The Fantasy Football Playoffs Mismatch Report: Who Have the Best and Worst Schedules Weeks 15-17?
Ian Hartitz looks ahead to the fantasy football playoffs and which mismatches—good and bad—teams are facing Weeks 15-17.
The fantasy football playoffs will be here before you know it. Obviously we need to keep our eye on the prize and make the playoffs in the first place, but we're also deep enough into the season to be able to look ahead and distinguish some of the best and worst matchup stretches during Weeks 15-17.
This brings us to today's topic: The best and worst fantasy playoff schedules by position. The below charts denote every team's remaining schedule by position ranked from easiest (blue) to hardest (red) in the fantasy playoffs. I also included general rest-of-season schedule ranks in Weeks 13-17.
A good general rule of thumb is to mostly let perceived good or bad on-paper matchups serve as tiebreakers in fantasy land—don't bench Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes even if there's a fire. Cool? Cool.
As always: It's a great day to be great.
The Weeks 15-17 Fantasy Football Playoffs Mismatch Report
Quarterback: Don't sleep on Brock Purdy balling out down the stretch
The NFL's all-time leader in yards per attempt and passer rating in the Super Bowl era returned to action last week and looked good on his way to throwing for 200 yards and a trio of scores. This entire group is only getting healthier with Ricky Pearsall also back in action, and hell, Brandon Aiyuk (knee, IR) is even theoretically a candidate to return at some point.
And yet, that's just one of the three advantages here. Purdy and company being healthy and ready to go is one thing, but we also should consider:
- This defense has been rough recently, ranking as the league's fourth-worst unit in EPA allowed per play ever since losing Fred Warner in Week 6.
- The schedule is pretty fantastic: San Fran wraps up the fantasy season with matchups against the Titans, Colts and Bears. The former squad is one of the worst pass defenses in the league by most metrics, while the latter two also aren't exactly amazing and have the sort of offenses capable of keeping up and turning these contests into fantasy-friendly shootouts.
More good schedules (Weeks 15-17 opponents in parentheses):
- Dolphins (Steelers, Bengals, Buccaneers)
- Vikings (Cowboys, Giants, Lions)
- Commanders (Giants, Eagles, Cowboys)
- Colts (Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars)
Bad schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Chiefs (Chargers, Titans, Broncos)
- Texans (Cardinals, Raiders, Chargers)
- Bills (Patriots, Browns, Eagles)
- Seahawks (Colts, Rams, Panthers)
- Bears (Browns, Packers, 49ers)
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Running Back: Could Chris Rodriguez be taking over in Washington?
The Bill Croskey-Merritt era was fun and all, but it sure seems like the tide is turning to C-Rod. At least that was the case in Weeks 9-11.
And those numbers were even with Chris Rodriguez missing the back half of Week 10 with a shoulder injury. He set season-high marks in touches (16), snap rate (45%) and rush attempt share (47%) the last time out.
And hey: Why not? Rodriguez has emerged as one of the position's most-consistent grinders while also displaying some underrated big-play ability.
While Week 16's matchup against the Eagles might not be ideal, Rodriguez is a candidate for 15-20 fantasy-friendly touches against the Giants and Cowboys in Weeks 15 and 17, respectively. Not a bad deal for someone rostered in only 15% of Yahoo leagues and 8.8% of ESPN formats.
More good schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Buccaneers (Falcons, Panthers, Dolphins)
- Patriots (Bills, Ravens, Jets)
- Eagles (Raiders, Commanders, Bills)
- Bengals (Ravens, Dolphins, Cardinals)
- Cardinals (Texans, Falcons, Bengals)
Bad schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Broncos (Packers, Jaguars, Chiefs)
- Jets (Jaguars, Saints, Patriots)
- Lions (Rams, Steelers, Vikings)
- Bills (Patriots, Browns, Eagles)
- Colts (Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars)
Wide Receiver: This Giants passing attack is set up well down the stretch
It seems like Jaxson Dart (concussion) will be back under center, but longtime fantasy football savior Jameis Winston isn't exactly a terrible consolation prize when it comes to getting the most out of WRs.
Anyway: There are three possible beneficiaries at hand here:
- Wan'Dale Robinson: The Giants' slot maven has performed quite admirably since taking over as the offense's de facto No. 1 WR in Week 5. Overall, Robinson has averaged 12.2 PPR points per game during this stretch (WR32)—better than guys like Zay Flowers, Josh Downs, DK Metcalf and Courtland Sutton!
