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Enhance Your Lineup for the Fantasy Football Playoffs

The Help You Need to Keep Winning

Did you survive the first round of the playoffs but watch Alvin Kamara get hurt?

Need insurance behind Patrick Mahomes? David Njoku?

Or maybe you're just trying to make sure you're set with streaming defenses the next two weeks?

And if your league plays through Week 18, make sure you check the new section at the end ...

• QB strategy
• RB strategy
• WR strategy
• TE strategy
• DST strategy
• Week 18 tips

When Do Fantasy Football Playoffs Start?

First of all, most fantasy football seasons end a week earlier than the NFL season does.

Why? Because Week 18 can be particularly rife with NFL teams sitting starters to either prepare for playoff openers or get a look at less-used players ahead of offseason decisions.

Whether your league follows that plan or plays right on through Week 18, your fantasy football playoffs typically run for the final 2-3 weeks of your fantasy season.

Whether your league goes two weeks or three will generally depend on how many teams make the playoffs. There’s no “right” way to work that, but allowing too large a portion of your league to make the playoffs can devalue the regular season and add luck to who wins the championship.

It’s dispiriting to march through a dominant regular season only to face a .500 squad on its biggest spike week of the year.

How Do Fantasy Football Playoffs Work?

Of course, that’s part of the game for most fantasy football leagues.

The predominant fantasy football format features head-to-head matchups all season, including the playoff weeks. That’s bound to produce some upsets (and heartache). And frankly, that’s all a big part of why the game’s so popular.

Limiting your playoff berths to the league’s true top teams can help make the result more “fair.” Looking beyond a team’s record and factoring in total points can also remove some of the luck.

Head-to-Head Playoffs

Fantasy football playoffs most commonly feature the playoff teams squaring off against each other in the familiar playoff structure. Win and you move on to the next week. Lose and you’re out. Last team standing wins.

Some leagues make the championship a two-week matchup, which can lower the chances of a particular spike or lull in scoring determining the victor. This format combines each team’s scores for the final two weeks to crown the champ.

In either case, you will also find some leagues that include a loser’s bracket. That can either include non-playoff teams or those who lost in the playoffs.

The purpose: Keep everyone motivated to keep setting lineups and trying to win even after their title shot disappears. Such play can be for league prize shares, draft position the following year, or other incentives.

Total Points Playoffs

Eschewing head-to-head matchups for a total-points format in the fantasy football playoffs is more common in tournament play. But it can be a good setup for any fantasy football league as well.

This is a particularly good method for decreasing the luck factor in your playoffs. One common setup works like this:

1. Each playoff team starts with its weekly scoring average from the season.
2. Add each team’s point total for each week of your league playoffs.
3. Highest total score at the end wins.

This format rewards the best regular-season teams with a head start on points. And it also limits the impact of a one-week scoring peak or lull in the playoffs.

Fantasy Football Playoffs Strategy and Matchups

Of course, it's playoff time now. So you’re not looking for tips on how to format your league. That’s been set for months (or years?).

You want to win. And that’s the main reason we’re here.

I’ll dig into season-ending schedules and some targets (and avoids) by position. But let’s hit some overall tips first:

• Don’t get too cute with risky starters. Matchups matter, of course. And we’ll continue using all the same data to produce our weekly projections every week of the season. But it’s especially easy to overthink your lineup decisions and talk yourself into an upside play in the fantasy football playoffs. In many cases, it’ll be better to stick with what has worked.

• Pay attention to injuries and trends. This should be obvious, but it’s especially important at the end of the season. If you miss something in Week 6 and leave the wrong guy in your lineup (or out of it), you’ve got time to make up for that. Not so come Week 16. Of course, we’ll keep tracking all the fantasy football news you need to know.

• Make sure it’s your lineup. I field plenty of questions along the lines of, “Why do you guys have this WR a few spots behind this other guy? I’m leaning toward the lower guy because ____.” If there’s a large gap between the projections for the two players, then there’s a reason. And I’m happy to explain. But if those guys sit close together, then I’ll often tell you to go with your gut. We certainly won’t be right about every pick. And you’re gonna kick yourself a lot harder tomorrow if you lose by sitting your guy.

