The Yippee-Ki-Yay Moment

Be bold in your fantasy playoff lineup decisions

Author

KC Joyner
December 13, 2025

I recently wrote an article for The Athletic that said Patrick Mahomes may be benchable during the fantasy football playoffs. It brought to mind something a reader told me years ago.

I had suggested to potentially bench a star player in the postseason. This reader said he didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t that he disagreed with my statistical premise, but rather that he figured if he benched this player and it didn’t work out, the other fantasy football managers would laugh at him and never let him live that down.

My response to that line of thinking is that the fantasy playoffs are like the classic Christmas movie Die Hard. The playoffs take place in Nakatomi Plaza. You are John McClane. Your opponents, the ones who want to keep you from the love of your life (your league’s fantasy championship) are Hans Gruber and company. They have, to quote McClane, “missiles, automatic weapons and enough plastic explosives to orbit Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

When it comes time to put in your fantasy lineup against powerhouse teams like this, you need to be like McClane when he’s throwing the chair down the elevator shaft to stop the terrorists from killing more policemen. McClane is putting detonator wires into the C4 explosives and has to decide how many to use. He’s got two in there and thinks for a second about adding a third before saying “F*** it” and putting the third one in.

That’s the mindset you must have! This is not the time to be meek or timid. It’s the time to channel Teddy Roosevelt’s famous Man In The Arena speech (keep in mind TR climbed The Matterhorn on his honeymoon because it happened to be close by). You want to be Terry Bradshaw airing out long passes to win Super Bowls. You want to live by the Bruce Arians motto “No risk it, no biscuit”.

This means considering unexpected players who can have an explosive impact on your lineup. My suggestions here this week include Dalton Schultz, Harold Fannin Jr., Isaiah Likely, Jameson Williams (it’s lining up to be a boom week for him), Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary (consider getting both into fantasy lineups) and Jaxson Dart.

If you already have those players in lineups or need even more options, you can also target favorable WR/CB matchups, go after potential smash starts or do a deep dive into the most favorable matchups. You should also consider benching Mahomes, as noted earlier, and strongly consider sitting former must-start candidates such as Justin Jefferson.

The fantasy playoffs are your Yippee-Ki-Yay moment. You don’t want to look back and think you missed out on a championship because you got timid. And when it comes to what your friends will think, consider this. Your buddies will respect that aggressiveness a helluva lot more than if you play it safe and lose.

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Editors’ Picks

Welcome to the fantasy playoffs, especially if you started Kyle Pitts! Our great content breaks down Week 15 so you can make your best lineup decisions. Also, don’t miss the Week 15 rankings, Xfinity Best Projections and Start/Sit tool. And ICMYI, here are some information-packed articles:

Matthew Freedman compiled his favorite plays for Week 15.

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Saquon Barkley is going to Smash

With so much hand-wringing by fantasy managers who drafted him in the first round, did you realize that Saquon Barkley already has over 1,100 scrimmage yards and 7 TDs this season? We had to look it up, too, but he most certainly has. And after he popped for 122 rushing yards and a score on this past Monday night he opened more than a few eyes to the fact that he could actually help teams win their fantasy championships. A matchup with the Raiders top open the playoffs certainly helps:

“Considering Las Vegas has lost seven straight games with an eroding rush defense (25th in EPA/rush allowed since Week 9), there will be some situational factors at play that could help Barkley blow the top off his projections. The Eagles RB1 has the sixth-highest Xfinity-Best ceiling amongst running backs (23). I’m all in on Saquon as a SMASH-start.”

Mark Drumheller and John Laghezza pile up the players looking to smash the opposition for Week 15. It’s a mixture of fantasy stars in fantastic matchups and with one player who’s the last man standing on an injury-riddled, but still fun, offense.⤵️

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Yes, be Scared of Father Time

So much has been said and written about Philip Rivers making a comeback for the Colts at 44, few have considered all the scenarios of what might happen if he actually plays this weekend in Seattle—still no starter has been named in Indy. In the last seven games the Seahawks have allowed just 6 TD passes, and have picked off 6 passes in just the past two games. They are ninth in the league in fantasy points allowed to QBs at 15.3. Rivers may be starting in Seattle with the 12s hitting decibel levels only heard on airport landing strips. Good luck, Grandpa Phil.

In this week’s Scared Money, cooterdoodle puts the big bucks down on the Seahawks D making Rivers’ return an inauspicious one, and breaks down several other wagers, including a nine-leg chalk parlay that could keep her winning streak going. ⤵️

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Around the Watercooler

How’s your holiday shopping going? Same here. This fantasy playoff goodness will get your mind off things while you wait in line.

👀 ICYMI: Check out the Week 15 Matchups. And take in the Rankings Risers/Fallers before setting up your lineup.

🎙️ The latest episode of Fantasy Football Weekly will help you bear the cold.

🤯 Start Marcus Mariota in DFS? Jake has the lineup build for you.

🫡 If you need any more convincing to start Jaxson Dart, listen to Matthew.

😱 Yes, Jalen Hurts threw 4 picks on Monday, but he’s still top 3 rest of season.

🚑 As for Lamar Jackson, sit him at your own peril.

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