Week 14 means the start of the fantasy playoffs in most leagues (and if they haven't started yet, they're right around the corner). Most things about fantasy football don't change in the postseason -- matchups and playing time dictate rankings, sleepers, busts, and start 'em, sit 'em decisions -- but during draft season, you're making selections with the long-term in mind. With early- and midseason waiver pickups, you're adding players with the goal of winning that week and making the playoffs. Now, it's time to focus solely the week(s) right in front of you. We have the best tips, strategy and advice to help you accomplish your goal of winning your fantasy football championship.
Whether you're new to the whole fantasy football thing or you're a 20-year veteran, it never hurts to get a refresher on the things that can make the difference between bowing out early and raising the metaphorical (or literal) trophy. Here are a dozen tips to help that cause.
MORE: Fantasy Playoff Strength of Schedule
Fantasy Football Playoff Advice: Tips to Win Your Fantasy League
Pick up all the handcuffs
We saw a preview of how important a running back handcuff could be on Monday night in Week 13 when Dalvin Cook was hurt and Alexander Mattison took over. If you're a Cook owner without Mattison, the next few weeks would be very dicey if Cook misses time. So, first and foremost, handcuff your running backs -- at least the RBs that are every-week starters for you. If they go down, you'll need a new starter, and their replacement will be an obvious solution.
In some leagues, most handcuffs are already owned, so maybe you can't pick up your direct handcuffs. But in a lot of cases, a handcuff could turn into more fantasy value than a committee back at this point (besides the obvious where a committee could turn into a one-man show with an injury there). If you have a bench spot to play with, you could snag someone else's handcuff, which could hinder a potential playoff opponent while giving you one shot at a boost in value from your bench. And don't forget, while less common, there are possible handcuffs at other positions -- Dallas Goedert to Zach Ertz or Breshad Perriman to Mike Evans/Chris Godwin come to mind.
Keep on streaming D/STs
We've advocated for streaming defenses all year, and the fantasy playoffs are no different. Ideally you've already looked ahead and avoided bad matchups in Week 14 (like the Patriots against the Chiefs), but even if you haven't, there's still time. And at this point, you're not playing to win just one week -- you want to win the whole shebang -- so look ahead through your championship.
If possible, you can stash one or even two bench defenses to have optimal matchups for Weeks 14, 15 and 16. If you know your fifth or sixth receiver won't see your lineup the rest of the way, he's doing you no good. A D/ST you know you'll start in Week 15 or 16 would be way more valuable use of that roster spot.
Plan ahead based on strength of schedule and fantasy points against
Streaming doesn't have to be limited to D/STs, but even if you don't want to stream at RB or WR, you'll want to check out who has the best schedule over the remainder of the fantasy playoffs. Knowing what's next will at least allow you to understand which of your bench players could prove useful in the next few weeks, versus which you'll truly not need again.
One way to do this is to use the schedule tool that many fantasy sites have, which allows you to see which opponents are good or bad matchups coming up. In addition, you can use Pro Football Reference's fantasy points against tool. There, you'll be able to see more than just the counting stats and see how they all shape up into a good or bad fantasy matchup by position.
If you have a bye in the first week of your league's playoffs, you can execute the planning ahead strategy even better because you can make Week 14 waiver claims that are meant to help you in Week 15, while the rest of your league has to worry about Week 14 still.
Know your league's tiebreakers
The more decimals your league has in its scoring system, the less likely tiebreakers are to matter, but even if the odds are low, ties can happen. The last thing you'd want to do is tie your opponent and fail to advance simply because you didn't understand the tiebreaker.
In some leagues, the tiebreaker is most bench points or some variation on that. If that's the case and you have injured players sitting there who won't be back this year (and it's not a keeper league, obviously), you might as well cut ties with them to at least have points accumulating on your bench, too (not to mention those injured players are doing no good in the streaming or planning ahead aspects of this advice either).
Embrace being an underdog with upside plays
Understand your matchup. If your opponent has Lamar Jackson and is the league's top seed, odds are you need to play for high ceilings as opposed to high floors to try and keep up. Your odds of winning might already be quite low (and you can get some understanding of that via most sites' matchup projections). You have to find a way to make up the gap.
