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If you won a fantasy football title in the regular season and are looking for more hardware, or if you want redemption after a bad year, the fantasy football season isn't over just yet. You can add to the excitement of the NFL playoffs by assembling a team of your own in an attempt to win extra cash or good old-fashioned bragging rights amongst your friends.
Last year's postseason was the first with seven teams from each conference making the playoffs, which offered a new wrinkle for fantasy postseason leagues with only two teams (one from each conference) earning a first-round bye. This year, it'll be the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans earning the top seeds in their respective conferences to earn first-round byes.
Just like with fantasy leagues during the regular season, knowing your league's scoring settings and roster requirements is of utmost importance. Is your playoff league a one-and-done league, salary cap format, normal snake draft, or best-ball setup? Is it point-per-reception scoring, half-point PPR, or six points per passing touchdown? Fantasy playoff strategy will depend on the specific settings in your league, but here are a few that will put you ahead of your competition.
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1) Decide What Teams You Like to Make a Deep Playoff Run
If you're convinced that a particular team will make it deep into the postseason, then it makes sense to have at least a few players from that squad. You won't need to worry about that if your playoff league has a DFS setup that allows for new lineups each round.
In best-ball formats -- where you set one lineup at the beginning of the playoffs and ride it out until the Super Bowl -- the winning team will most likely be the one that doesn't feature too many players that are eliminated early on. So choose wisely.
Here's the schedule for super wild-card weekend:
- Las Vegas Raiders (No. 5 seed in AFC) @ Cincinnati Bengals (No. 4 seed in AFC) on Saturday
- New England Patriots (No. 6 seed in AFC) @ Buffalo Bills (No. 3 seed in AFC) on Saturday
- Philadelphia Eagles (No. 7 seed in NFC) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 2 seed in NFC) on Sunday
- San Francisco 49ers (No. 6 seed in NFC) @ Dallas Cowboys (No. 3 seed in NFC) on Sunday
- Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 7 seed in AFC) @ Kansas City Chiefs (No. 2 seed in AFC) on Sunday
- Arizona Cardinals (No. 5 seed in NFC) @ Los Angeles Rams (No. 4 seed in NFC) on Monday
In leagues that reward multipliers for each week your player advances, you'd receive double the points in the divisional round, triple the points in the conference championship, and quadruple the points if your player advances to the Super Bowl.
That makes stud players on the Packers and Titans particularly attractive. While they won't garner points this weekend because they'll be on bye, you're guaranteed to receive double the points when they play their first game in the divisional round. For players like Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Tannehill, Davante Adams, A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry? and Aaron Jones, the thought of doubling or tripling their points sounds really nice.
2) Quarterbacks Reign Supreme
Quarterbacks typically score the most fantasy points, regardless of format, so they become even more vital to your team's success in a three-or four-week playoff format. In normal postseason snake drafts, the QBs should all come off the board first.
In leagues where you must start at least one player from each team in a best-ball format, finding the right quarterback is absolutely paramount. At the most important position, you'll want your quarterback spot to be maximized to the fullest.
In those setups, you'll certainly want to pick a QB that you think has a fighting chance to make it all the way to the big game, which would allow them to play in three or four games, depending on whether they have a first-round bye, thus maximizing your potential points. The signal-callers with the top seeds --Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Tannehill, Tom Brady, and Patrick Mahomes -- will likely be the most attractive this year.
3) Choose Key Players on Potential Losing Teams
This strategy is especially important in salary cap and one-and-done leagues. In these setups, you'll live to fight another week, so choosing a player whose team gets eliminated won't cost you as much.
Don't avoid an entire team just because you are convinced that they won't advance past the first round. Instead, your goal should be to capitalize on great matchups, even if you aren't sold on that team moving past wild-card weekend.
Basically, it's all about the matchups and potential game flow. For instance, even if you don't think the 49ers will knock off the Cowboys, don't shy away from impressive rookie running back Elijah Mitchell, who had 20-plus carries in each of his last five games and 100-plus rushing yards in five of 11 games, in salary cap formats. The 49ers will no doubt lean on their strong ground game, especially with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo battling through a torn ligament in his right thumb.
Not many people will give the Eagles much of a chance against Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champs. The Buccaneers' defense is extremely hard to run on, but the Eagles had the No. 1 rushing offense in the league and should have their entire backfield healthy for this one. Second-year QB Jalen Hurts may be forced to throw more often to keep up with a high-scoring Bucs offense, plus he gains extra points with his legs. Finding value on teams that are being overlooked is key. Zig when others zag.
4) Play the Matchups
We all have had to make tough decisions on a weekly basis in season-long leagues, and it usually always comes down to the matchups. As you look to maximize value in salary cap and one-and-done leagues, it's all about the matchups.
It was a small miracle that the Steelers even got into the playoffs to extend Ben Roethlisberger's final season. The 39-year-old future Hall of Famer will likely be faded in most formats, but could he potentially be a solid contrarian play against a Chiefs D that allowed 251.4 passing yards per game this year? And you can't discount his top target, Diontae Johnson, in a game where the Steelers will most likely be chasing points.
Can the Raiders pull off the upset on the road after their thrilling overtime win in Week 18 to get into the tourney? Don't rule out quarterback Derek Carr or tight end Darren Waller, who is working his way back from a knee injury suffered on Thanksgiving, as contrarian plays in case they spring the upset over Cincinnati.
It will be tough for the Patriots to knock off the Bills twice on the road this year with rookie quarterback Mac Jones. Remember their first win over Buffalo in blizzard conditions? Jones attempted all of three passes as New England dominated the line of scrimmage. Expect a lot more of running back Damien Harris, who had 28 carries for 214 yards and four TDs in two games against the Bills. He finished the regular season with eight rushing TDs in his last five games.
5) Pair a QB With his Top Receiver
This strategy is often successful in season-long leagues as well, and it makes more sense for those playing in total points or multiplier leagues. If you're confident that a specific team will advance deep into the postseason, going with a QB/WR combination could yield big results.
The best combinations this year include Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, Ryan Tannehill and A.J. Brown, Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill/Travis Kelce, Tom Brady and Mike Evans/Rob Gronkowski, Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs, Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, and Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp. Those combinations could easily be the difference if their team advances to the Super Bowl.
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