Champion
mcrilley
Matt Crilley
Season recap
2025
The 4-seed took the belt
Puka and Friends ran the regular season. Operation Opp crashed the party as the last team in. Matt Crilley won the whole thing anyway.
Runner-up
Operation Opp
Donny Opp
Third
Puka and Friends
David Jolly
How it happened
The 2025 tape
Year four of Guardians of the Gridiron belonged to the team that was never supposed to be the story. mcrilley went 8–6, finished second in scoring, and entered the playoffs as the 4-seed. Three weeks later Matt Crilley had the first banner in franchise history — 164.46 to 157.78 over Operation Opp in the Guardians Bowl, a 6.68-point title game that came down to a supporting cast going quiet on the other sideline.
The regular-season king was a rookie. David Jolly took over the old jklan seat, named the team Puka and Friends, and immediately posted the best record in the league at 10–4. He also posted the most points, 2,285.62 — fourth-highest season in Guardians history, behind only Nova21’s 2023 Tua Deez Nuts and the 2024 explosions from Steeler Virginity and Hurts so Good. Week 4 was the loudest single score of 2025: 235.80, with Puka Nacua, George Pickens, Dak Prescott, Justin Fields, and Christian McCaffrey all going off on the same card. None of it survived the semis.
The other plot was the last playoff chair. Three teams finished 7–7. Operation Opp’s 2,105.78 points beat CeeDee’s Nuts (2,048.26) and defending champion Steeler Virginity (1,913.20) for the 6-seed. Donny Opp then played like a 1-seed: 202.82 to bounce 3-seed Make-A-Wish, 209.34 to upset 1-seed Puka. Derrick Henry dropped 45.60 in the final. It still was not enough. 2022 champ, 2024 third place, 2025 runner-up — still hunting banner number two.
- Champion
- mcrilley
- 1-seed
- Puka and Friends
- Highest week
- 235.80
- Closest game
- 0.40
- Last dance in
- 7–7
- Title margin
- 6.68
4-seed · 8–6 · 2,167.42 pts
10–4 · 2,285.62 pts · 3rd place
Puka and Friends, Week 4
Hurts so Good over Opp, Week 8
Opp sneaks in on points
mcrilley 164.46 – Opp 157.78
14 weeks
Regular season
Wins, then points. All-play is each team against the other 11 every week (154 games). The 6-seed was a photo finish.
| # | Seed | Team | Record | PF | PA | All-play | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Puka and Friends David Jolly | 10-4 | 2,285.62 | 2,048.96 | 116-38 | 3rd place |
| 2 | 2 | Wolder Jits Samuel O'Bryan | 9-5 | 2,115.10 | 1,956.54 | 86-68 | 4th place |
| 3 | 3 | Make-A-Wish Clay Scheer | 9-5 | 2,010.90 | 1,998.99 | 81-73 | 5th place |
| 4 | 4 | mcrilley Matt Crilley | 8-6 | 2,167.42 | 1,968.22 | 96-58 | Champion |
| 5 | 5 | Shirts vs Skins Matt Kopec | 8-6 | 1,977.08 | 1,890.32 | 66-88 | 6th place |
| 6 | 6 | Operation Opp Donny Opp | 7-7 | 2,105.78 | 2,083.46 | 90-64 | Runner-up |
| 7 | — | CeeDee’s Nuts Ryan Klan | 7-7 | 2,048.26 | 2,089.76 | 94-60 | Missed playoffs |
| 8 | — | Steeler Virginity Ryan Murphy | 7-7 | 1,913.20 | 1,925.44 | 61-93 | Missed playoffs |
| 9 | — | Amon Top of the World Will O'Bryan | 6-8 | 2,004.10 | 2,082.66 | 81-73 | Missed playoffs |
| 10 | — | The Jackson 11 Broc Balta | 5-9 | 1,863.84 | 2,094.32 | 57-97 | Missed playoffs |
| 11 | — | Hurts so Good Aaron Smith | 5-9 | 1,804.98 | 1,920.48 | 53-101 | Missed playoffs |
| 12 | — | Bake-N-Jigba devine33 | 3-11 | 1,733.88 | 1,971.00 | 43-111 | Missed playoffs |
Weeks 15–17
The playoffs
Six teams, Week 15 start, 1- and 2-seeds on bye, one week per round. Reseed after the wild card.
Wild card · W15
(4) vs (5)
mcrilley164.94
Shirts vs Skins142.54
(6) vs (3)
Operation Opp202.82
Make-A-Wish176.58
Byes
(1) Puka and Friends
(2) Wolder Jits
Semifinals · W16
(4) vs (2)
mcrilley152.78
Wolder Jits124.18
(6) vs (1)
Operation Opp209.34
Puka and Friends175.66
5th place
Make-A-Wish158.98
Shirts vs Skins135.16
Championship · W17
Guardians Bowl
mcrilley164.46
Operation Opp157.78
Malik Willis 32.52 and Chris Olave 25.90 led the champ. Jonathan Taylor, RJ Harvey, and Justin Herbert filled in the rest.