Now this doesn't mean doing anything crazy -- it's just about assessing players at similar projection points to see who can reach the highest ceiling. Possession receivers fit the archetype of low-upside plays. Someone like Emmanuel Sanders won't have a monster week in a low-volume passing offense. Maybe a player like Robby Anderson, who's prone to the occasional 75-yard touchdown, gives you a better chance at upsetting Lamar, Christian McCaffrey and the like.
Should you diversify or stack your lineup?
The answer to this question again probably depends on your matchup. If you're a heavy underdog, the highest upside play might be to stack. If you can snag all of Matt Ryan and Calvin Ridley's potential points together, for example, maybe you have got a chance to pull off an upset.
But if you're the favorite, maybe you try to diversify. Russell Wilson will be in every lineup, of course, but what about Wilson owners who also have DK Metcalf? The risk is that their opponent shuts them down and you have two weak spots in your lineup. If you're a favorite and can lock in Wilson's points, you'll still have involvement in Metcalf's production without as much risk of total failure.
Use the waiver wire strategically -- but don't be a jerk
First things first: If you missed the playoffs, and especially if there's no prize for winning the consolation bracket, leave the waiver wire alone. You didn't earn the right to mess with the top teams' chances of contending.
If you're still alive, the waiver wire is important as ever, and you can use this to your advantage. There's nothing wrong with adding a player you think your opponent might want if you're ahead of them in the waiver claim order. And if you're planning on dropping someone but not concerned with it being timely, you might as well wait for the weekend so they can't be added and used against you in the same week.
Beware of late-season playing time shifts
There are two types of things that can concern fantasy owners when it comes to playing time down the stretch. The first is real-life teams that have solidified playoff positioning resting players. That shouldn't really come into play until Week 16 at the earliest, and some teams do it more than others, but it's worth getting ahead of if possible.
The second late-season development that's somewhat common is shutting down banged-up players on teams out of the real-life postseason race. Guys like Evan Engram or A.J. Green could be held out the rest of the way just because their teams have no reason to push them through even a slight remaining injury. That doesn't mean drop Engram tomorrow, but keep your eyes open for possibilities like that (and the players that would benefit most from increased playing time with starters out).
Listen to your weatherman
We've already started seeing snow on football fields, so it's definitely time to ensure you check out the forecasts when planning your lineup, especially with your kickers. Don't overreact, but wind, snow, and rain can make a huge difference. Generally, running backs won't be too affected by adverse conditions, while passing attacks can be limited if the weather is bad enough.
And the last thing you want is a kicker to miss three kicks (or not even get a chance to attempt them) because the field stinks. So, keep an eye on the weather right up until kickoff.
Start your studs
This will trickle down to our last tip below, too, but it's pretty simple: You drafted guys in the first and second round to get you to this point. You'd have to have an extra compelling reason (like the absolute brutal seasons of David Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster) to consider sitting them now.
You're not gonna sit Patrick Mahomes against the Patriots, or against anyone for that matter. It doesn't matter what rush defenses Saquon Barkley or Ezekiel Elliott play, as they should always be starting barring injury. Don't get too cute with this stuff -- the best players in football still can deliver in tough matchups. Besides, you'd kick yourself if you sat someone like Barkley for someone like Patrick Laird and it backfired to keep you from winning your league.
Keeper league owners: You play to win the league
If you're in keeper leagues, the desire to hold onto the great long-term stash can be strong. But who knows what sorts of bad fortune will hit you next year? If you need to drop Riley Ridley (or insert some other talented but limited use rookie) to stream a defense, you should do it in a heartbeat.
This could even have a redraft league component to it. If you've held onto Matthew Stafford (or Kerryon Johnson) but need help to win in Week 14 or 15, it's worth it to make whatever move it takes. The cliches about one game at a time hold true now more than ever. Plan ahead, sure, but make every move with the intention to win in the playoffs you're in right now.
Stick to the decision that won’t make you hate yourself
We'd like you to read all our rankings and sleepers and busts and all the fantasy goodness that exists here at Sporting News. We'd like to think that we're good at what we do and are deliverer solid advice. But at the end of the day, it's your team.
When it comes down to the decision in your WR3 or FLEX spot, there could be a huge gap in our rankings, and maybe you should follow them. But if you have three players separated by seven spots, then use your gut a bit, too. Make the call that you'll be able to live with.