The 1st step to winning your playoff-long fantasy league is nailing who will advance in each round and eventually meet in the Super Bowl. More games = more fantasy points.
To help with that, let’s turn to Vegas. Here are the current odds for each team to reach the Super Bowl (courtesy of the DraftKings sportsbook):
AFC:
Ravens -110
Chiefs +200
Patriots +650
Texans +2000
Titans +2500
Bills +2800
NFC:
49ers +150
Saints +240
Packers +400
Eagles +1200
Seahawks +1200
Vikings +1600
The #1 seeds in both conferences are the favorites to reach the Super Bowl. But the Chiefs and Saints aren’t far behind. We’d recommend basing your playoff picks on some combination of those 4 teams meeting in Miami on February 2.
The rankings below are based on a Ravens-Saints Super Bowl.
We’re not betting against the Ravens at home, where they went 7-1 and out-scored their opponents 239 to 149 this year.
The NFC feels like a dead heat between the upstart ‘Niners and the seasoned Saints. We’re leaning toward the experience of HC Sean Payton and QB Drew Brees, though. And the reward for correctly picking the Saints as the NFC champion is amplified because you’ll get 4 games out of their players.
The 2nd step to winning your playoff league is choosing the right players based on matchups. The charts below show where each defense ranked vs. each position in Adjusted Fantasy Points allowed through 16 weeks. The higher the number, the worse that defense fared defending that position.
AFC
NFC
The rankings below are based on half-PPR scoring and that Ravens-Saints Super Bowl matchup. If your scoring is different, or you’re projecting a different Super Bowl, make the necessary adjustments to the rankings.