My first bad move was to severely underestimate the discount the Halflings get on a Master Chef - I though it was half of the normal 300k price, but instead they get it for a mere 100k. Sacking my 12th player to drop the TV difference to only 120k was a huge mistake.

By turn 14 and down to 5 players I doubt it would have made much difference, but at least I can say that I managed to force another excellent player into overtime and was blocking the path to his winning touchdown with the bodies of my own players. I lost with honour and got to maim some hobbits while doing so; a productive evening of playing, all in all.