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The fantasy football playoffs are in full swing, and one mistake can cost you your entire season.
It can sometimes be frustrating trying to predict which top players will come through with big games. Although betting on Le'Veon Bell was a safe move, predicting Sam Bradford to have more fantasy points than Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Derek Carr and Ben Roethlisberger combined would have been a large leap of faith.
All you can do is put the best players with good matchups in your lineup and hope for the best. These top options at each position are a good place to start.
Quarterbacks
Sunday was a rough day at the office for several notable quarterbacks, as highlighted by ESPN Stats & Info:
Other top players like Philip Rivers, Marcus Mariota and Carr also potentially cost fantasy owners key wins when they were needed the most. The problem is even if you survived, things won't necessarily get much easier in Week 15.
Brees, who now has no touchdowns and six interceptions in the last two games, will face the Arizona Cardinals. Tom Brady will take on the Denver Broncos, and Andrew Luck has the Minnesota Vikings.
It is still better to trust these players, who have been the top options all year long and have the most upside, over a lesser quarterback off the waiver wire. In the fantasy playoffs, you want to trust the men who got you to this point.
With that said, expectations should be tempered for most of the players on this list.
This puts Matt Ryan and Kirk Cousins near the top of the list thanks to their favorable matchups in the upcoming week.
Running Backs
Bell had one of the best weeks you will ever see in fantasy football, totaling 298 yards from scrimmage with three touchdowns against the Buffalo Bills. This was aided by a snowy game where the Pittsburgh Steelers gave the running back 42 touches, although this doesn't take away from the incredible effort.
Still, this isn't enough to dethrone David Johnson at the top of the list. Even with Johnson coming off a "quiet" Week 14, he still reached 100 yards from scrimmage Sunday as he has in every other game this season. He also has a juicy matchup against the New Orleans Saints in Week 15.
Both players are clearly top options, but Johnson gets the slight edge.
Injuries create some changes near the top of the list, with both Matt Forte and Melvin Gordon currently questionable. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported Gordon is week to week, while Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reported "cracking and popping" in Forte's knee.
Both issues should be followed throughout the week, but it could create an opportunity for Kenneth Farrow in San Diego and Bilal Powell in New York.
Powell should especially be a top waiver option available and immediately thrown in the lineup after rushing for 145 yards and two touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
"He single-handedly, from my point of view at least, broke every tackle he could break," New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles said of Powell, per Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. "He caught every ball. He blocked. He ran. He did everything. He had an outstanding effort."
If Forte is out, Powell could be a top fantasy scorer in Week 15.
Wide Receivers
Bad weather helped contribute to some bad performances in the passing game, which affected receivers nearly as much as quarterbacks.
Antonio Brown and Mike Evans were quiet despite quality matchups, but the high usage rate for each keeps both near the top of the list.
Meanwhile, a few big-play threats have moved up after strong showings in Week 14. Tyreek Hill is arguably the biggest riser and becoming a weekly must-start after earning both a receiving and special teams touchdown Thursday against the Oakland Raiders.
Pro Football Focus noted his comparison to other deep threats this season:
Although he is a bit of a boom-or-bust player, his playmaking ability could make him worth the start.
J.J. Nelson is another intriguing option after earning two touchdowns as well this week—one through the air and one on the ground. He only has three offensive touches in the last two weeks, but this has led to 27 points in standard leagues.
Against a Saints defense that allows big plays, Nelson could be a sleeper threat to help you in the fantasy playoffs.
Tight Ends
It's getting tougher each week to trust too many options at tight end. There is a real lack of consistency outside of Travis Kelce, who now has 100 receiving yards in four straight games.
Even though he hasn't scored since Week 8, Kelce has become the top option at the position.
Also moving up is Zach Ertz, who caught 10 passes for a season-high 112 yards in Week 14. The Philadelphia Eagles target had a slow start to the year but has been a much better player since Week 9, scoring at least nine points in standard leagues in four of the last six games.
Although the Baltimore Ravens are a relatively tough matchup, Ertz has proved himself as a weekly starter in most leagues.
The rest of the field is filled with upside options who are consistent parts of their teams' offensive strategies. It's nearly impossible to predict touchdowns, but those who get a lot of targets are useful players at this stage of the season.
Defense/Special Teams
Fantasy defense is more about the opponent than the team itself, but the situations will combine when the Seattle Seahawks take on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15.
The Rams turned the ball over five times against the Atlanta Falcons, leading to two defensive touchdowns. Although this won't necessarily happen again, the Seahawks have enough talent on defense to make some game-changing plays.
Atlanta won't necessarily replicate its success from Sunday, but facing the 49ers provides plenty of opportunities.
The same could be said about the Miami Dolphins, who have a favorable matchup against the Jets and young quarterback Bryce Petty on Saturday night. While the defense has been inconsistent this year, it has the ability to rack up points as well as almost any group in fantasy.
Denver has been a quality team all year, but trusting anyone against the Patriots offense is difficult in the fantasy playoffs.
Kickers
Matt Prater hasn't missed a field goal since Week 8 and has at least two field goals made in every game since Week 7. The more success the Detroit Lions have offensively, the better option Prater will be for fantasy teams.
Without a true goal-line running back to finish off drives, there should continue to be more field-goal opportunities in Detroit.
The rest of the list simply includes those who have been consistent producers throughout the season in usually high-powered offenses.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
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