After three straight Super Bowl appearances, a championship in 2019 and a combined regular season record of 22-4 over the previous two seasons, the Burger Buddies seemed poised to continue their dominance last year.

Everything was going according to plan as they averaged a mind-boggling 72 points a game thru the first 6 games of 2021. However, the combination of a Derrick Henry injury and uncharacteristically poor play from Patrick Mahomes saw the Buddies muster just 38 points per game the rest of the way to finish the year at 7-7 and out of the playoffs, a fate that seemed impossible midway through the season.

With much of the attention being paid to the red hot start of Anthony Aceto's Refugees and White Guys, the surprise 3-0 Thugs and the resurgent Chickens so far in 2022, the Buddies have been doing something almost as unthinkable as missing the playoffs last year: flying under the radar.

The Buddies reminded all of us why they've been such a dominant team over the past few years in Week 4 as they downed the Thugs in a showdown of 3-0 teams to remain unbeaten and take control of the AFC West. Leading the way once again was Mahomes, who entered the year with question marks thanks to the departure of Tyreek Hill from Kansas City, but the superstar hasn't missed a beat, posting 72 points thru 4 games, good for 3rd among QBs. However, the biggest story for the 2022 Buddies has to be Jamaal Williams, who recorded his second straight 16-point performance for the high-flying Lions(!?).

With another showdown of unbeatens on tap for Week 5 against the White Guys, the Buddies will look to press their advantage in the AFC while exorcising 2018 and 2020 Super Bowl demons against the 4-time champions.

Elsewhere around the league, several teams secured their first win of the season (Orangutangs, Merry Men, Huskers) while other teams continued to struggle, placing an incredible 8 teams at 1-3 on the season. Among the big winners in Week 4 were Bear Poop, who outlasted the Refugees to pull even in the AFC East, the Mallards, who overcame the Boys on Sunday night thanks to a pair of TDs from Mike Evans, and the Beans, who delivered the Chickens their first loss of the season.