Fantasy Index Blackout

October 12, 2022

There was little or no cheating (we think?) in Blackout for Week 6

A round of applause (and a $25 Fantasy Index gift certificate) for Scott Behiel of Angels Camp, Calif. His team, "ScottBLucky," had the highest score (227.15 points) in Fantasy Index Blackout this week. Click through to see his winning lineup, the perfect lineup for the week, the most frequently picked players, and the overall top 25.

Enter now for Week 6.

There was a major problem with the game in week 5. We set the wrong kickoff time for the London game, which meant ~~contestants~~ cheaters could have added or removed Packers and Giants players from their lineups until 1 p.m. Eastern time. That's a huge problem. But we are not disqualifying the results. Only two of the top 20 entries for the week were adjusted after the London game kicked off, and we don't have any evidence that cheating was involved. The winning entry was one of those two, but the lineup was created at 12:40 p.m. Eastern time, so it wasn't a case of removing players who did poorly or adding players who did well -- Mr. Behiel simply entered the contest late. (This is actually the first time we've looked closely at when contestants submit their entries. Each entry is time-stamped upon creation and again whenever it's altered. We are impressed -- very few of you are procrastinators.) The week's scores -- as a percentage of the maximum possible score -- are in line with what we've seen in other weeks. And the "wisdom of crowds" score -- the total score amassed by the most frequently used players in the game -- was not unlike previous weeks, when you look at it as a fraction of the maximum possible score.

Week 5 highest score
Scott Behiel, Angels Camp, Calif. - "ScottBLucky"
(Maximum-points picks in bold)
Pos	Name	Team	Score
QB	Derek Carr	LV	20.35
QB	Kirk Cousins	MIN	27.20
RB	Austin Ekeler	LAC	35.90
RB	Derrick Henry	TEN	27.20
WR	Mike Williams	LAC	23.40
WR	Chris Olave	NO	15.40
WR	Deebo Samuel	SF	11.20
TE	David Njoku	CLE	14.80
TE	George Kittle	SF	9.70
PK	Justin Tucker	BAL	13.00
PK	Brett Maher	DAL	10.00
ST	Dallas	DAL	17.00
ST	Miami	MIA	2.00
	Total		227.15

This was a fantastic week for the Blacker-Outer. He removed nine maximum points players from the board -- surely a personal best.

Week 5 perfect score
(Blackouts in ~~strikethrough~~)
Pos	Name	Team	Score
QB	~~Josh Allen~~	~~BUF~~	~~41.40~~
QB	~~Patrick Mahomes~~	KC	~~33.40~~
QB	~~Jalen Hurts~~	~~PHI~~	~~30.05~~
QB	Carson Wentz	WAS	27.45
QB	Kirk Cousins	MIN	27.20
RB	Austin Ekeler	LAC	35.90
RB	Leonard Fournette	TB	35.90
WR	Gabe Davis	BUF	32.10
WR	~~Justin Jefferson~~	~~MIN~~	~~30.55~~
WR	~~Davante Adams~~	LV	~~27.40~~
WR	Tyler Lockett	SEA	27.40
WR	~~Cooper Kupp~~	~~LAR~~	~~25.90~~
WR	~~Stefon Diggs~~	~~BUF~~	~~24.20~~
WR	Jakobi Meyers	NE	24.10
TE	Taysom Hill	NO	34.30
TE	~~Travis Kelce~~	KC	~~33.50~~
TE	~~Mark Andrews~~	~~BAL~~	~~22.90~~
TE	Dallas Goedert	PHI	17.50
PK	Nick Folk	NE	17.00
PK	Justin Tucker	BAL	13.00
ST	Dallas	DAL	17.00
ST	San Francisco	SF	14.00
	Total		322.85

We think the Wisdom Of Crowds entry provides additional evidence that there wasn't meaningful cheating in Week 5. Sure, Saquon Barkley was one of the most frequently used players , but so were Aaron Rodgers and the Packers defense / special teams. If there was widespread cheating, you would think they wouldn't appear in many lineups.

