X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Conference Championships NFL Matchups Analysis (Sunday) - Start/Sit

What's up RotoBallers. Below you will find our Conference Championships matchups & fantasy football start/sit analysis for the NFL playoffs. Ben Ruppert breaks down the Championship round matchups to help you prepare your lineups to win this week.

Each week of the NFL season, we will be breaking down individual matchups and providing you with some fantasy football advice and lineup recommendations based on matchups that we love, matchups that we hate, and some high-risk/high-reward players, as well. It’s essential to analyze the weekly NFL match-ups to find lineup sleepers and gems, while also avoiding those players who may turn out to be busts.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive BOTH our full season NFL and NBA Premium Passes for free, a $119.99 value. Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Passes.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Packers @ Falcons - Sunday 1/22 @ 3:05 PM ET

Matchups We Love

Devonta Freeman (RB, ATL)

In their two playoff games so far, opposing running backs have rushed for an average 4.8 YPC against the Packers defense. Freeman and Tevin Coleman continued to operate in a split backfield last week against Seattle, with Coleman actually out-rushing Freeman on less attempts (11 carries, 57 yards versus 14 carries for 45 yards). However, Freeman made up the difference by catching four passes for 80 yards, compared to three receptions for 22 yards for Coleman. Both players were able to find the end zone last week as well. No matter how you slice these two players up, they are both extremely effective backs in the Atlanta backfield, evidenced by their 24 combined touchdowns during the regular season. If the Packers continue to struggle to contain the run, both backs would be in line for a great game. Freeman gets the nod as the better fantasy play due to his higher number of touches.

Julio Jones (WR, ATL)

There are no concerns from the Falcons about Jones’ toe injury, meaning he will be ready to roll for the NFC Championship game against the Packers. Last week playing in limited action he was able to pull down six of his team-leading eight targets for 67 yards, including an early second quarter TD that evened the score in the game. Green Bay’s secondary has been putrid this season; they allowed the most receiving yards and the third most receiving touchdowns in the league during the regular season. Last week Dez Bryant was able to dominate this defense for 132 yards and two TD on nine receptions. If the toe injury doesn’t slow down Jones, then his ceiling in this game is monstrous.

Randall Cobb (WR, GB)

Cobb is one of the few remaining healthy targets left for Aaron Rodgers. Jordy Nelson missed last week’s game with multiple injuries, and now Davante Adams has popped up on the injury report with a high ankle sprain; much like the injury he tried to play through last season when he was a very ineffective WR. Cobb exploded in the Wild Card round for three touchdowns, and did well last week against Dallas catching seven passes for 62 yards. Atlanta only allowed one less receiving TD than Green Bay during the regular season, and allowed the fifth most receiving yards in the league. Working from the slot last week, Doug Baldwin was able to go for 80 yards and a TD against this Falcons defense. Hopefully both Adams and Nelson will be healthy enough to play this week, but either way Cobb makes for a solid fantasy start this week given the matchup.

Matchups We Hate

Ty Montgomery (RB/WR, GB)

The Green Bay rushing attack hasn’t been much of a factor all season long, given the carousel of players who have taken hand-offs from Rodgers. Montgomery has been the most effective back they’ve had all year, and he started the year as a WR (though admittedly, Montgomery has always seen himself as more of a RB than a WR). Last week he only received 11 carries, but was able to rush for 47 yards and two touchdowns. With how effectively this offense passes the ball rushing attempts are going to be hard to come by, especially with Montgomery, Christine Michael, and Aaron Ripkowski all getting looks. Atlanta limited Thomas Rawls last week to only 3.1 YPC, one week after he ripped Detroit for 161 yards and a TD (6.0 YPC). During the season Atlanta was far more susceptible to the pass compared to the run; they allowed the eighth fewest rushing yards to opposing RB, yet allowed the most receiving yards in the league to RB this season. If TyMont is going to have an effective game, it’ll be in the receiving game and not the running game.

Notable Players

Taylor Gabriel (WR, ATL)

Gabriel led all wide receivers in receiving yards last week for Atlanta, hauling in 4-of-6 targets for 71 yards in the win over Seattle. The Falcons biggest deep threat outside of Jones finished the regular season averaging 16.5 YPR, seventh in the league among WR with at least 30 receptions. If the Packers want to commit extra attention to Jones while he is on the field, then Gabriel will have even better odds to catch a few deep balls against a porous secondary. The Packers have given up the most fantasy points per game to opposing WR who line up on the right side of the field, where Gabriel plays about half of his total snaps. Though he has seen a dip in his production since the return of Mohamed Sanu, he offers the biggest upside at WR on the team behind Julio.

