As I mentioned in a previous column, it doesn't really pay to hedge your bets in playoff fantasy football. You need guys who will be playing in February, and a winning roster normally belongs to someone who chose the right teams to make it to the Super Bowl. If you don't have a sense of who will be there, just pick two and pray.

But what if your prayers weren't answered? What if you picked wrong? Unfortunately, redrafting isn't really an option. You'd need enough players who want to play for a couple more weeks and put it all together before the games on Sunday. Realistically, that's not going to happen.

So your fantasy season over, or is there something you can do to keep the fun going? Yes, your options are limited, but they do exist. We'll explore some below.

Daily fantasy games. I'm not a huge fan of these contests, because you generally miss the season-long aspect of assembling a team and seeing how it plays out. It's more about money than camaraderie.

But let's face facts: The season is over. There are just two more Sundays with games on the schedule, so this format makes a little more sense. Even if you don't have a budget for that kind of stuff, you can play games for a dollar or less. You'll still field a team and have something to root for (or against) on game day. And they even have free options where you predict different outcomes with a chance to win something. It's not the same as having a competitive team in your league's playoff game, and you'll miss out on the trash talk. But it's better than nothing and there are legitimate prizes.

Other games. In addition to the normal gambling and prop bets available for the Super Bowl (again, some are free on daily fantasy sites), there's the time-honored tradition of Super Bowl squares. In case you call them something else and don't know what I mean, you select squares on a grid, and they eventually correspond to scores for the AFC and NFC. If your numbers match the last digits for each conference at the end of each quarter, you win money.

For some reason, I truly love Super Bowl squares. It's fun to root for score outcomes instead of individual players. You can cheer a field goal or even a well-placed timeout, or jeer when a team opts for a two-point conversion. And since other people in your watching group usually have squares too, there's live competition and more excitement if everyone gets involved. It's a tradition I never want to miss.

Of course, if you're more of a gambler than I am, the aforementioned prop bets will keep you busy during the games. You can bet on almost anything in the championship games, and pretty much everything in the Super Bowl, from the coin toss to how long the national anthem will take. None of this is really fantasy football, but you can root for (or against) a player's success with something on the line.

Pick better next year . I don't mean pick better teams to win (though that would help). I mean pick better playoff fantasy games. One adjustment I'm going to make next year is to look into games where you can only choose one player from each team. In addition to the added strategy, an upset or two doesn't necessarily derail your team. You'll still have players left. And even if you don't consider them the best players, they can still come through for you. If you expected an early exit from the Bengals and chose their kicker, you're feeling okay about Evan McPherson today. No matter who you thought was going to win this past weekend, your team still has active players, which might give you a shot. I like that feature, and will pursue it next year.

Enjoy the games . Does anybody remember "War Games" with Matthew Broderick back in the 80s? At the end, the computer says "The only winning move is not to play." With just a few games left, maybe that's a viable option. It's not like there aren't compelling stories. Joe Burrow and the Bengals refuse to believe they can't win. Most people consider the 49ers the underdog, even though they swept the Rams this season and Robbie Gould has never missed a playoff field goal attempt. Patrick Mahomes has a chance to go to his third Super Bowl in four years as a starter. And while it took 55 Super Bowls for a host team to play in it, the Rams can become the second in two years with a victory Sunday. If you want interesting storylines, this weekend has plenty.

So the fun isn’t over unless you want it to be. There are games to be played, and maybe even some money to be won. But there are also excellent contests on the field, and while we won’t match last weekend, they can still be pretty great on their own. Have fun Sunday.

Do you play alternate games aside from traditional playoff fantasy football? Which ones seem like fun to you? Are you predicating any upsets on Sunday? Share your thoughts below.