We have arrived! The fantasy football championships are here and if you made it to the big game, congratulations! All that stands between you and glorious victory is one more matchup, one more weekend, one more opponent who is just as eager as you to bring home the win. When it all boils down to this final showdown, every little bit of research and analysis you consume means one step closer to that precious prize. The Fantasy Football Matchup of the Week is here to provide you with that edge, preparing you for the last weekend of fantasy relevance.

Finding this week’s FFMotW is a bit more challenging not only because of the magnitude of the Fantasy Matchup ahead of you but also because there’s a handful of high-potential games to choose from. Football’s primo headliner this week is undoubtedly the Detroit Lions against the Dallas Cowboys. With a 53-point over/under, fireworks are sure to blanket the Saturday Night air.

Miami @ Baltimore is another juggernaut featuring two of the best teams in the AFC. On top of that is Arizona @ Philadelphia, and San Francisco @ Washington. These are all the highest-point total games this week, so you can be happy starting players from these matchups. However, as I’ve been doing of late, I’m trying to feature a contest with underrated fantasy goodness. Therefore, my Fantasy Football Matchup of the Week is the…

Fantasy Football Matchup of the Week – Week 17

Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings

Divisional matchups are always attractive for fantasy because they’re always hard-fought and tend to go down to the last play to decide the outcome. This means there are always points to be had by fantasy-relevant players to the very end. The last thing you want is to see your superstars on the sidelines for the whole fourth quarter because they’re blowing out their competition. I can practically guarantee that won’t happen in this one. Let’s see who you should start in this game:

Quarterbacks

All things considered, Jordan Love has had a pretty successful fantasy season. He started out hot with back-to-back 3-TD games but had an early mid-season lull, only to come back with a vengeance in his last five of six games with multiple touchdowns, no interceptions, and over 20 fantasy points (6-pt pass TDs) a game. In Week 8 when these two teams met in Lambeau, Love only put up 229 yards and one touchdown, with one interception. With their season and a playoff birth on the line, I expect this game to be much higher scoring than the 24-10 Vikings victory we got earlier. I like Love as a backend QB1 and I’d play him over Kyler Murray, Derek Carr, and Trevor Lawrence.

It looks like rookie Jaren Hall is getting the nod from Head Coach Kevin O’Connell to try and win the Vikings a spot in the playoffs. He’s certainly not the chucker that Nick Mullens has shown to be, so the fantasy options attached to Hall are going to be a bit less dependable, but I don’t think it eliminates them completely. As for Hall as a streaming option, he does provide some fantasy value with his legs similar to his teammate Joshua Dobbs. However, I can’t really trust a rookie quarterback in his second career start against a divisional opponent in a must-win game in the fantasy championships. Look elsewhere for a streamer, like Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor, or even Mason Rudolph.

Running Backs

Aaron Jones is coming off his best fantasy performance of the year with a 21-127-0 line against Carolina last week. He finally looked healthy and ran well, and honestly, he should’ve had a bigger game, but he got vultured by AJ Dillon and Love at the goalline. Minnesota has a top-quarter rush defense, so he’ll have his work cut out for him. However, I have full confidence that his opportunities and talent will return a productive statistical line for fantasy. I’m rolling with Jones as an RB2 over Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, and Breece Hall.

If there ever were a thorn in the side of a relevant fantasy player, it’s Dillon to Jones. The only purpose Dillon served last week was to spoil a great drive by Jones with a one-yard goalline plunge. His other opportunities saw him put up six rushes for 11 yards. Needless to say, that is not something you can rely on for the fantasy championships. Unless something happens to Jones mid-week, Dillon is off the board.

The Vikings backfield has been hard to trust most of the season, but we’ve possibly arrived at some clarity. Alexander Mattison was given all of the opportunity early on, but couldn’t capitalize to keep the RB1 job in Minnesota. With the regular season winding down, O’Connell is giving Ty Chandler the chance to showcase his talent and make his case for starting running back duties for next year, or the playoffs if they make it. Last week, Mattison racked up a whopping negative one yard on two carries. Mattison is unplayable.

Chandler, on the other hand, dominated what little ground game Minnesota had against Detroit, and he should continue that market share against Green Bay’s 9th-friendliest matchup for RBs. Sledding should be easier this time around, and especially with a rookie quarterback under center, O’Connell will be striving for a more balanced offensive attack than the 36-11 pass-rush split from last week. I like Chandler as an RB2 here just behind Jones, but still ahead of David Montgomery, Ezekiel Elliot, and Najee Harris.

