Unfavorable Fantasy Football Playoff Schedules & Players to Avoid

Examining playoff schedules to find unfavorable fantasy football matchups is a good way to be proactive when building your fantasy football team. While we have to temper our expectations because so much can change throughout a season, we can still project likely low-scoring games.

On this page, you’ll find a breakdown of players with unfavorable playoff schedules. The focus is on the projected game script rather than head-to-head matchups versus pass/run defenses. That’s because it’s easier to predict games that will be low-scoring than it is to pick which pass defenses or run defenses will struggle, especially since so many injuries happen during the season.

We’ll list teams with unfavorable schedules, including fantasy-relevant players, along with game totals from DraftKings Sportsbook to add more context.

Players with Unfavorable Fantasy Football Playoff Schedules to Avoid

Below, you’ll find seven teams with unfavorable playoff schedules, with game totals from DraftKings Sportsbook listed in parentheses.

Cleveland Browns

Week 15: at Bears (42.5)
Week 16: vs Bills (43.5)
Week 17: vs Steelers (40.5)

The Browns look like a tanking team that could be starting one of their rookie quarterbacks this late in the season, either Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel. That’s bad news against three consecutive tough defenses in the Bears, Bills, and Steelers. Don’t be surprised to see pass-catchers like Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku, and Cedric Tillman or runners like Quinton Judkins struggle here.

Buffalo Bills

Week 15: at Patriots (46.5)
Week 16: at Browns (43.5)
Week 17: vs Eagles (46.5)

While you’re never benching Josh Allen, it may be wise to temper your expectations on James Cook, Khalil Shakir, and the rest of the offense. You have a matchup against an underrated Patriots defense, a likely low-scoring game versus the Browns, and another tough spot versus the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles.

I recommend using these matchups as a tiebreaker when deciding between Shakir and another pass-catcher, perhaps one with a more favorable playoff schedule like Emeka Egbuka.

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New England Patriots

Week 15: vs Bills (46.5)
Week 16: at Ravens (46.5)
Week 17: at Jets (41.5)

The Patriots are one of my picks to make a major leap this season (based on improvements in team context), but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be smooth sailing all year long. The fantasy playoffs look like a gauntlet, with matchups against the Bills, Ravens, and Jets.

It’s going to be tough for this underwhelming receiver room to hit their ceilings in these tough matchups, which means you should look elsewhere if considering another wideout at Stefon Diggs or Kyle Williams‘ ADP.

Green Bay Packers

Week 15: at Broncos (44.5)
Week 16: at Bears (45.5)
Week 17: vs Ravens (46.5)

The Packers are likely to be a more well-rounded offense after going run-heavy while Jordan Love was playing injured last season. Still, they’ve got a difficult playoff schedule, highlighted by games against three of the best defenses in the NFL, the Broncos, Bears, and Ravens.

Each of these matchups is outdoors during the winter, so there’s also risk that cold temperatures, windy weather, or even snow have an effect on these games as well.

Las Vegas Raiders

Week 15: at Eagles (44.5)
Week 16: vs Texans (43.5)
Week 17: vs Giants (42.5)

The Raiders start off with a tough spot against Jalen Carter and the Eagles, followed by another difficult matchup versus an improving Texans defense. Don’t sleep on the Giants, either, especially with their stacked front that now includes top pick Abdul Carter. We could see inefficient games from Ashton Jeanty during these games.

That could push you towards other players at that ADP, perhaps Christian McCaffrey or Malik Nabers.

Tennessee Titans

Week 15: at 49ers (45.5)
Week 16: vs Chiefs (44.5)
Week 17: vs Saints (42.5)

The Titans should have an improved offense with first overall pick Cam Ward under center, but they’re in for tough matchups against the 49ers and Chiefs in their first two games during the fantasy playoffs.

While the matchup against the Saints is a lot less daunting, this is still a tough schedule overall. Use this as a tiebreaker when deciding whether to take players like Calvin Ridley or Tony Pollard at their respective ADPs.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 15: vs Jets (43.5)
Week 16: at Broncos (45.5)
Week 17: at Colts (45.5)

The Jaguars should have one of the most improved offenses in the NFL with Liam Coen now as head coach, but they’ve got a couple of tough matchups against the Jets and Broncos to kick off the fantasy playoffs.

We could see the Jags have to lean on their running game against these two tough pass defenses. However, it’s worth noting that Jacksonville does have an exploitable matchup against the Colts in the fantasy finals.