The fantasy playoffs are finally here folks. We’ve been plotting and planning since August for this time of the year, and now its finally time to bring our best for a chance at glory. Hopefully most of you have made it this far, if not there is still pride to play for, or in some leagues, not to finish in last and whatever unfortunate punishment comes along with that.

This week’s “Reality of Fantasy” is going to follow the mold of last week’s where we’ll look at the best games to target for the week. There are a few great games for fantasy football this week so I hope you have all planned accordingly. No more bye weeks, (hopefully) no more streaming, just your best lineup against your opponent’s. Let the best team advance to the semi-finals.

Before I get to the games, there is a bit of information that I need to pass along. Prior to the year when I wrote up “Fantasy 101” my first rule was not to completely trust rankings and projections. Just like most years, that turned out to be a good rule of thumb to abide by.

The reason I bring this up is because ESPN’s fantasy sports team released its list of the most common players on teams that made the playoffs. They’ll release a similar list once the fantasy championships are over but this is an interesting list to see just how right or wrong that we were four months ago.

2016 was supposed to be the receiver revolution in fantasy football. Looking at the PPR flex rankings (RB/WR/TE) heading into this week, six of the top ten players in fantasy are currently running backs. Funny how these things work out, of the 21 most common players on playoff rosters, ten of those players are also running backs.

So that receiver revolution was a bit of a reach for this season, clearly the running backs are still the vital position among non-QBs. That doesn’t mean receivers are replaceable by any means, but we’ve seen more running backs getting 20+ touches per game than expected (top-end receivers only see about 10-15 targets by comparison).

It’s just been that kind of year. Just when we think we have our thumb on the pulse of how things will play out, we get a swift, humbling reminder that anything is possible. Let that serve as something to always have in the back of our minds as we head into Week 14.

Which brings us back to the opening week of the fantasy playoffs, which is why we’re all hear. Personally I think that this is going to be a much better week for the NFL than in fantasy. There are still some great matchups out there for us to exploit though.

We’ll start with an NFC South matchup between New Orleans and Tampa Bay. Last week I, like many fantasy experts, thought the Saints were a sure-fire option against Detroit. Well, we got burned by that one, with the Lions playing ball-control offense all game. Personally, with the way Drew Brees spreads the ball around it’s tough to predict which Saint will be “the guy” on a given week. Brandin Cooks getting zero targets two weeks ago is solid proof of that case.

Now, you are probably asking why I’m leading with this game since I’m being so negative about the Saints. It’s because of the Buccaneers in divisional games this season. Ignoring the sloppy 17-10 Monday night game against the Panthers, Tampa Bay tends to get into shootouts against division opponents.

I think that the Jameis Winston-Mike Evans connection is potentially a championship winning combination. I’ve been saying it all season, but unfortunately for me, I narrowly missed the playoff in the one league I have them both on my roster…awesome. Regardless of my personal woes the Saints are a bottom-third defense, which is great news for Tampa Bay’s fantasy prospects.

Despite the lackluster performance last week, I expect that New Orleans will have a bounce back week against a divisional foe, especially with its playoff life on the line. Drew Brees went 60+ games throwing for a touchdown pass before last week, and he should get another such streak started against Tampa Bay. I may like this game more for the Buccaneers, but I think this should be a high-scoring game between these two NFC South rivals.

Another NFC South team ends up on the wrong end of this column, as the Panthers welcome the San Diego Chargers to town. The Chargers get a shot at this banged-up Carolina defense, and this one could get ugly. There are all sorts of issues on and off the field for the defending NFC champs which will leave them ripe for the picking once again this week.

The hot and cold Seattle offense just annihilated this defense, and San Diego should have similar success in this game. The Chargers rely heavily on the passing attack, and they face a defense that ranks 29^th in fantasy for points allowed to opposing wide receivers.

That is great news for Tyrell Williams and Dontrelle Inman, who have both been on fire in recent weeks. Even Travis Benjamin is back from his MCL sprain and could be a factor in this one. If I had to rank the Charger receivers, I would put Williams squarely ahead of Inman and Benjamin.

For Carolina, I’m not too hot on their fantasy prospects against a quietly tough San Diego defense. However, I do think that Greg Olsen is a solid play this week with the Chargers ranking 19^th in fantasy against tight ends. There isn’t much trust with the Panthers but considering they were just embarrassed on national TV there is a chance they come back in this one with something to prove.

Those are the two best matchups, but there are a couple others worth considering. Detroit against Chicago is potentially a sneaky play this week, as the Lions have been effective on offense all season. Plus, the game is in Detroit so there won’t be any weather to worry about in this matchup. I would be cautious though, since the Bears are not the easiest matchup out there. Home field advantage is the why I like this game for the Lions.

Pittsburgh is catching fire at the right time as they head into Buffalo to face the Bills. The Killer B’s (Big Ben, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell) should always have a place in your lineup, but the emergence of tight end Ladarius Green could be a difference maker for this offense. Green is the most athletic tight end that this offense has ever had and now that he is healthy, he has a fantastic ceiling (23 points last week in PPR). Green is a late season addition that could catapult you into the next round.

Seattle and Green Bay may not have made the “best of” portion of this column, but I think there are potential fireworks between these two teams. I’m hesitant to put much stock into this game due to weather concerns in Green Bay. Last week there was a snowstorm and what do you know, there is more snow in the forecast. A clear weather forecast is what we’ll need to see to be confident about this one.

Keep an eye on Washington going against Philadelphia this week. The Eagles look like they are falling apart defensively and a matchup against a pretty good Redskins offense is the last thing they could want to see. NFC East matchups are a crapshoot, so definitely be careful here. The matchup is pretty good though so definitely keep this one on your radar.

Good luck to you all this week in the fantasy playoffs. I’m working on “No Huddle” for later today so stay tuned to Shooting the Moon for more NFL coverage. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.