Analysis

5/15/23

5 min read

Best Ball Fantasy: Fantasy Playoff Schedule, Week 17 Games to Stack

The 2023 NFL schedule is here. More importantly for us in best ball land, the fantasy playoffs and Week 17 schedule are here.

As evidenced by my previous NFL Best Ball tournament-winning teams, it's important to seriously consider the Week 17 schedule when drafting winning best ball teams. 

>> READ: Murphy's Underdog’s Best Ball Mania 2 Team Breakdown 

>> READ: Murphy's DraftKings $2120 for $50K Team Breakdown

>> READ: Murphy's DraftKings $555 for $250K Team Breakdown

Fantasy Playoff Schedules by Team

Teams Week 15 Week 16 Week 17
Arizona Cardinals vs. 49ers at Bears at Eagles
Atlanta Falcons at Panthers vs. Colts at Bears
Baltimore Ravens at Jaguars at 49ers vs. Dolphins
Buffalo Bills vs. Cowboys at Chargers vs. Patriots
Carolina Panthers vs. Falcons vs. Packers at Jaguars
Chicago Bears at Browns vs. Cardinals vs. Falcons
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Vikings at Steelers at Chiefs
Cleveland Browns vs. Bears at Texans vs. Jets
Dallas Cowboys at Bills at Dolphins vs. Lions
Denver Broncos at Lions vs. Patriots vs. Chargers
Detroit Lions vs. Broncos at Vikings at Cowboys
Green Bay Packers vs. Buccaneers at Panthers at Vikings
Houston Texans at Titans vs. Browns vs. Titans
Indianapolis Colts vs. Steelers at Falcons vs. Raiders
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Ravens at Buccaneers vs. Panthers
Kansas City Chiefs at Patriots vs. Raiders vs. Bengals
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Chargers at Chiefs at Colts
Los Angeles Chargers at Raiders vs. Bills at Broncos
Los Angeles Rams vs. Commanders vs. Saints at Giants
Miami Dolphins vs. Jets vs. Cowboys at Ravens
Minnesota Vikings at Bengals vs. Lions vs. Packers
New England Patriots vs. Chiefs at Broncos at Bills
New Orleans Saints at Rams at Buccaneers vs. Falcons
New York Giants at Saints at Eagles vs. Rams
New York Jets at Dolphins vs. Commanders at Browns
Philadelphia Eagles at Seahawks vs. Giants vs. Cardinals
Pittsburgh Steelers at Colts vs. Bengals at Seahawks
San Francisco 49ers at Cardinals vs. Ravens at Commanders
Seattle Seahawks vs. Eagles at Titans vs. Steelers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Packers vs. Jaguars vs. Saints
Tennessee Titans vs. Texans at Seahawks at Texans
Washington Commanders at Rams at Jets vs. 49ers

When drafting for best ball, I recommend having Week 17 top of mind, as it is where most of the money is won and therefore is the most important. I wouldn’t go overboard when game-stacking for Week 17, but use it as a tiebreak when deciding between two similarly priced players. A “game stack” or a “bring back” are two terms we should quickly define. 

“Game stack” = QB + Pass Catcher + Week 17 opponent (i.e. Patrick Mahomes + Travis Kelce + Ja’Marr Chase)

“Bring back”  = Two opposing Week 17 players (i.e. Kelce + Chase) 

Players should build plenty of bring backs into your best ball teams from different games but should avoid game-stacking a singular Week 17 game with all 18-20 roster spots. It’s simply putting too many eggs in one basket and would probably lead to a drafter reaching wildly in regards to ADP.

While a player's overall fantasy playoffs schedule is important, their Week 17 opponent is paramount. Therefore, best ball drafters should target players such as running backs with Week 17 matchups against teams likely to have bad run defenses. For example, on my Best Ball Mania 2 team, I had 20 percent of Rashaad Penny partially because he got to play a bad Detroit Lions defense in Week 17 (and because he was a former first-round pick).

Best Week 17 Matchups for Game Stacks

These games could have one or both teams score the most points in Week 17.

1. Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs

2. Miami Dolphins at Baltimore Ravens

3. Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys

The first three games could be back-and-forth affairs where each offense is scoring quickly, which will force the other offenses to hopefully score quickly and rack up a bunch of fantasy points. Best ball players should be grabbing game stacks and bring backs from each offense in these three games. 

If one team is likely to perform extremely well and their opponent for Week 17 is likely to be exceptionally weak, best ball players should avoid a bring back from the bad team and instead, game stack the better team's offense.

4. Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles

5. New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills

For the Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills games, these are two elite offenses facing potentially terrible teams. The Cardinals could have the worst defense in the NFL this season, and I’m interested in every Eagles offensive option. Best ball drafters should sprinkle in an occasional Cardinals bring back, but it’s not mandatory.

The Patriots, meanwhile, again could have a disastrous offense led by QB Mac Jones. If the Bills can score quickly, it could force New England to abandon their standard, run-heavy game plan, likely leading to more turnovers and Bills points. Again, consider sprinkling in an occasional Patriot bring back, but it’s not a necessity.

Personally, in the end, I’ll wind up with every single game stacked in some way because the NFL is a wild and chaotic beast. Defenses that are good one season can experience injuries and turn into a fantasy-points-haven for opposing offenses the following season.

So, happy drafting out there.


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