NFL Playoff Picture: Week 17 DFS Implications
Week 17 can be tough when teams have positioning locked up and there’s nothing left to play for. Fortunately, the chips have fallen in 2013 and almost all of the playoff seeding remains up for grabs as we head into the final weekend of the season. That should lead to minimal confusion, but there are still a number of injuries and situations to watch for as we prepare for Week 17 in DFS.
Week 17 Matchups and Playoff Implications Table
| Time | Road Team | Record | Clinch? | Best? | Worst? | Help? | Home Team | Record | Clinch? | Best? | Worst? | Help? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:05 PM | Carolina | 11 – 4 – 0 | X | 1 | 6 | Atlanta | 4 – 11 – 0 | E | NA | NA | ||
| 1:05 PM | NY Jets | 7 – 8 – 0 | E | NA | NA | Miami | 8 – 7 – 0 | NA | 6 | E | Y | |
| 1:05 PM | Baltimore | 8 – 7 – 0 | NA | 6 | E | Y | Cincinnati | 10 – 5 – 0 | Y | 2 | 5 | |
| 1:05 PM | Cleveland | 4 – 11 – 0 | E | NA | NA | Pittsburgh | 7 – 8 – 0 | NA | 6 | E | Y | |
| 1:05 PM | Jacksonville | 4 – 11 – 0 | E | NA | NA | Indianapolis | 10 – 5 – 0 | Y | 2 | 5 | ||
| 1:05 PM | Houston | 2 – 13 – 0 | E | NA | NA | Tennessee | 6 – 9 – 0 | E | NA | NA | ||
| 1:05 PM | Detroit | 7 – 8 – 0 | E | NA | NA | Minnesota | 4 – 10 – 1 | E | NA | NA | ||
| 4:25 PM | Buffalo | 6 – 9 – 0 | E | NA | NA | New England | 11 – 4 – 0 | Y | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4:30 PM | Green Bay | 7 – 7 – 1 | NA | 4 | E | Chicago | 8 – 7 – 0 | NA | 4 | E | ||
| 4:30 PM | Washington | 3 – 12 – 0 | E | NA | NA | NY Giants | 6 – 9 – 0 | E | NA | NA | ||
| 4:30 PM | Tampa Bay | 4 – 11 – 0 | E | NA | NA | New Orleans | 10 – 5 – 0 | NA | 2 | E | ||
| 4:30 PM | St. Louis | 7 – 8 – 0 | E | NA | NA | Seattle | 12 – 3 – 0 | X | 1 | 5 | ||
| 4:30 PM | Denver | 12 – 3 – 0 | Y | 1 | 2 | Oakland | 4 – 11 – 0 | E | NA | NA | ||
| 4:30 PM | Kansas City | 11 – 4 – 0 | X | 5 | 5 | San Diego | 8 – 7 – 0 | NA | 6 | E | Y | |
| 4:30 PM | San Francisco | 11 – 4 – 0 | X | 1 | 5 | Arizona | 10 – 5 – 0 | NA | 6 | E | Y | |
| 8:25 PM | Philadelphia | 9 – 6 – 0 | NA | 3 | E | Dallas | 8 – 7 – 0 | NA | 3 | E |
- NA = bubble
- E = eliminated
- X = playoffs
- Y = division
- Z = first round bye
- A = #1 seed
Teams Most Desperate for a Win
Below are teams that are currently on the bubble and have to win to guarantee themselves at least a chance of making the playoffs. A loss would either eliminate the teams below, or put them in a scenario where their playoff hopes are out of their hands.
You can trust all starters on these teams to play the full game for DFS this weekend
| ON THE BUBBLE | QB1 | RB1 | WR1 | TE1 | ON THE BUBBLE | QB1 | RB1 | WR1 | TE1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Flacco | Rice | Smith | Pitta |  | Tannehill | Miller | Wallace | Clay |
 | Rodgers | Lacy | Nelson | Quarless |  | Roethlisberger | Bell | Brown | Miller |
 | Foles | McCoy | Jackson | Celek/Ertz |  | Cutler | Forte | Marshall | Bennett |
 | Palmer | Elling/Mendy | Fitzgerald | Housler |  | Brees | Thomas | Colston | Graham |
 | Orton | Murray | Bryant | Witten |  | Rivers | Mathews | Allen | Gates |
Teams In The Playoffs With Seeding Implications
Below are teams that are guaranteed to be in the playoffs, but there are seeding implications of their games. You should plan on these teams going full speed this weekend and not resting their starters unless their games get out of hand.
| SEEDING BATTLE | QB1 | RB1 | WR1 | TE1 | SEEDING BATTLE | QB1 | RB1 | WR1 | TE1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Newton | Williams | Ginn | Olsen |  | Dalton | Bernard | Green | Gresham |
 | Manning | Moreno | Thomas | Thomas |  | Luck | Brown | Hilton | Fleener |
 | Kaepernick | Gore | Boldin | Davis |  | Brady | Vereen | Edelman | Hooman |
 | Wilson | Lynch | Tate | Miller |
Playoff Teams Locked into Their Position
Only the Chiefs are locked into their playoff seeding and have absolutely no reason to play their starters this week. In the past, Andy Reid has allowed the starters to play 1-2 possessions before giving way to the backups. Dwayne Bowe has already been ruled out for this game, so look for Charles and Smith to find the pine early on as well. Here’s who you can target:
1) Knile Davis – Backup RB to Jamaal Charles
2) Junior Hemingway and Dexter McCluster – Will see extra snaps at WR with Bowe out
3) Chase Daniel – Backup QB to Alex Smith
Players to Avoid in Week 17
1) The Lions Top Options
Calvin Johnson will likely miss the Lions last game of the regular season and it’s unclear how much Detroit will use QB Matthew Stafford and RB Reggie Bush. The 3 premiere fantasy options in the Lions offense are major AVOID.
Value Plays: Joseph Fauria, Joique Bell and Kris Durham could all provide sleeper value in a great matchup against the hapless Vikings defense
2) Texans Quarterbacks
Case Keenum is a game time decision but even if he or Schaub starts, there is absolutely no loyalty shown to either and they are worth avoiding in a tough matchup against the Titans.
Feel free to add any of your own here but make sure to include some type of explanation behind your thinking. I’ll add onto this list if any other news becomes available.