Wide Receivers

Green Bay

Green Bay’s wide receiver room has been ravaged by injuries, but they may be getting some pieces back for this NFC North clash. Christian Watson is the alpha here, but he’s also the one most likely to miss this week. He’s still not practicing Wednesday with a hamstring injury. Additionally, if he can’t get in a partial practice or two before the weekend, consider him out. Even if he suits up, he’s an extremely risky play with the potential for reinjury high with hamstrings. All in all, don’t count on him regardless of status.

The other injury question marks come in the form of Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. Both Reed and Wicks have flashed this season, so their limited participation in Wednesday’s practice is an encouraging, yet complicated sign. The one benefit of injury is that it provides consolidation of opportunities, making it easier to predict where the value will be. When multiple talented options are present, projections become more challenging. In other words, if Reed and Wicks are in, that makes both of them, and Romeo Doubs more questionable plays.

So what’s the actionable advice here? I have them ranked in the following order: Reed, Wicks, Doubs. You can flex whoever is at the top of this list that’s active; if Reed plays, you can flex him. He’s been a focal point of the offense in the second half of this season, and he will be heavily involved in a high-potential matchup. If Watson are Wicks are out, even better. If Reed is out and Wicks plays, you can Flex him.

Furthermore, if all three of Watson, Reed, and Wicks are out, you can Flex Doubs. I don’t trust Doubs if Reed or Wicks plays, and I don’t trust Wicks if Reed plays. Find GB’s #1 target and there’s your only Packers wide receiver play.

Minnesota

It was a bit scary with Justin Jefferson a few weeks ago when he returned from his IR stint with a 2-27-0 line against Las Vegas. Managers were certainly panicking that they might not have their elite WR1 back to form for the playoffs, but those feelings have most assuredly been squashed with Jefferson’s 6-141-1 game last week against Detroit.  It’s been nice that his productivity has improved every week since his return, but it’s even better knowing that he just looks healthy. Jefferson could very well be your league-winner in the last game of championship week. Start him with full confidence even with Hall at the helm.

Jordan Addison picked up an ankle injury in last week’s loss to Detroit, and now his status is fully in question. He was initially reported as being “week-to-week” by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, but O’Connell is classifying him as “day-to-day,” leaving the door open for Sunday Night Football. He did not participate in Wednesday’s walkthrough, so his status will certainly need to be monitored as the weekend approaches.

I honestly don’t think Addison plays this week. However, if he does, I’d be willing to start him as a WR3 or Flex, primarily because the opportunities should be there with star tight end TJ Hockenson out for the year with a torn ACL and MCL. He certainly carries the risks of reinjury or limitation, so it’s really a roster-based decision on what your options are. Personally, I’d roll him out there over Noah Brown, Adam Thielen, and Garrett Wilson if he plays.

If Addison doesn’t play, KJ Osborn becomes a viable flex option. He was involved early last week and capitalized on his opportunity after Addison departed in the second quarter to the tune of 5-95-1. I like Osborn this week as long as Addison is out. If Addison plays, you can still flex Osborn in the hopes Addison is limited or reinjures his ankle. However, it’s certainly a much riskier proposition. If you picked up Osborn, you’re hoping Addison just sits. There won’t be as much to go around with Hall throwing instead of Mullens, but I think Osborn can still have a good game given the matchup and opportunity.

Tight Ends

Rookie Tucker Kraft has filled in admirably for Love with his wide receivers ailing of late. Kraft has averaged 4-60 over his last three games and should return a similar line this week against Minnesota. If any receivers return to action Sunday night, that hurts Kraft’s potential a bit. However, I still think he’ll be involved well enough to return decent fantasy value. Kraft’s ceiling isn’t particularly high, but his baseline is stable enough that he’s a solid option off of waivers if you need a replacement for Hockenson or another disappointing TE.

Speaking of Hockenson, it’s always a terrible sight to behold when any player goes down for the year, but even more so when you count on him as a reliable, fantasy starter. Now your Vikings tight end options are down to Josh Oliver and Johnny Mundt. To put it simply, neither player can fill Hockenson’s shoes, so if desperation forces you to start one of these two, don’t expect much. It’d have to be Oliver over Mundt. However, neither should be started. I’d much rather play Kraft, or other waiver options like Gerald Everett, Chigoziem Okonkwo, or Tanner Hudson.

This is it! This is the time to get your lineups right and strive for greatness. You’ve already done your part in reading this article, but there’s still more to consume to fully prepare yourself for the final fantasy showdown of the year. Don’t worry though, because fffaceoff.com has got you covered. We got all your start/sits, rankings, and tools to give you that edge to secure that trophy. Don’t forget to follow us on X, Facebook, and Instagram @fffaceoff, or me @WSFilosofee. Good luck with winning those championships!

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