Kansas City and Detroit played poorly on Sunday. If both had lost, nobody would have been shocked in the post-game press conferences. Instead, both teams came away with a victory and have still lost just one game combined. It seems like a foregone conclusion that these teams will be playing each other in New Orleans in February.
But as you know, the playoffs often result in surprising upsets. A different team might represent one or both conferences. As a football fan, it's good to remember that juggernaut NFL teams often fall short in the postseason. But it's really great to remember that it's even more likely to happen in fantasy football.
Does your league have a team sitting at 9-1 or even 10-0? They're scoring more points than everybody, they can't seem to lose, and even when they have an off week, they happen to play a team with a lower score. If you're fighting for a playoff spot, why bother? How can you possibly beat their fantasy all-star team?
Just keep in mind that those teams are even more likely to lose then their real-life counterparts. A real football team has good coaching, synergy, momentum, and an abundance of confidence as they keep winning. A fantasy football team has none of those things. The players don't even know they're playing together. They might be 9-1 as a group, but they might be playing on a 3-7 team with no real hope at the playoffs. All it takes is a team folding up the tent, or an untimely injury, or just an off game, and that unbeatable fantasy team is left wondering what happened.
When a real team loses a player during a game, they plug in another guy and keep going. But in fantasy, you could be staring at a goose egg. And one injury can have a domino effect on other players going forward. It doesn't even to be the guy you're starting. Look at CeeDee Lamb without Dak Prescott and you can see how one player impacts another. A real team can still win in different ways (well, maybe not Dallas) but a fantasy team will struggle to make up those points.
So what's my point? You still have four or five games left in the fantasy regular season. If you can get into the playoffs, that Goliath in your league might face your David at the wrong time. You have a great chance of beating them, no matter what the website prediction says, or the records say, or the total points. Each week is a new battle, and there's no reason you can't win. Make the playoffs, keep your bench as deep as possible, and bring the fight to them. And if you need to defeat them to make the postseason late in the year, the same advice applies. They aren’t unbeatable.
Oh, and if you're that dominant team? Congratulations, but don't start taking these victories for granted. You might be finding a new way to win each week, but it won't take much for you to become just another fantasy team that won a bunch of games in the regular season only to fall short when it mattered most. We've all seen them, sometimes we've been them and other times we've beaten them. Even if you've already clinched a spot, keep your head on a swivel and make sure you're prepared for any unexpected developments that might require your bench players to start. Too many fantasy teams let their benches go because their starters are so locked in. It's all working now, but a lack of preparation could lead to an early exit if you're not careful.
The Super Bowl participants might end up being Detroit and Kansas City, or maybe two different teams. Nothing is set in stone in the NFL, and that goes double in fantasy football. Good luck this week.
Have you ever beaten the league bully in the playoffs? Have you ever been the dominant team that faltered in the postseason? How good is your league's best team? Share your thoughts below.