Graham's team took a hit. He was sitting in 7th place by Week 11, and it was looking like a typical Spanier finish. But then his team caught lightning in a bottle and ripped off 5 straight victories to get into the championship game.

I know it's tough to come so close and fall short, but this was a successful campaign for our 3-time PLATE champ. Glad to see him get into the mix and make some noise. Could this be a pivotal year? A milestone victory? Building blocks that point towards future success? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's still Spanier. But let's give him his flowers. Hurrah!

Gentlemen, put your hands together for our 2025 440 and Friends Champion, Mr. Deer Hunter himself, Greg Cameron. All I can say is, it's about damn time.

Our boy has been knocking on the door for a decade. Literally. This is his 4th championship appearance. And heading into this year's postseason, I'm sure Greg had a few thoughts running through his mind:

Will this finally be my year, or am I forever destined to be a bridesmaid? Once again, standing on the podium, forced to listen to the opposing country's national anthem while smiling through gritted teeth.

Greg said it himself—one more loss, and he would be no better than the 1990's Buffalo Bills. Four Super Bowl appearances. Zero rings. A legacy defined by coming up short when it mattered most.

Oh no. Not this time. Greg's number was called, and he answered the bell. After starting the year at a ho-hum 3-3, Deer Hunter turned it on in the second half of the season. CMC and JSN were absolute monsters. This is the 2nd straight year Greg has drafted the #1 running back and #1 wide receiver. When you have McCaffrey at the top of his game, you might as well have two players. The dude had more receiving yards than Drake London and more rushing yards than Saquon. He was the most consistent player in fantasy, and it wasn't close. Oh and why didn't you thank me in your speech for passing on him in the draft? You're welcome.

Greg entered the postseason with 4 out of 5 wins and a lot of momentum. In the first round of the playoffs, Scotty had him on the ropes, but the fantasy MVP came through in the clutch, taking Greg to the finals, where he cruised to a career-defining victory. Now, on draft night in 2026, it will be time for Greg to grasp the 440 trophy in one hand and catch a real Deer Hunter in the other.

Now I'd like to turn it over to Greg to add a few words:

"Sound the neferty! Praise be Science! It's great to be on top after all these years and finally bring home the hardware! Special thanks to the commish for all the work pulling everything together."

@Anthony Pantalones @sreags5 @deanwmoran @Graham Spiller @garrett.girouard @mark.scarpitti @SCHILLING @Hayden @Greg Cameron @GANGUS @jcoyne817