Derrick Henry dropped 45.60 for Opp. Trevor Lawrence added 24.12. James Cook (8.70), Jaylen Warren (6.40), DJ Moore (1.70), and Darren Waller (1.00) left too many empty starters.
3rd place
Puka and Friends147.72
Wolder Jits139.90
Year-end hardware
Superlatives
The trophies, the curses, and the sentence that belongs in a museum.
Champion
mcrilley
Matt Crilley
8–6 · 4-seed
Won the Guardians Bowl 164.46–157.78. First banner in franchise history.
Runner-up
Operation Opp
Donny Opp
7–7 · 6-seed
Last team in, then 202.82 and 209.34 in the playoffs. Henry’s 45.60 in the final wasn’t enough.
Best regular season
Puka and Friends
David Jolly
10–4 · 2,285.62 pts
1-seed, league-best scoring, 116–38 all-play. The regular season was never close.
Rookie of the year
Puka and Friends
David Jolly
First year · 3rd place
Took over a seat and immediately posted the best record in the league. Debut year, already a problem.
Single-game record
Jahmyr Gibbs
Hurts so Good · Week 12
57.40 pts
The loudest individual starter of 2025. Aaron Smith’s RB went nuclear in a 179.40–90.80 dunk of Wolder Jits.
Highest team score
Puka and Friends
David Jolly · Week 4
235.80 pts
Puka Nacua, George Pickens, Dak, Fields, and CMC on the same card. Highest team week of the season.
Best comeback
Operation Opp
Donny Opp
1–3, then the dance
Sat 1–3 after four weeks and 3–6 after nine. Won three straight to 6–6, snuck in as the 6-seed on points, and played for the belt.
Wall of shame
Bake-N-Jigba
devine33
3–11 · 1,733.88 pts
Fewest wins, fewest points, last season in this chair. The franchise is wagmi’s now.
Quote of the year
CeeDee’s Nuts
Ryan Klan
“I looked at my draft and thought I could win the whole thing. Didn't even make the playoffs.”
Named hardware
League awards
The fun ones. Yankees, Bills, collapses, lucky bounces, and one bonehead.
The Yankees Award
Puka and Friends
David Jolly
Most feared roster
10–4, 2,285 points, a 235.80 nuclear week. Everybody else was playing for second until December.
The Buffalo Bills Award
Wolder Jits
Samuel O'Bryan
So good, so close, still no ring
9–5, the 2-seed, bounce-back from 3–11. Lost the semis to the champ and the 3rd-place game to Puka. Another winter without a banner.
The 28–3 Award
Amon Top of the World
Will O'Bryan
Worst collapse
4–1 after five weeks. Then 2–7 the rest of the way, 6–8, and golf. 2,004 points — more than two playoff teams — and still missed the dance.
The Immaculate Reception Award
Hurts so Good
Aaron Smith · Week 8
Luckiest win
Projected 126.5 against Operation Opp’s 164.8 — a 38-point underdog. Won 132.22–131.82. Margin: 0.40, the closest game of the year.
The 199th Pick Award
Rico Dowdle
Wolder Jits · Week 5 pickup
Best sleeper / waiver steal
Grabbed off waivers in Week 5 and started 12 times for 192.0 points, with a 33.9 boom. Season-long RB1 money from the wire.
The Baza Award
Bake-N-Jigba
devine33
Bonehead of the year
3–11, fewest points, last season in the chair. The tape does not need a second viewing.
The moments
What we’ll remember
Week 4
The 235 bomb
Puka and Friends 235.80, the highest team score of the season, in a 379-point slugfest against Operation Opp (143.20). Puka Nacua 36.00, George Pickens 33.40, Dak Prescott 33.96, Justin Fields 28.14, Christian McCaffrey 26.10.
Week 8
Four tenths
Closest game of 2025: Hurts so Good 132.22, Operation Opp 131.82. Margin: 0.40. The next-tightest regular-season finish was Jackson 11 over Bake-N-Jigba by 0.86 in Week 4.
Week 9
Highest combined
Wolder Jits 202.82 vs Operation Opp 190.02 — 392.84 combined, the loudest head-to-head of the year. The Commish won it. Opp still made the playoffs. Both landed in the championship half of the bracket later.
Week 14
The last chair
Three teams at 7–7. Opp’s 2,105.78 points locked the 6-seed. CeeDee’s Nuts (2,048.26, 61% all-play) and defending champ Steeler Virginity went home. Amon Top of the World scored 2,004.10 at 6–8 — more points than two teams that made it.