Week 5 Wisdom Of Crowds score
(Maximum-points picks in bold)
Pos	Name	Team	Score
QB	Aaron Rodgers	GB	19.10
QB	Derek Carr	LV	20.35
RB	Austin Ekeler	LAC	35.90
RB	Saquon Barkley	NYG	19.60
WR	A.J. Brown	PHI	6.20
WR	Mike Evans	TB	12.10
WR	Deebo Samuel	SF	11.20
TE	Dallas Goedert	PHI	17.50
TE	Zach Ertz	ARI	10.80
PK	Justin Tucker	BAL	13.00
PK	Evan McPherson	CIN	5.00
ST	Green Bay	GB	4.00
ST	Tampa Bay	TB	5.00
	Total		179.75

Chris Hertzberg consolidated his lead in the overall chase, stretching it to 16.4 points. He could be top dog for a while.

Top 25 overall after the Week 5 games
Rk	Last	Score	Team Name	Player Name	Hometown
1.	1.	1053.2	Austin Oh-Fers	Chris Hertzberg	Austin, TX
2.	2.	1036.8	zilladogg	Philip Browning	Honolulu, HI
3.	5.	1033.6	Renegades	Mark Christie	Fairport, NY
4.	3.	1028.2	SHAMROCKS	Robert Cassidy	Florence, OR
5.	8.	1018.1	Ralph C.	Ralph Cunningham	Owasso, OK
6.	4.	1015.7	Steve K.	Steve Klitzner	Miami, FL
7.	12.	1005.1	Miles	Brent Miles	Pasco, WA
8.	14.	1002.8	Pro VK	Vin Kmetz	Danbury, CT
9.	15.	1001.4	O Club	John Sokolosky	Wilburton, OK
10.	18.	1000.7	Headbangers	Chad Henslee	Nederland, TX
11.	19.	998.4	Putridboy	Jeff Zwiers	Bellingham, WA
12.	9.	997.9	Bellview Bashers	Treavor Phipps	Salem, IN
13.	16.	997.4	Steven H.	Steven Hecker	Powell, OH
14.	7.	996.2	18 rocks	Brad Dengler	Morton, WA
15.	13.	991.8	Saquon Destroy	Michael Livengood	Ward, AR
16.	6.	991.4	The Smokin' Jays	Bradley Contento	Tucson, AZ
17.	10.	982.6	Mike T.	Mike Taylor	Meridian, ID
18.	22.	980.2	GiWizard	Keith Wolfe	Parkville, MD
19.	49.	980.1	Top Dogs	Joe Pilck	Pleasant City, OH
20.	39.	976.1	JoeG Rx	Joe Goins	Folsom, CA
21.	#N/A	975.9	Crushers	James Zabloudil	Plainfield, IL
22.	32.	975.5	SA Maddogs	Micahel Espinosa	Helotes, TX
23.	38.	970.2	Warriors	Sam Wood	Westborough, MA
24.	26.	969.8	For Who? For What?	Steve Knight	West Chester, PA
25.	42.	969.5	Derek E.	Derek Ellingson	La Quinta, CA

Weekly scoring leaders, 2022 season
Week	Name	Hometown	Team	Points	Perfect score	Pct Perfect
5	Scott Behiel	Angels Camp, Calif.	ScottBLucky	227.15	322.85	70.4%
4	Robert Cassidy	Florence, Ore	SHAMROCKS	265.40	340.90	77.9%
3	Jason Schuetz	Fort Collins, Colo.	Jason S.	220.00	294.40	74.7%
2	Chris Hertzberg	Austin, Texas	Austin Oh-Fers	282.65	389.25	72.6%
1	John Wulf	Williamsville, N.Y.	Wulf	229.25	292.65	78.3%

Tee Higgins (the fourth most frequently used wideout), Darren Waller (the fifth most frequently used tight end) and Teddy Bridgewater (the sixth most frequently used quarterback) all scored zero points, destroying a lot of lineups.

