👋 Welcome back! For most of us, it's Round 1 of the fantasy playoffs. We're here to help get those lineups in tip-top shape.

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In this edition: We break down the latest NFL news, give our top playoff strategies, preview tonight's Rams-Niners game and call a session of Fantasy Court to order.

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Today's Get to the Points! is written by Andy Behrens. For the web version, click here. To sign up for free, click here.

Breece Hall is “struggling a bit,” not yet shut down. Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich delivered a not-so-rosy assessment of Hall’s knee injury on Wednesday. It would make little sense for the team to put Hall at risk against Jacksonville this week, but we’re not talking about a franchise that makes good decisions at all times. Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis remain the backup RBs worth rostering.

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Alexander Mattison likely to return this week, Sincere McCormick to remain lead back. As it should be. Head coach Antonio Pierce confirmed the details on Wednesday, gassing up McCormick in the process. It’s a relief to have clarity on this situation well ahead of Monday night. Pierce told us last week that McCormick was in for a bump in workload, and he wasn’t lying.

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Josh Downs returns to practice on Wednesday. This is a nice surprise, because Downs was believed to be iffy for the matchup with Denver. While the Broncos pass defense has been stingy overall, it has been burned a few times by receivers who work from the slot, like Downs.

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David Njoku day-to-day with hamstring issue. This is presumably better than week-to-week, but it’s a concern nonetheless. Njoku has of course been thriving with Jameis Winston at the controls of Cleveland’s offense and he’s headed into a matchup with Kansas City, a team that’s allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Let’s hope he’s able to return to practice by Friday. 

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Also day-to-day: Kenneth Walker III. Head coach Mike Macdonald downplayed the severity of Walker’s calf injury Wednesday, suggesting it was not a long-range concern. We aren’t likely to have clarity on Walker’s status until the weekend, but it’s far from a worst-case situation. Zach Charbonnet has emphatically demonstrated his RB1 potential in weeks in which Walker sits.

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Cedric Tillman advancing in concussion protocol. Tillman had missed consecutive games after being concussed in Week 12, so his return to practice is a big development. He’s not yet clear for game action, but this is a step forward. We’ll remind you that in Tillman’s three previous full games, he caught 21 passes for 255 yards and 3 TDs on 32 targets.

Harrison Butker returns to practice, status for Sunday unclear. If you have somehow not yet settled on a playoff kicker, we have a quality option returning soon.

For many of us, the fantasy playoffs have finally arrived. It’s winning time. If you drop this week’s matchup, title hopes are dashed and your seasonal fantasy journey is at an end. 

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As we plunge into the first of three critical weeks, here are a few key strategic reminders: 

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🧐 Don’t give a second of thought to matching up your starting lineup with your opponent’s. Please remember that these teams are only facing each other virtually, not in reality. There’s actually nothing you can do to contain Josh Allen in your fantasy football matchup; you cannot personally game-plan to stop him. And no, it will not “negate” any of Allen’s fantasy points if you start Amari Cooper or Khalil Shakir. 

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One of the most common ways in which fantasy players over-manage this time of year is to proactively start the receivers tied to an opponent’s quarterback (or vice versa) because they believe it will somehow cancel or nullify the other team’s points. We are begging you not to think this way. There is never a valid reason to bench an obviously superior option in a must-win scenario. We cannot play defense in fantasy football. We simply need to start the players likely to score the most points, just as you’ve been doing all season. 

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Let’s also remember that the top-scoring quarterbacks in fantasy — Allen, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts — are at the top of the leaderboard in part because they can pile up points on the ground, independent of their receivers. There isn’t a single thing that you — a fantasy manager — can do to limit them or mitigate the impact of a huge performance. You need to set the best possible lineup and hope it outperforms your opponent’s squad. That’s the game. 

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However, we’re not recommending that you completely ignore the other side of the matchup, because…

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🥊 If you consider your team a significant underdog, it’s OK to take a few big swings on high-variance players. Sometimes, you need to think more about best-case scenarios than the most-likely scenarios. That is to say, occasionally we need the ceiling of Jameson Williams or Jerry Jeudy over the floor of, say, DJ Moore. Projected points certainly aren’t everything, but, if the forecast is particularly lopsided, we would encourage you to get bold — not reckless, mind you, but bold. 

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⛔️ Adding a player to prevent an opponent from acquiring them is good business. We encourage it. It’s perfectly fair and reasonable to scout the needs of an upcoming opponent, then get a step or two ahead of them. You are of course not required to immediately start a player you add from the free-agent pool. Those bench spots are yours to use as you see fit, toward the ultimate goal of winning the league. 