Weeks 15–16
Playoff heater
Operation Opp scored 202.82 and 209.34 in consecutive playoff weeks, the two highest playoff scores of the season, and took out the 3-seed and the 1-seed. mcrilley just kept winning: 164.94, 152.78, 164.46.
Week 17
Consolation photo finish
Hurts so Good 83.24, Steeler Virginity 82.82. The defending champ lost the consolation final by 0.42 — the second-closest game of the entire season, and a brutal way to close a title defense.
Week 10
Deadline deals
Three trades on the last week of the window. One McBride, one Baker, one Nabers.
- Shirts vs Skins sent a 2026 2nd and 6th to Steeler Virginity for Trey McBride and a 2026 4th.
- Wolder Jits sent Jacoby Brissett and a 2026 3rd to Bake-N-Jigba for Baker Mayfield.
- Puka and Friends sent Malik Nabers to Steeler Virginity for Brian Thomas, Quentin Johnston, and a 2026 4th.
The field
Season in review
A quick look at all 12 managers, from the new champ down to the last-place seat that is now wagmi’s.
mcrilley
Matt Crilley
The team that actually finished. Second in scoring, 4-seed, and a three-week playoff run of 164.94 / 152.78 / 164.46. Chris Olave went for 36.80 in the semis after Jordan Love laid a 3.78 egg; Herbert (32.20) saved the week. In the Bowl it was Willis 32.52 and Olave 25.90, and the first Guardians banner was hung.
Operation Opp
Donny Opp
Last team in, loudest team in December. 7–7, in on points over CeeDee’s and the defending champ, then 202.82 and 209.34 to dunk Make-A-Wish and 1-seed Puka. Henry’s 45.60 in the final was a playoff masterpiece with nobody around him. 2022 champ. Still one short of two.
Puka and Friends
David Jolly
Rookie manager, best regular season in the league. 10–4, 2,285.62 points, 116–38 all-play, and a 235.80 nuclear week. The 1-seed bye was real. The semis were not: Opp dropped 209.34. Beat the Commish 147.72–139.90 for third. Debut year, already a problem.
Wolder Jits
Samuel O'Bryan
From 3–11 in 2024 to a 9–5 2-seed. Grabbed Baker Mayfield at the deadline. Posted the highest-scoring game of the year (202.82 vs Opp in Week 9), then ran into the eventual champ in the semis and lost the 3rd-place game to Puka. Bounce-back year. Not a banner year.
Make-A-Wish
Clay Scheer
Redemption season: 2–12 in 2023, 7–7 in 2024, 9–5 and the 3-seed in 2025. Closed the regular season on a four-game win streak, then drew a 6-seed that scored 202.82. Beat Shirts 158.98–135.16 for 5th. The record finally caught up. The bracket did not care.
Shirts vs Skins
Matt Kopec
Luckiest dance ticket in the league. 8–6 with a 66–88 all-play (42.9%) and only five weeks above league median. Grabbed Trey McBride at the deadline, then ran into the champ in the wild card. The wins were real. The underlying scoring was not.
CeeDee’s Nuts
Ryan Klan
The unluckiest good team of 2025. 2,048 points, 94–60 all-play (61%), 7–7 — and golf. Missed the 6-seed by 57 points to Opp. Then lost a consolation semi to Hurts so Good by 2.06. More points than two playoff teams. Zero playoff games.
Steeler Virginity
Ryan Murphy
Defending champs, 7–7, out on points. Moved McBride at the deadline and brought in Malik Nabers. Opened 2–0, then never found the 2024 scoring peak (2,324). Lost the consolation final to Hurts so Good 83.24–82.82 — 0.42 points, a brutal last snapshot of the title defense.
Amon Top of the World
Will O'Bryan
6–8 with 2,004 points and a winning all-play. More scoring than Shirts vs Skins and Steeler Virginity, both of whom finished ahead in the win column. The brother-of-the-Commish draft-pick swap was preseason noise. The season was death by close losses.
The Jackson 11
Broc Balta
Ate the most points against in the league (2,094). Stole a 0.86-point Week 4 win over Bake and jumped 1-seed Puka 131.28–127.76 in Week 13, then closed the consolation on the floor (74.38 in Week 17). The vibes franchise had a long winter.
Hurts so Good
Aaron Smith
A year after 9–5 and 2,314 points, the scoring fell off a cliff (1,805). Still authored the two tightest finishes of 2025: 0.40 over Opp in Week 8, then 0.42 over the defending champ in the consolation final. Did not make the dance. Did win the leftover argument.
Bake-N-Jigba
devine33
Fewest points, fewest wins, last season in this chair. Sent Baker Mayfield to the Commish at the deadline. The franchise is wagmi’s now. 3–11 is the tape they inherit.