Percentage of Week 5 lineups that included the player
Pct	Score	Name	Pos	Team
53.7%	13.00	Justin Tucker	PK	BAL
53.1%	6.20	A.J. Brown	WR	PHI
51.5%	12.10	Mike Evans	WR	TB
51.2%	11.20	Deebo Samuel	WR	SF
47.3%	14.00	San Francisco	ST	SF
36.3%	17.50	Dallas Goedert	TE	PHI
35.4%	19.10	Aaron Rodgers	QB	GB
32.6%	20.35	Derek Carr	QB	LV
31.1%	4.00	Green Bay	ST	GB
30.8%	35.90	Austin Ekeler	RB	LAC
30.5%	10.80	Zach Ertz	TE	ARI
29.6%	5.00	Tampa Bay	ST	TB
29.0%	27.20	Kirk Cousins	QB	MIN
28.4%	19.60	Saquon Barkley	RB	NYG
28.1%	25.40	Nick Chubb	RB	CLE
28.1%	11.60	Tyler Higbee	TE	LAR
27.7%	0.00	Tee Higgins	WR	CIN
25.6%	20.70	Kyler Murray	QB	ARI
25.3%	5.00	Evan McPherson	PK	CIN
25.0%	1.20	Gerald Everett	TE	LAC
24.7%	17.20	Trevor Lawrence	QB	JAC
23.2%	17.00	Dallas	ST	DAL
22.9%	27.20	Derrick Henry	RB	TEN
22.6%	0.00	Darren Waller	TE	LV
20.7%	7.00	Ryan Succop	PK	TB
18.9%	26.10	Dalvin Cook	RB	MIN
15.2%	23.40	Mike Williams	WR	LAC
14.9%	6.00	Riley Patterson	PK	JAC
14.3%	1.00	Jacksonville	ST	JAC
13.1%	14.80	David Njoku	TE	CLE
12.5%	0.00	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	MIA
12.5%	2.10	Christian Kirk	WR	JAC
11.6%	15.40	Chris Olave	WR	NO
11.3%	11.00	Daniel Carlson	PK	LV
11.0%	9.70	George Kittle	TE	SF
11.0%	10.30	CeeDee Lamb	WR	DAL
10.1%	12.15	Jared Goff	QB	DET
10.1%	10.00	Denver	ST	DEN
10.1%	3.00	Philadelphia	ST	PHI
9.2%	3.00	Greg Joseph	PK	MIN
9.2%	23.40	Christian McCaffrey	RB	CAR
8.5%	10.00	Brett Maher	PK	DAL
8.5%	5.90	James Robinson	RB	JAC
8.5%	10.00	Aaron Jones	RB	GB
7.9%	27.45	Carson Wentz	QB	WAS
7.6%	7.00	Wil Lutz	PK	NO
7.0%	2.00	Miami	ST	MIA
7.0%	12.30	Chris Godwin	WR	TB
7.0%	12.20	Curtis Samuel	WR	WAS
6.1%	4.00	Matt Gay	PK	LAR
5.5%	1.00	Younghoe Koo	PK	ATL
5.5%	35.90	Leonard Fournette	RB	TB
5.5%	3.20	Pat Freiermuth	TE	PIT
4.9%	32.10	Gabe Davis	WR	BUF
4.6%	8.00	Mason Crosby	PK	GB
4.6%	5.00	Jason Sanders	PK	MIA
4.6%	11.80	Joe Mixon	RB	CIN
4.3%	2.20	Damien Harris	RB	NE
4.0%	5.60	Jamaal Williams	RB	DET
4.0%	12.40	Courtland Sutton	WR	DEN
3.7%	15.90	Russell Wilson	QB	DEN
3.7%	25.40	Alvin Kamara	RB	NO
3.7%	5.90	Romeo Doubs	WR	GB
3.7%	13.50	Allen Lazard	WR	GB
3.4%	17.00	Nick Folk	PK	NE
3.4%	30.30	Josh Jacobs	RB	LV
3.1%	5.00	Tennessee	ST	TEN
3.1%	0.00	Kyle Pitts	TE	ATL
3.1%	12.60	Terry McLaurin	WR	WAS
3.1%	19.80	DK Metcalf	WR	SEA
2.7%	4.00	Cade York	PK	CLE
2.7%	16.70	Zach Wilson	QB	NYJ
2.7%	19.50	Rhamondre Stevenson	RB	NE
2.7%	21.80	Marquise Brown	WR	ARI
2.4%	9.00	Brandon McManus	PK	DEN
2.4%	19.40	Matthew Stafford	QB	LAR
2.4%	2.00	Kansas City	ST	KC
