A precious few weeks remain to tie a big old holiday bow on this 2025 fantasy football season. Lock in, let\u2019s get those trophies. There\u2019s no point in speculating with so few grains of sand left in the hourglass, so it\u2019s time for our annual playoff pivot.<\/p>\n
With just a couple of whacks left at this tree, I\u2019ll set the playoff table the best I can. \u00a0Set a bookmark for easy reference later \u2014 I\u2019ll be laying out all the best and worst playoff schedules by position \u2014 using a proprietary blend of advanced stats, home\/away splits, and potential for impactful weather.<\/p>\n
I also know lots of teams out there still haven\u2019t punched their ticket to the dance just yet. So, of course, I could never forget my last-minute managers on the go with the final \u201cSunday Streaming Service\u201d section. With no time to waste, let\u2019s get into it \u2026<\/p>\n
Quarterback<\/p>\n
Best Fantasy Playoff Schedules (QBs)<\/p>\n
TeamW15 OPPW16 OPPW17 OPP<\/p>\n
Giants<\/p>\n
Eagles<\/p>\n
Cowboys<\/p>\n
Steelers<\/p>\n
Bengals<\/p>\n
Buccaneers<\/p>\n
Cowboys<\/p>\n
Giants<\/p>\n
Lions<\/p>\n
Titans<\/p>\n
Colts<\/p>\n
Bears<\/p>\n
Interest piques immediately, as fantasy gamers\u2019 mettle is put to the test. Excluding Brock Purdy (who you\u2019re starting with confidence), all the best QB matchups may very well be sitting on your bench as we speak. Marcus Mariota just went for 294-2-1 passing and 10-55-0 rushing (QB3 finish), marking his second top-8 performance in a row. Just keep in mind that Jayden Daniels could return soon (is he available?). Meanwhile, Tua Tagovailoa boasts just one top-10 week in the past two months, rendering him persona non grata in most fantasy circles. Don\u2019t let that necessarily discourage you from him, though; variance is at an all-time high. And the Vikings? Well, they say no guts no glory, but I\u2019d have to see something pretty special this weekend from J.J. McCarthy to put my fantasy fate in his hands going forward.<\/p>\n
Worst Fantasy Playoff Schedules (QBs)<\/p>\n
TeamW15 OPPW16 OPPW17 OPP<\/p>\n
Chargers<\/p>\n
Titans<\/p>\n
Broncos<\/p>\n
Patriots<\/p>\n
Browns<\/p>\n
Eagles<\/p>\n
Browns<\/p>\n
Packers<\/p>\n
49ers<\/p>\n
Broncos<\/p>\n
Bears<\/p>\n
Ravens<\/p>\n
Conversely, half of the worst QB matchups belong to the two highest-ranked players in points per game. Should you realistically ever sit Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen? The answer is honestly no. Short of natural catastrophes, I\u2019m starting my studs. There\u2019s nothing wrong with kicking the tires for a more optimal situation, but there\u2019s also such a thing as being too cute. Now, when it comes to less certain, though viable fantasy assets like Caleb Williams or Jordan Love, I\u2019d absolutely pivot away from them in the right circumstances \u2014 especially with some potentially nasty weather waiting in the second half of December.<\/p>\n
Running back<\/p>\n
Best Fantasy Playoff Schedules (RBs)<\/p>\n
TeamW15 OPPW16 OPPW17 OPP<\/p>\n
Panthers<\/p>\n
Jets<\/p>\n
Titans<\/p>\n
Falcons<\/p>\n
Panthers<\/p>\n
Dolphins<\/p>\n
Giants<\/p>\n
Eagles<\/p>\n
Cowboys<\/p>\n
Raiders<\/p>\n
Commanders<\/p>\n
Bills<\/p>\n
My first thought when looking at the softest RB schedules is to target the reinforcements. Bucky Irving and Saquon Barkley clearly have homes, but maybe Sean Tucker or Tank Bigsby were dropped out of frustration recently. Grab Saints starter Devin Neal immediately if you can. For the rest of us, former Colt Evan Hull actually leapfrogged Austin Estime for the backup spot in New Orleans, suddenly making for an interesting deeper league flex add in The Big Easy. Finally, while it\u2019s not overly exciting, Washington\u2019s Chris Rodriguez will look to stack as much positive game film as possible down the stretch.<\/p>\n
Worst Fantasy Playoff Schedules (RBs)<\/p>\n
TeamW15 OPPW16 OPPW17 OPP<\/p>\n
Packers<\/p>\n
Jaguars<\/p>\n
Chiefs<\/p>\n
Seahawks<\/p>\n
49ers<\/p>\n
Jaguars<\/p>\n
Jaguars<\/p>\n
Saints<\/p>\n
Patriots<\/p>\n
Running backs who are weekly assets are tougher to move away from during the playoffs. This year in particular, anytime you can project north of 15 carries for a RB, it generally translates into a fantasy starter regardless of who they\u2019re lining up against. For reference, this season, there are five RBs with a higher per-game scoring average than the top wide receiver: Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and De\u2019Von Achane. One of them happens to land on the worst schedule list. So what? You should not care whatsoever. There\u2019s a time and place for matchups. Put on your blinders and start Jonathan Taylor, obviously. In fact, I\u2019d extend that same grace to New York\u2019s Breece Hall. But Denver\u2019s RJ Harvey? I\u2019m not as certain. I\u2019ll nitpick those sorts of coin flips next week \u2026<\/p>\n
Wide receiver<\/p>\n
Best Fantasy Playoff Schedules (WRs)<\/p>\n
Team<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
W15 OPP<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
W16 OPP<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
W17 OPP<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Titans<\/p>\n
Colts<\/p>\n
Bears<\/p>\n
Cowboys<\/p>\n
Giants<\/p>\n
Lions<\/p>\n
Raiders<\/p>\n
Commanders<\/p>\n
Bills<\/p>\n
Giants<\/p>\n
Eagles<\/p>\n
Cowboys<\/p>\n
I can already tell the bulk of next week\u2019s work will center on wideouts. It\u2019s amazing that 14 weeks into an NFL season, there are still so many moving pieces and questions to be answered in wide receiver rooms \u2014 playoff hopeful teams included! If you think you possess the answer to any, position yourself early. Will the Bills\u2019 No. 1 wide receiver ever become clear? If it\u2019s finally Keon Coleman, roster him now before it\u2019s too late. And where\u2019s the Ricky Pearsall who won fantasy championships last season? If he can regain peak powers, Pearsall has some soft secondaries ahead.<\/p>\n
Worst Fantasy Playoff Schedules (WRs)<\/p>\n
TeamW15 OPPW16 OPPW17 OPP<\/p>\n
Patriots<\/p>\n
Browns<\/p>\n
Eagles<\/p>\n
Chargers<\/p>\n
Titans<\/p>\n
Broncos<\/p>\n
Broncos<\/p>\n
Bears<\/p>\n
Ravens<\/p>\n
The New York Jets may not be on our list, but the first two legs of their playoff run are worth noting. Another QB1 finish from Tyrod Taylor validates Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie\u00a0as undrafted players who could make a difference. The same can be said for New Orleans if we get another strong outing from Devaughn Vele. Tyler Shough has improved markedly throughout the back half of the season and could easily bring a second WR along for the ride with Chris Olave. Other than that, stand pat, heads on a swivel.<\/p>\n
Tight ends<\/p>\n
Unless you jumped the last TE train out of town on a sustainable passing game option like Brenton Strange or Juwan Johnson, every playoff matchup is a one-week season. I\u2019m far less concerned with the aggregate schedule than with the single best play each week.<\/p>\n