- Darius Slayton (hamstring): Gained a season-high 89 yards against the Bears before injuring his hamstring. This came after near-miss long TDs vs. the Eagles and 49ers—the Giants' lead outside WR is capable of creating the sort of big plays that don't necessarily require boatloads of targets.
- Isaiah Hodgins: The replacement for Slayton, Hodgins has boomed in short stretches before and looks capable of doing so again in 2025—especially this week in a quality matchup against the man-heavy Lions.
And oh yeah, the schedule: The Commanders and Raiders are A+ top-four matchups in Weeks 15 and 17, while even Week 16's matchup with the Vikings isn't exactly nightmare fuel either. Will this propel any party involved into must-start, top-20 status? No, but beggars can't be choosers in deeper leagues with three WR and multiple FLEX spots to fill—don't be surprised if these Giants WRs step up when it matters most.
More good schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Vikings (Cowboys, Giants, Lions)
- 49ers (Titans, Colts, Bears)
- Eagles (Raiders, Commanders, Bills)
- Browns (Bears, Bills, Steelers)
- Commanders (Giants, Eagles, Cowboys)
Bad schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Chiefs (Chargers, Titans, Broncos)
- Buccaneers (Falcons, Panthers, Dolphins)
- Cardinals (Texans, Falcons, Bengals)
- Steelers (Dolphins, Lions, Browns)
- Broncos (Packers, Jaguars, Chiefs)
Tight End: Don't sleep on Mark Andrews continuing to score TDs
The Ravens' longtime stud TE has scored 17 TDs in his last 19 regular-season games with Lamar Jackson. It's a good thing too, because Mark Andrews has gained 35 or more receiving yards in just one game all season. Although I guess now we have to consider him a rushing threat as well.
And then there's that schedule: The Bengals (Week 15) are the absolute nut spot for opposing TEs, New England (Week 16) has allowed an NFL-high 69 receptions to the position (nice) and hell, even the Packers (Week 17) haven't exactly proven to be the elite defensive juggernaut that they briefly looked like to start the season.
Ultimately, Andrews has finished as the PPR TE2, TE5, TE9 and TE5 in his last four full games with Lamar. It'd make sense if the good times keep on rolling with these quality matchups on a team that needs to keep its collective foot on the gas the rest of the way.
More good schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Colts (Seahawks, 49ers, Jaguars)
- Lions (Rams, Steelers, Vikings)
- Jets (Jaguars, Saints, Patriots)
- Seahawks (Colts, Rams, Panthers)
- Dolphins (Steelers, Bengals, Buccaneers)
Bad schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Raiders (Eagles, Texans, Giants)
- Patriots (Bills, Ravens, Jets)
- Eagles (Raiders, Commanders, Bills)
- Chiefs (Chargers, Titans, Broncos)
- Chargers (Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans)
DST: The Buccaneers, Saints, and Giants lead the way
These are the three defenses I would prefer to have the rest of the way. In order:
- Buccaneers: Easily the best option here due to the reality that: 1.) Tampa Bay has a good real-life defense (12th in EPA allowed per play); 2.) They are actively competing for a playoff spot; 3.) The Bucs wrap things up with the Cardinals, Saints, Falcons, Panthers and Dolphins.
- Giants: New York has to deal with Drake Maye and a bye in Weeks 13-14, but after that? This theoretically ferocious pass rush gets the Commanders, Vikings and Raiders to close out the season. But we are talking about the league's second-worst defense in EPA allowed per play here.
- Saints: Like the Giants, it's risky to expect much from the league's 21st-ranked scoring defense. But man, closing out the fantasy season with the Panthers, Jets and Titans is about as good of a three-game stretch as you can ask for.
More good schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Texans (Cardinals, Raiders, Chargers)
- Bengals (Ravens, Dolphins, Cardinals)
- Cowboys (Vikings, Chargers, Commanders)
- Chiefs (Chargers, Titans, Broncos)
Bad schedules (Weeks 15-17 schedule in parentheses):
- Vikings (Cowboys, Giants, Lions)
- Browns (Bears, Bills, Steelers)
- Chargers (Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans)
- Broncos (Packers, Jaguars, Chiefs)
- Rams (Lions, Seahawks, Falcons)
- Seahawks (Colts, Rams, Panthers)
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