2.4%	12.00	New England	ST	NE
2.4%	0.00	Tyler Conklin	TE	NYJ
2.4%	34.30	Taysom Hill	TE	NO
2.4%	10.90	Michael Pittman	WR	IND
2.1%	0.00	Jake Elliott	PK	PHI
2.1%	8.40	Miles Sanders	RB	PHI
2.1%	6.50	Clyde Edwards-Helaire	RB	KC
2.1%	20.30	Dameon Pierce	RB	HOU
2.1%	3.00	L.A. Rams	ST	LAR
2.1%	5.00	Baltimore	ST	BAL
2.1%	6.70	Adam Thielen	WR	MIN
1.8%	6.00	Matthew Wright	PK	KC
1.8%	9.00	Graham Gano	PK	NYG
1.8%	6.00	Robbie Gould	PK	SF
1.8%	26.70	Geno Smith	QB	SEA
1.8%	13.35	Ryan Tannehill	QB	TEN
1.8%	1.10	Khalil Herbert	RB	CHI
1.8%	5.00	New Orleans	ST	NO
1.8%	17.30	Hayden Hurst	TE	CIN
1.8%	0.00	Dalton Schultz	TE	DAL
1.8%	14.30	George Pickens	WR	PIT
1.8%	6.50	Hunter Renfrow	WR	LV
1.5%	6.30	Robert Tonyan	TE	GB
1.5%	0.00	Dawson Knox	TE	BUF
1.5%	0.00	Logan Thomas	TE	WAS
1.5%	12.90	Evan Engram	TE	JAC
1.5%	6.30	JuJu Smith-Schuster	WR	KC
1.2%	0.00	Dustin Hopkins	PK	LAC
1.2%	3.00	Las Vegas	ST	LV
1.2%	4.10	Will Dissly	TE	SEA
1.2%	15.00	M. Valdes-Scantling	WR	KC
0.9%	8.00	Greg Zuerlein	PK	NYJ
0.9%	0.00	Matt Prater	PK	ARI
0.9%	8.00	Jason Myers	PK	SEA
0.9%	0.00	Harrison Butker	PK	KC
0.9%	5.00	Cooper Rush	QB	DAL
0.9%	5.60	Devin Singletary	RB	BUF
0.9%	4.40	J.K. Dobbins	RB	BAL
0.9%	2.00	L.A. Chargers	ST	LAC
0.9%	1.00	Cleveland	ST	CLE
0.9%	1.70	Mo Alie-Cox	TE	IND
0.9%	9.40	Hunter Henry	TE	NE
0.9%	7.70	Robert Woods	WR	TEN
0.9%	27.40	Tyler Lockett	WR	SEA
0.9%	12.80	Devin Duvernay	WR	BAL
0.9%	18.70	DeVonta Smith	WR	PHI
0.6%	3.00	Chris Boswell	PK	PIT
0.6%	0.00	Michael Badgley	PK	DET
0.6%	13.90	Bailey Zappe	QB	NE
0.6%	20.55	Jimmy Garoppolo	QB	SF
0.6%	13.30	Melvin Gordon	RB	DEN
0.6%	2.00	N.Y Giants	ST	NYG
0.6%	4.00	Pittsburgh	ST	PIT
0.6%	5.00	Seattle	ST	SEA
0.6%	3.00	Cincinnati	ST	CIN
0.6%	2.70	Isaiah Likely	TE	BAL
0.6%	0.00	Rashod Bateman	WR	BAL
0.6%	6.20	Tyler Boyd	WR	CIN
0.6%	7.50	Drake London	WR	ATL
0.6%	15.20	Josh Reynolds	WR	DET
0.6%	5.80	Corey Davis	WR	NYJ
0.3%	10.00	Cairo Santos	PK	CHI
0.3%	17.35	Kenny Pickett	QB	PIT
0.3%	7.20	Davis Mills	QB	HOU
0.3%	0.00	Jameis Winston	QB	NO
0.3%	19.45	Marcus Mariota	QB	ATL
0.3%	1.80	Nyheim Hines	RB	IND
0.3%	20.20	Jeff Wilson	RB	SF
0.3%	6.60	Najee Harris	RB	PIT
0.3%	4.50	Tyler Allgeier	RB	ATL
0.3%	8.00	N.Y. Jets	ST	NYJ
0.3%	2.00	Arizona	ST	ARI
0.3%	4.00	Houston	ST	HOU
0.3%	8.00	Indianapolis	ST	IND
0.3%	8.20	Irv Smith	TE	MIN
0.3%	4.20	Zay Jones	WR	JAC
0.3%	0.00	Michael Thomas	WR	NO
0.3%	8.80	Brandon Aiyuk	WR	SF
0.3%	20.60	Amari Cooper	WR	CLE
0.3%	6.00	Brandin Cooks	WR	HOU
0.3%	0.00	DJ Chark	WR	DET

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