It’s crazy how fast a season goes, especially in the NFL, even now, in the middle of a pandemic. There were quite a few bumps along the way, but we’ve made it to the postseason, and what a postseason it’s set up to be. We have the defending champions, the rising Buffalo Bills, the resilient Aaron Rodgers, and a host of other storylines that will dominate the playoffs. I’m sure we also have a few upsets in store, but which ones are up in the air. It’s the time of year full of magic, the time when little known players can become kings for a week or two, the time when people’s hopes and dreams either die or blossom.
Which means it’s also time for the playoff challenge, a fantasy game on NFL.com that pits fantasy footballers against each other, across the country, and across the world. Every year it’s a time to test your skills of drafting a football team against pretty much everyone else who cares at all about fantasy football. But let’s start at the beginning…
If you’re familiar with regular fantasy football, it’s about drafting a team of players (from different NFL teams) who give your fantasy team points for everything they do on the actual football field. This is a team you draft before the season begins, and you keep through until the end, excepting those you drop, others you pick up from the waiver wire, or any trades you make with other fantasy managers. Hopefully your regular fantasy season went well and you’re now hoisting a fantasy championship, but if you’re not then here’s your chance for fantasy glory.
The NFL Playoff Challenge gives you a chance to draft a team almost exactly like your regular team, except you get to pick from all the teams in the playoffs. Every single player on every single team is available for you to put on your roster. I know, it’s crazy, but it takes some strategy to draft a solid playoff challenge lineup. You can’t just throw in all of who you consider are the best players and come out on top.
Your lineup needs to consist of a QB, two RBs, two WRs, a TE, a kicker, and a D/ST unit. This doesn’t need to be your final lineup, because you can re-choose after every week of contests is done. But what NFL.com does to spice up your selection process is to introduce the idea of multipliers. For every player who plays for you in the first round, if his team moves on you will get 2x the points for him in the second round. If his team moves on to the third round then you get 3x the points for his performance there, and if they make the Super Bowl you will get 4x his points from the big game. So, it’s important to try and figure out quickly how you can get the most players in your lineup who will make the Super Bowl. This could go several different ways:
- The one-team lineup. By going this route, if your team makes the Super Bowl you will have all 4x multipliers on your team. Let’s say you think the Packers are going all the way. You can choose Rodgers, Jones, Williams, Adams, Valdes-Scantling, Tonyan, Crosby, and the Green Bay D/ST.
- The two-team lineup. This means choosing which two teams you believe will make the Super Bowl and choosing players exclusively from these two teams. For instance, if you think the Ravens and Saints will meet in the big game. You can choose Jackson, Dobbins, Kamara, Brown, Thomas, Andrews, Tucker, and the Saints D/ST.
- The four-team lineup.
- The best player lineup.
*Which reminds me, you can choose players from teams that won’t play this first week (Chiefs and Packers). While they will get you no points for the wild card week, they will get you 2x points for the second round, 3x for the third, and 4x for the Super Bowl, which will be well worth it for you if both teams make it. It will feel weird at first, giving up zeroes for the first round, but you’ll get used to it in time, when you pick from the top teams.
The two-team lineup is always best, in my opinion, because you can get top players at pretty much every position, and if both teams make it to the Super Bowl you have a good chance to score high in the challenge, but let’s talk about the others first.
With the one-team lineup, if your team loses before the Super Bowl you’re toast, having to choose every position all over again without the bonus multipliers. If the Packers lose in the NFC Championship Game, for instance, all of your players for the Super Bowl will have no multipliers. So, yes, you can rack up points up to that point, but having no bonus multipliers in the Super Bowl is a death knell.
With the four-team lineup, you’re hedging your bets. Obviously four teams cannot make the Super Bowl, but depending on when you lose two of your teams (as long as the other two make the Super Bowl) you can still have half of your team with a 4x multiplier going into the big game. While this is more viable than the best player lineup, if you are up against others who have all 4x multiplier players in their lineups you won’t win the challenge.
I see the best player lineup employed far more than I feel I should, every single year. This means you just grab the top scorers from the season and generate your lineup with all of them. Sometimes that means a lineup of mostly different teams. For instance: Rodgers, Henry, Kamara, Adams, Diggs, Kelce, Tucker, and the Saints D/ST. By my count, that’s six different teams, and a lot of spaces you’ll have to fill in when several of them inevitably lose.
The two-team lineup takes some skill and luck, though. Last year I chose the 49ers and Chiefs to go all the way, and they ended up going all the way. This wasn’t because I thought they were the best two teams in the league last season. It’s because I didn’t trust Baltimore to keep up its insane play, and I knew a lot of the opposing challenge players would be picking Baltimore players. This leads me to my next suggestion: having at least one differentiator in your lineup.
What’s a differentiator? Well, this is a player on one of the two teams you believe will make the Super Bowl who isn’t the top player at his position. Every year we have at least one player who shows up and does more to elevate and help his team. You want this player on your team. It will differentiate you from others in the challenge who will be going with all the top players from the two teams. This could be a #2 RB or WR or the “other” QB (meaning, whoever had fewer fantasy points during the regular season). But don’t go crazy with differentiators, because having too many can just set you up for disappointment. How many points will you really get from Devin Duvernay if the Ravens make the Super Bowl?
So, who do I like to go all the way this year? I like the Chiefs and the Saints. Once I made that decision then it became a question of who from those teams will I choose to represent me in this year’s challenge, and who will be my differentiator(s). While I will get zero points for all my Chiefs players in the first round, if both teams make it to the Super Bowl I should be at or close to the top of the challenge. Last year I had all 4x multipliers, but chose the “other” kicker and ended up in second place instead of taking home the top prize. So, take your time, and think hard about it. Then go with those two teams you think will be there come February.
The Fantasy Ace 