Now let’s get specific by position, checking into the best – and worst – schedules for weeks 15-17 …

Fantasy Football Playoffs QB Strategy

Let’s start with this reminder: Don’t overplay the matchups even in these final weeks.

I know from experience that you do not want to lose your title matchup by sitting the QB who’s been delivering you weekly points for the guy you talk yourself into because he’s “in a good spot.”

That said, matchups do factor in plenty at this position. And these QBs look like candidates to get a boost over the next two weeks:

Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This freakin' stud just delivered a huge stat line in his worst remaining matchup, against the Chargers.

I'm not even kidding when I say Mayfield's a candidate to lead all fantasy QBs in scoring over the final two weeks with these matchups.

Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals

Murray remains tough to figure out.

He let us down from a fantasy standpoint last week. But he didn't have a bad game, and thus wasn't really a bad play.

Murray completed 76.7% of his passes in the win over New England. And his team scored 30 points. It just so happened that the three TDs came via two James Conner runs and a Greg Dortch fumble to OT Jonah Williams (on a run play).

Murray posted much better fantasy scores the previous two weeks, despite throwing 2 INTs in each game.

He's ultimately worth rolling the next two weeks in these matchups:

Looking for Superflex Help?

• I wouldn't feel comfy sticking Titans QB Mason Rudolph into a 1-QB lineup. But he could work out for a 2-QB/superflex format. Rudolph has finished QB13, QB15, and QB14 in his past three appearances -- the last of which came in just a half-game's worth of work. He gets positive matchups with the Colts and (especially) Jaguars the next two weeks. 
• Cooper Rush is probably going to impact Week 16 more than anyone wants him to. His past five weeks have included a pair of top-11 finishes and just one outside the top 18. He gets a high-upside matchup with the Bucs this Sunday.

Dropped Out

I previously included Justin Herbert and Bo Nix among the upside QBs, but both have created more questions with their recent performance.

Herbert has finished three straight weeks 18th or lower among fantasy QBs. He has fallen short of 220 passing yards in four straight games.

Nix has completed just 57.3% of his passes at 6.3 yards per attempt over his past three games -- all positive passing matchups (Raiders, Browns, Colts).

QBs to Avoid?

Here are the five worst QB playoff schedules:

Takeaways

• I'm less wary of Jared Goff than I was even a week ago. For one thing, he already balled out against the Bills (albeit without three of their starting DBs). He also lost RB David Montgomery, which will likely shift some play volume to the passing side the rest of the way. Chicago and San Francisco remain negative matchups for QB scoring and rank 14th and fifth, respectively, in pass DVOA. But they've also showed enough cracks to make Goff playable.
• Geno Smith has five straight fantasy finishes of 19th or worse since his bye. You should be trying not to use him.
• Don't overthink the rough schedule finish for Lamar Jackson. I'd rather lose with him than lose because I sat Jackson for some lesser talent in a better matchup.
• The schedule plus the ankle injury -- plus lackluster production all season -- make Patrick Mahomes a shaky option at best the rest of the way.
• Tua Tagovailoa comes off a brutal 3-INT outing at Houston to visit a defense that ranks fifth in pass DVOA -- likely without WR Jaylen Waddle. Yikes.

Fantasy Football Playoffs RB Strategy

Let’s check out the top 5 RB schedules for weeks 16-17 …

Tampa Bay Buccaneers RBs

Bucky Irving trailed Rachaad White only narrowly in Week 15 playing time (37 snaps to 32) but matched him in carries (15) and targets (2) despite entering questionable with the back injury that cut short his previous game.

More importantly, Irving racked up 117 yards on the ground. And don't sweat the 7 carries for Sean Tucker. He took the final seven handoffs of a blowout victory.

James Conner, Arizona Cardinals

I love James Conner.

We liked his run-out heading into the playoffs. And then the stud delivered 138 total yards, 5 receptions, and a pair of TDs against the Patriots. He also watched rookie Trey Benson leave that game with an ankle injury.

If you've got Conner, that's simply one less lineup spot you have to think about.

New York Jets RBs

The Jets got a limited version of Breece Hall back vs. the Jaguars last week.

Hall played just four more snaps than rookie RB Isaiah Davis, while Braelon Allen left early with a back injury.

