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Week 17 in the fantasy football realm is a minefield of injuries, low effort and outright skipping games.
For those still playing with something major at stake, welcome to the toughest week of fantasy football in existence and a big part of the reason most leagues make a point to skip it.
None of this is a bad thing—the challenge can make a win or league title feel more special. But figuring out which players from contenders will skip games and which bad teams will put up good efforts factors heavily into the traditional hurdles.
One of those falling under the traditional umbrella is matchups, so let's take a look at those and project each position based on Yahoo standard leagues.
Week 17 Schedule
Chicago at Minnesota
Cleveland at Pittsburgh
Dallas at Philadelphia
Green Bay at Detroit
Houston at Indianapolis
N.Y. Jets at New England
Washington at N.Y. Giants
Arizona at Seattle
Buffalo at Miami
Carolina at Atlanta
Cincinnati at Baltimore
Jacksonville at Tennessee
Kansas City at Denver
New Orleans at Tampa Bay
Oakland at L.A. Chargers
San Francisco at L.A. Rams
Quarterbacks
Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins likely isn't the first guy owners would think of who can win a game for them in Week 17.
Quietly, though, Cousins has seven performances north of 20 points this season despite a patchwork offense that lost and added the wrong pieces this past offseason. He dropped 23.76 points on Denver last week, so he has plenty of momentum going into Week 17.
There, he gets a New York Giants defense allowing the most points outright to quarterbacks on average. He hit the 17.08-point mark against the unit earlier this year, giving him quite the floor.
Matthew Stafford falls into the same category as Cousins—he's not the biggest name in a marquee matchup this week.
Stafford doesn't have the resume of Cousins, either, seeing as he's put up 20 or more points just three times. But Week 17 is a season-closing game against the Green Bay Packers: not only the team allowing the eighth-most points to quarterbacks, but a unit Stafford hit up for 22.44 points in their first meeting.
Green Bay is a candidate to rally on the road, but Stafford should have a strong performance regardless.
Running Backs
Don't turn away from Shady now.
Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy has outings of 14.7 or more points in three consecutive games, two of those above the 20-point mark.
A workhorse to close the season and a guy with 20 or more points five times, McCoy shouldn't have a problem posting a huge day against a Miami Dolphins defense coughing up the sixth-most points to backs on the season.
Shady himself contributed to this average in Week 15, rushing 20 times for 50 yards and a score on a 21.6-point outburst, something similar to the line owners can expect this week.
Though somewhat of a sleeper, owners need to know the name Alex Collins, too.
The Baltimore Ravens have fully turned to Collins and he hasn't disappointed, posting double-digit outings in four of his last six games. For owners, his sitting on 12 or more carries in eight consecutive games is a boon as well.
Don't forget the matchup—Collins gets to beat up on a Cincinnati Bengals defense allowing the third-most points to backs. He hasn't played Cincinnati yet this year, meaning that defense could be in for a shock.
Wide Receivers
Those wanting to lean on big names to close the season can rest easy thanks to Atlanta Falcons wideout Julio Jones.
Jones hasn't had a typical season because Matt Ryan hasn't had a typical season, but he's still capable of a 38.8-point outburst like the one he had in Week 12 against Tampa.
Sitting on 11 targets in two of his last three games, Jones is an elite option against a Carolina Panthers defense surrendering the fifth-most points to wideouts. As one might expect, Jones helped with this ranking back in Week 9, scoring 11.8 points on 12 targets—a superb floor heading into the finale.
Yes, it's risky leaning on a member of the Indianapolis Colts to close the season.
No, that doesn't mean owners should ignore T.Y. Hilton.
There's no use bringing up year-long numbers for Hilton seeing as he's dealt with Jacoby Brissett under center. But we need to talk about Week 9, where he went on the road and touched up the Houston Texans for 29.5 points on two touchdowns and 175 yards.
Hilton gets those Texans again to close the season, this time at home. The outburst wasn't an anomaly, either, seeing as injured Houston allows the second-most points to wideouts, meaning Hilton could have the best day of any player outright.
Tight Ends
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce figures to post a huge performance to close the season while exploiting an old friend like the Denver Broncos.
Those Broncos permit the second-most points to tight ends on the year, something Kelce knows well because he posted his second-highest output against the unit in Week 8, a 19.3-point eruption on seven catches for 133 yards and a score.
Owners can expect a similar showing in Week 17, where the Chiefs offense will lean on his mismatch-creating ability to move the ball in the cold.
It's a throwback week at tight end, too, as Los Angeles Chargers great Antonio Gates is one to know.
With Hunter Henry on injured reserve, Gates put up 14.1 points in Week 16 on the road, going for six catches on eight targets for 81 yards and a score.
Gates doesn't have an impressive season-long resume by any means, but the fact he's squaring off with an Oakland Raiders defense allowing the seventh-most points to his position makes him one of the top fantasy playoff streamers of the season.
Defense/Special Teams
The "who's playing the Cleveland Browns?" special continues in Week 17 when it comes to defenses.
Once again, the winner is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers, owners of 50 sacks and double-digit outputs in interceptions and forced fumbles while allowing just 18.9 points per game, started the season right with an 18-point showing against the Browns.
It's only fitting the Steelers will finish the season in the same manner against an offensively inept team that has scored 13 total points over its last two games.
Kickers
Here's another case of starting and closing the season on a high note.
This time it's Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, who posted eight points on the Bengals in Week 1 before going for double digits nine times. Since Week 5, Tucker hasn't dipped below the nine-point mark.
Strong ceiling intact, Tucker could have one of his best days of the year when the Bengals come to town. They allow the fifth-most points to kickers, and Baltimore is still playing for a postseason spot, meaning Tucker should have a busy, productive leg.
All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
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