Do Jordan & Aneesa Actually Have a Shot at Winning?

Giving credit where it’s due, Aneesa and Jordan pulled off an impressive win against Laurel & Jakk. Anyone who defeats Laurel is worthy of praise, but the team that had no chemistry before this season is managing to make things work.

However, this is just one success. Prior to the victory they’d been a mid-tier team and floating was an option for the first few weeks. They had allies, and they weren’t a target. When Michele & Jay got power, that all changed.

This season, Nany gets a lot the attention. Everyone’s saying this season, her 12th, is finally her time to win. Meanwhile, is season 16 for Aneesa and she hasn’t been given as much attention.

And let’s be honest, it often feels like people have written her off. Though I’d bet a lot of people thought Laurel was a big threat going into this season, and Aneesa took her out. So why isn’t Aneesa’s potential victory getting any attention?

Well, we need to look the things that have held Nany and Aneesa back. Nany, usually struggles with puzzles and isn’t the biggest threat in physical of strength-based eliminations. With the right partner, these things can be compensated, and Nany will carry on. If there’s one thing we know about her, she has the endurance to complete a final.

On the other side, Aneesa is great with puzzles and an eating competition isn’t a hurdle for her. Her problem? She often lacks endurance. When she needs to run long distances, she gasses out and her strength doesn’t last for long periods. She can go from 0 to 100 quickly, but that won’t help her win a final.

Aneesa’s partner Jordan, he’s pretty great in finals. He’s won three times, and he’s been known to make the impossible seem possible. He found a way to get Aneesa to carry four blocks at a time during In Your Face, so he can see her potential and work with it.

Will this be enough to win a final? Of course, it depends on the format, but it most likely won’t be. If Aneesa can’t run the distance, Jordan isn’t getting anywhere. He can try to compensate at checkpoints, but they often mean little compared to the cardio-based portions.

Maybe there’s a reason this duo wasn’t targeted too early. They can be fatal in eliminations, but Aneesa is unlikely to have the gas to get to the end of a final. So, it’s not a bad strategy to let them float. If they get to the final, they’ll be moving at Aneesa’s pace, and there isn’t much Jordan can do about it.