We'll have to watch the injury reports for both Allen and Hall this week.

Titans RBs

Tyjae Spears delivered a pair of TDs last week despite trailing Tony Pollard 17-4 in carries.

Spears led Pollard by a wide margin in receiving usage (27 routes to 7). But Pollard was also playing through an ankle injury that rendered him questionable.

Matchups with Indy and Jacksonville make both RBs potentially usable, with Pollard still the easy leader on usage.

RBs to Avoid?

Here are the five worst RB playoff schedules by our numbers:

Takeaways

• We worried about Najee Harris' rough schedule finish for a while, and here's how his weekly PPR ranks have gone since the Week 9 bye:
  • RB22
  • RB17
  • RB30
  • RB3 (season-high 6-54 receiving line vs. Bengals)
  • RB24
  • RB58
• Houston's closing schedule played a key role in us recommending Joe Mixon as a "sell" ahead of Week 12. If you've got him, though, the good news is that his receiving role offers a boost. Mixon has seen 6 targets in three straight games. You probably have to start him.
• Brian Robinson Jr. scored in the first meeting with Philly. But his team rushed for just 93 yards, its third-lowest total all season. Austin Ekeler's absence helps the touch volume. But this is a tough finish for him.
• Rico Dowdle comes off three straight 100-yard rushing games to face a pair of top-10 run defenses in games where his team will be the underdog (heavily so vs. Philly, I'm sure). Don't be surprised if he disappoints. But at least the workloads have been terrific the past four games.
• I barely care who Derrick Henry's playing against.

Fantasy Football Playoffs WR Strategy

Check out this ugly set of teams getting the most positive WR matchups for the fantasy football playoffs …

Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants

Nabers finally found the end zone last week for the first time since Week 3. He also racked up his most receptions since Week 4.

The role has remained strong, though. He has garnered 10+ targets in three straight and six of his past seven games.

Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans

QB Mason Rudolph is about to make his fourth (and then fifth?) start of the season. That's probably not bad news for Ridley.

The WR drew 9, 15, and 8 targets in Rudolph's previous three starts. That marked a 28.8% share of Rudolph's total attempts.

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders

Desmond Ridder's Monday night start produced the fewest targets, receptions, and receiving yards for Meyers in a month. But even that still marked a solid PPR line: 5-59 receiving on 9 targets.

QB Aidan O'Connell has a shot to return for this Sunday's high-upside home date with the Jaguars.

Green Bay Packers WRs

We haven’t been able to trust much in Green Bay’s passing game lately.

Jayden Reed's Week 15 numbers looked like a rebound. But when a 5-34 receiving line seems positive, then you know a WR has been struggling to produce.

Romeo Doubs has garnered fantasy attention this week after catching a pair of TDs in the win at Seattle. But he caught just three balls on 5 targets for the game. He has topped 3 receptions just once in his past five games and scored TDs in just two games all season.

Jordan Love has averaged only 23 pass attempts the past five weeks. That's a steep drop from the 36.3 he averaged over his first six full outings this year.

That kind of volume plus an already crowded pass-catcher group makes it difficult to like any Green Bay wideouts the rest of the way.

WRs to Avoid?

Check out the five worst remaining WR schedules by our numbers …

Takeaways

• Like I said with Jared Goff earlier, I'm less concerned about Detroit's passing outlook after a big game vs. Buffalo and RB David Montgomery's injury. Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown should be OK to use at appropriate levels.
• Brian Thomas Jr. has rebounded the past four weeks and garnered 10+ targets in three straight. He's a must-start at this point.
• Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp belong in lineups regardless of matchups. Try to forget about last week's absurdly empty offensive performances from both teams.

Fantasy Football Playoffs TE Strategy

In most cases, if you already have a solid TE, then you should just roll with him. But these top TE schedules might give us a few tips …

TE Help?

• T.J. Hockenson has been up and down. But his playing time has stayed up the past four weeks, and his QB has mostly played well. (Not his best in Week 15, though.)
• Titans TE Chig Okonkwo and Saints TE Juwan Johnson can still be useful if you're in need. Okonkwo's coming off his best receiving game of the season, and QB Mason Rudolph -- who's stepping back in -- has boosted TE target shares compared with Will Levis.
• Fingers crossed that David Njoku makes it back ahead of the final two games. But losing Jameis Winston will probably hurt passing results.