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At Yahoo, we take seriously any violations of fair play involving collusion or disruptive behavior because nonsense like that will wreck a league. But a manager picking up a running back they’d prefer not to face in the playoffs isn’t disruptive; it’s common sense. It’s simply a winning move made in the best interests of their team.

Another week, another spicy matchup between division rivals on Thursday night. Kids today won’t believe it, but there was actually a time when most, if not all, TNF games were pretty dreadful. We’ve truly come a long way. 

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This week, the Rams (7-6) are headed to Levi’s Stadium to face the 49ers (6-7) in a clash of teams that are certainly not yet in the playoffs, but also not yet out. We got a good one ahead. Also, we have a very clear top storyline:

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Isaac Guerendo (foot) intends to play. He may not be entirely healthy, but he also isn't all the way injured. Guerendo is officially listed as questionable, but Adam Schefter reported this morning that the rookie feels good and plans to play despite suffering a foot sprain on Sunday. He possesses the sort of speed, explosiveness and big-play ability that we simply haven’t seen from Patrick Taylor Jr., the 49ers' Plan E running back.

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Tonight's matchup certainly isn't a stay-away spot, so you can fire up Guerendo wherever you have him. The Rams have allowed the fifth-most rushing yards per game this season and 4.7 YPC. Earlier this year (two running backs ago), the Niners ran for 137 yards vs. Los Angeles.

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Puka Nacua was a revelation as a rookie and he’s even better in year two. Nacua has missed five games this season — and a decent portion of another following an ejection — yet he is already up to 708 receiving yards. He’s caught 72.0% of his chances, a silly rate. He also leads all receivers in yards per route run with an absolutely outrageous 3.50. 

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Nacua’s first NFL season was obviously brilliant, but he actually led his position in drops (13). So far this year, he’s only put three balls on the ground according to PFF. He is as reliable as it gets, basically. Nobody else is so regularly making absurd catches like this. 

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Matthew Stafford is very close to 60K career passing yards, FYI. He won’t get there tonight (although it would be awesome) because he’s 650 yards away, but it’s happening soon. Stafford is currently 10th on the all-time yardage list and there’s a decent chance he’ll rank fifth by the end of the 2025 season. He’s gonna be an easy Hall of Famer, even if he isn’t commonly viewed that way at the moment. Every week, Stafford makes three or four cartoonishly difficult throws — and he’ll need ‘em tonight vs. a Niners defense that ranks third overall against the pass.

I’m afraid we need to have an uncomfortable conversation regarding fantasy etiquette — and yes, I am communicating with you in my official capacity as a bewigged arbiter. 

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With the arrival of the fantasy postseason, certain courtesies must be observed by managers no longer competing for championships. 

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If you now find yourself in your league’s consolation bracket — well, first of all, we’re sorry. This newsletter obviously failed you to some extent. That’s our bad. Let’s hope it was more bad luck than bad advice. 

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But no matter the reasons for your placement in the consolation bracket … well, you’re there. The best outcome for you is something like seventh place, for which there is no trophy and certainly no payout.

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Under these unfortunate circumstances — and here comes the uncomfortable part of the convo — we must ask you to please cease making waiver claims. It’s disruptive and, frankly, unbecoming. Let’s reserve the waiver process for those managers still battling for championships, please. 

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When someone in the consolation quarterfinals throws all remaining FAB resources at the week’s buzziest fantasy pickup, that manager just seems petty and petulant. They certainly do not come across as uber-competitive or hardcore. In some cases, they may appear to be engaged in collusion with another manager, possibly making adds at the behest of a title contender to block an opponent. Not a great look. Frowned upon. 

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Just to be clear, we are not suggesting that you avoid making free-agent pickups. We are only urging you to allow waivers to clear before leaping into the player pool. Yahoo offers up weekly ratings and grades, so we understand the pressure to continue setting respectable lineups.

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Also, please know that if you are involved in a dynasty league, you are expected to remain active at all times, regardless of your record or playoff status. In a format like yours, the manager who added Sincere McCormick last week may end up keeping him for multiple seasons. 

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And another thing: We will, of course, allow exceptions to the no-waivers rule for anyone facing a potential last-place punishment. If you’re attempting to avoid 24 tough hours in some hellish food establishment, do whatever needs to be done. No judgement, no condemnation.  

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For the rest of the consolationists, however, it’s time to stand down. Have some dignity, people.