With 9:33 to play in the Chiefs Week 5 contest with the Chicago Bears, running back Jamaal Charles made a fateful cut that doomed thousands of fantasy owners’ seasons. Charles tore his ACL on a non-contact play and is officially out for the season. For all of the owners who invested a high round draft pick or traded valuable assets in exchange for him, the news was devastating for their playoff prospects. So for everyone sitting at 0-5 or 1-4 with their playoff dreams slipping away, here’s your guide for what to do with the rest of your fantasy season.
Do: Try and replace underachievers with sleepers
If you keep rolling Peyton Manning out there at the quarterback spot and watching him score five points a game instead of rolling the dice with non-traditional starters like Andy Dalton or Sam Bradford then what chance do you really have? Try mixing up your lineup with sleepers like Dion Lewis, Willie Snead, or Jaelen Strong and try and strike gold. What do you really have to lose?
Don’t: Stop setting your lineup
There’s no excuse for your starting lineup having two players on their bye week and an injured player in the flex. This is just embarrassing for you and may cost you an invite to the league again next year. It’s not fair if a team gets to play your empty lineup with the playoffs on the line. Plus it’s just a matter of pride.
Do: Embrace the role of spoiler
Behind only winning the league, there is nothing better than beating your trash talking friend that luckily auto-drafted Devonta Freeman in the 14th round to keep him out of the playoffs. Embrace the role of the bad guy and go out and try and ruin someone else’s season (fairly). Make sure that trash talking friend enjoys the pain of defeat and playing in the consolation games at the end of the season.
Don’t: Collude
Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a team that is 0-8 trade away Tom Brady and Odell Beckham Jr. for nothing to a team that you are competing for the last playoff spot with. Don’t collude with another team in the league so that they can have a stacked team at the expense of all the other teams in the league.
Do: Cry
In all likelihood, you spend a lot of time reading articles and doing research to scour the waiver wire for the diamonds in the rough. You’ve invested a lot into your team and no doubt your ego is damaged to the point of no repair from watching people who don’t know anything about football win the league. It’s okay to cry once.
Don’t: Give up
Your playoff chase isn’t over til the fat lady sings. At 1-4 or 0-5 there is still time to pick yourself and win the league. If you win out you will still likely make the playoffs and all you need is a chance. So go out and find yourself a gem on the waiver wire or roll the dice on and don’t give up just yet.
