Playoff Matchups 2016

Not much changed since WK6, as the playoff matchups we expected then shook out basically exactly the same! What a weird year for fantasy, and it's safe to say that there are some pretty hobbled teams fighting it out in RD1...

PLAYOFFS
LA Buffy (8-5) vs Chunky Monkeys (7-6)
Despite scoring only 97.8 ppg — the lowest in IDK division — Buffy faced the league’s softest schedule and took advantage to start 6-2 before stumbling a bit down the stretch. The good news is that they’re 2-0 this season in H2H matchups versus Monkeys, and even the loss of Rob Gronkowski won’t hurt too much, as he’s been MIA most of this season anyway. Losing AJ Green though, that’ll hurt a lot, and Cam Newton will need Matt Forte and Julian Edelman to really step up if they hope to avoid the upset this week, and to pick up their first postseason win since the 2012.

Chunky Monkeys was in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in five years, but they managed to win WK11-12, and secure their postseason spot. Self-admittedly one of the weaker Monkeys teams in recent years, Evan recently traded for Mark Ingram to shore up an empty running game — an astonishing fourteen running backs have been used this season — and Kirk Cousins has been handed the reins after Matt Stafford and Dak Prescott were around for most of the year. It’s an open question if Julio Jones and Terrelle Pryor’s big play ability will be enough for these Monkeys to hit the second round...

Battle Angel (7-6) vs Philadelphia Phreaks (6-7)
Two equal, both 3-3, teams entered WK13, working to get home field advantage for their playoff matchup. To be honest, Battle Angel’s 98.1 - 83.8 victory doesn’t mean that much, except a slight uptick in confidence I guess. Neither team has put up a century game in three weeks, so this likely won’t be an explosive affair. If Drew Brees can put up a huge game, he could win this matchup almost by himself, perhaps needing just one explosive week from either T.Y. Hilton, Jarvis Landry, Stefon Diggs, or Kelvin Benjamin. Or maybe Vu will choose to go to the ground by throwing out Jeremy Hill and Jay Ajayi together? Let's see what Angel has in store for Phreaks when the game actually counts...

Ping's Phreaks average a league low 89.9 ppg, but they’ve battled to an almost 0.500 record this season, and secured an early playoff spot to boot. While they don’t have much top end explosiveness as a team, Ping’s team does have a superstar quarterback of his own: sophomore Marcus Mariota, who has put up incredible stats since a slow first month. Mariota has been pretty much just as good as Brees this season! Also, the strong running game of Devonta Freeman and Spencer Ware could present a roadmap to victory for Phreaks. Which of these teams will get to the next round?!

BYES
Tiiite End Jammers (10-3), Fat Jubas (9-4)
Well, Lei’s team is going for two out of three titles, and had an impressive bounce back from a post-championship hangover. Leading the league in wins and points — 117.2 per game — Jammers is coming off of four straight victories and has pushed past the century mark in each of their last seven games. Led by Andrew Luck, DeMarco Murray, LeVeon Bell, and Antonio Brown, plus the best kicker in the game (Matt Bryant), Jammers is the odds-on favorite to take their third title overall!

After making the Super Bowl last year on the “strength" of a 5-8 record, Fat Jubas will look to reappear in this year's championship game with a Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses division title in tow. The class of the division with 109.3 ppg, Eric’s team is riding David Johnson, the way underrated Mike Evans, and LeGarrette Blount toward their third title chance as well. It looks like Jubas will go with Matthew Stafford into the postseason, as Carson Palmer was dumped after starting most of the year. And despite a three game losing streak W6-8, Eric’s team has picked it up in recent weeks again, finishing strong with four wins in their last five games.

TOILET BOWL
#1 Athena Nike (6-7) vs #4 Fobsters (3-10)
It’s a battle of old Chinese school foes as Frank and Jimmy face off in RD1 of the Toilet Bowl. Athena Nike was actually the third highest scoring team in the league — at 109.1 ppg -- but they couldn’t get to 0.500 and started  the season off 2-5, torpedoing their playoff fortunes. The silver lining here is that Frank could draft #1 back-to-back if they can win the Toilet Bowl this year, which would be quite the cherry on top of his rebuild. Could Leonard Fournette join Ezekiel Elliot in Nike’s backfield next season?!

Similar story for Fobsters, as they’re the second highest scoring team in SMG division, and fourth overall. Despite that, Fobsters only acquired three wins this season, after getting pounded by a league leading 112.1 PA, and starting off 0-6. Even with Tom Brady back, Fobsters managed to dump their last four games too. The good news is that Brady, Melvin Gordon, and Jordy Nelson are playing hot right now, and there’s a chance Fobsters could upset their way to a Toilet Bowl finals.

#2 Dirty Birds (5-8) vs #3 Gang Green (4-9)
Our defending champs had a horrific year, as they faced a tough schedule and a multitude of injuries, including losing Adrian Peterson for the season early on. Dirty Birds had Matt Ryan, LeSean McCoy, and Odell Beckham submit stellar numbers but that wasn’t nearly enough, as they enter the Toilet Bowl having lost three of their last four, and clearly won’t get a chance to go back-to-back. The post-championship curse remains!

Facing off against his old college roommate, Greg’s Gang Green is coming into their matchup with four losses in their last five, so it’ll be a game of serious losers. The young arm of Derek Carr throwing to old guys Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Crabtree just wasn't enough this season, especially with an erratic ground game that provided no consistent presence. A number one overall pick would be great for the perpetually starless Greenies, but it’ll be an uphill battle to earn one this year.