Fantasy Football Playoffs DST Strategy

Get familiar with these matchups for the final two weeks:

Indianapolis Colts Defense

Mason Rudolph probably doesn't sport as much upside this week as Will Levis would. But he has tossed at least 1 INT in each of his past four appearances and went 4 TDs to 4 INTs across his three starts earlier this season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs aren't so widely available, rostered in 44% of Yahoo leagues as of this writing. But they've been terrific lately, tallying 10+ fantasy points by ESPN scoring in three of the past four games.

Cincinnati Bengals Defense

The matchup with Cleveland might have gotten even better with the Browns' QB switch. Jameis Winston obviously presents big turnover potential. But he also topped 320 passing yards in three of his seven starts.

Dorian Thompson-Robinson brings all the turnover potential -- 7 career INTs vs. just 1 TD -- with no displayed production upside.

That Week 17 matchup with Denver looked like one to avoid until recently. QB Bo Nix has tossed 5 INTs over just the past two games, while completing just 57.3% of his passes over the past three.

It's at least an upside spot.

Fantasy Football Playoffs Week 18 Strategy

Most fantasy football leagues and contests finish with Week 17. That's because the final week of the NFL season generally includes at least a few teams benching starters to avoid injury ahead of the NFL playoffs.

But if your league plays through Week 18, then here are some further tips:

Week 18 QB Matchups

• Colts QB Anthony Richardson gets a Week 18 home date with the Jaguars. That could combine the league's best QB-scoring matchup with favorable indoor conditions to make him a strong play.
• Assuming he has WR George Pickens back by then, Steelers QB Russell Wilson could be a sneaky play at home against the Bengals. Cincinnati ranks as the third-best scoring matchup for fantasy QBs by our numbers at the moment.

Week 18 RB Boosts

• We've already discussed stashing Eagles RB Kenneth Gainwell for handcuff upside. A Week 18 matchup with the Giants adds another reason to act now. If Philly clinches its playoff seed ahead of that contest, Gainwell could be in for a big week.
• Bucs RBs follow a high-upside Week 17 Carolina matchup with another against New Orleans in Week 18. Fantasy managers might be naming their babies "Bucky" come January.
• If J.K. Dobbins is back for Week 18, then he'll close out what's still been a nice season with a strong matchup at the Raiders.

Week 18 WR Boosts

• Panthers WRs visit Atlanta in Week 18. That stands as the second-best matchup for WR scoring while also proving negative for RB scoring. If Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. performs well the next two weeks, we might also get shootout-type conditions.
• Anthony Richardson has a shot to bring Colts WRs with him through that Week 18 date with the Jaguars.
• If we can get Jameis Winston back on the field for Week 18, then we'll get a rematch with the Ravens defense that let him announce his re-arrival earlier this year. Bonus for Browns WRs if Baltimore has its playoff position locked in before that game.

Week 18 TE Boosts

• Jaguars TE Brenton Strange gets a Colts D that stands as the best scoring matchup for the position, by our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Bet you never considered stacking Anthony Richardson, Colts WRs, and Strange in a DFS lineup before ...
• If Michael Penix Jr. can help TE Kyle Pitts at all, then there's upside in a Week 18 home date with the Panthers.
• Pat Freiermuth follows a positive TE matchup with K.C. in Week 17 by facing a weak Bengals D at home in Week 18. Could be a nice finish to a lackluster season.
• Whoever's healthy among Chargers TEs gets a good matchup with the Raiders in Week 18.

Week 18 Streaming Defenses

• Chargers: They've been too widely rostered to count as a "streaming" option for much of the season but sit available in 56% of Yahoo leagues as of this writing. Consider grabbing L.A. ahead of a Week 18 visit to Vegas (and a Week 17 trip to New England).
• Buccaneers: If you grab Tampa Bay for the matchups listed above, hang on to it for a Week 18 home date with the Saints.
• Rams: L.A. gets a rematch with the Seahawks in Week 18. Their first meeting (in Seattle), found the Rams notching 7 sacks and 3 INTs, including a pick-6. The Seahawks have proved to be a high-upside matchup in other recent weeks as well.

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Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.