Jared Cook (TE, GB)

Cook played a huge role in last week’s win over the Cowboys, making the potential catch of year along the sidelines on third and 20 late in the game. He ended the game with six receptions on a team leading 11 targets for 103 yards and a TD. With Nelson and Adams both hobbled heading into Sunday, Cook could be in line for another high-usage game. Both times during the regular season Cook went over 80 yards receiving, he put up a dud in the next game. However, with everything on the line and options thinning, we could see Cook have back-to-back 100 yard games for the first time all season.

 

Steelers @ Patriots - Sunday 1/22 @ 6:40 PM ET

Matchups We Love

Le’Veon Bell (RB, PIT)

Putting it lightly, the postseason run Bell has had so far has been absolutely insane. In two games he has rushed 59 times for 337 yards and two touchdowns, which average’s out to 29.5 rushes for 168.5 yards and a TD per game. It is the best start to a postseason career in NFL history, and only the fourth time in NFL history someone has had back-to-back 150-yard playoff rushing performances. He is on pace to break the all-time postseason rushing mark of 610 yards, set by John Riggins. Though the Patriots only allowed 3.9 YPC during the regular season, and held Lamar Miller to that same number last week, don’t expect anything to change this week for Bell. It will be nearly impossible for the Patriots to slow an elite talent like Bell, especially with how well he has been running of late.

Antonio Brown (WR, PIT)

Though not as crazy as Le’Veon Bell, Brown has been having an excellent postseason so far as well. Through two games, Brown is averaging 5.5 receptions for 116 yards and a TD per game. He and Bell are carrying the Steelers offense; the duo has combined to gain 75% of the team’s total yards through these first two games. How this offense was unable to score a TD last week is beyond me. Even if Big Ben Roethlisberger struggles on the road, we haven’t seen it affect Brown yet. He moves around the formation too much to be stuck facing one cornerback all game, so while he may face Malcolm Butler for most of the game, he will get plenty of opportunities against their lesser skilled CB. He is a sure-fire WR1 heading into championship Sunday.

Julian Edelman (WR, NE)

Since the Patriots Week 9 bye, Julian Edelman has been on quite the roll. He only has one game with less than six receptions and two games with less than 10 targets. Over that span he has averaged seven receptions on 12 targets for 98 yards per game. He is peaking at just the right time for New England; in the past two games, he has averaged eight receptions on 13 targets for 144 yards. Pittsburgh was burned by Jarvis Landry in the Wild Card game, and though they looked better against Kansas City, their passing attack pales in comparison to the Patriots. They will need to throw to keep up with the high-octane Steelers offense, so expect nothing less from Edelman in this one.

Matchups We Hate

Martellus Bennett (TE, NE)

The loss of Gronk opened the door for Bennett to gain the most, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case. Though he did have three touchdowns over the final four weeks of the regular season, he only averaged three receptions for 39 yards per game over that span. In last week’s tilt with the Texans, he caught only one of his four targets for four yards. Travis Kelce led the team in receiving against the Steelers last week, but unless he sees a sudden spike in targets don’t expect much of anything from the big TE.

Notable Players

Dion Lewis (RB, NE)

Not only did Lewis return a kickoff 98 yards to the house last week, he finished second on the team in targets, catching 2-of-7 passes for 23 yards and a TD. He also ran 13 times for 41 yards with another TD. He out-touched LeGarrette Blount 15-to-8, and though he did also fumble twice (losing only one), it didn’t seem to affect his usage in the game. Blount was limited to clock-killing work, while Lewis was let loose in a nearly full-time role. He even punched in goal-line TD over Blount with the Pats in hurry-up mode on offense. The fumbles are a bit concerning, but expect Lewis to hold onto the starting spot over Blount this week as well.


Check out RotoBaller's famous fantasy football draft sleepers and waiver wire pickups list, updated regularly!




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jaylen Waddle

Good to Go For Thursday Night Football
Tucker Kraft

Suffers "Little Knee Tweak," Checks Out OK
Jaylen Waddle

Expected to Play and be a "Big Factor" on Thursday Night
Tucker Kraft

Suffers Knee Injury During Thursday's Practice
Clayton Kershaw

Will Retire at the End of the Season
Malcolm Brogdon

Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon Both Staying with the Knicks?
Detroit Pistons

Charles Bediako Agrees to a Training Camp Deal with Detroit
Anthony Davis

Recovering From Eye Surgery, Uncertain for Training Camp
Charlotte Hornets

DaQuan Jeffries Waived by the Hornets
CFB

Eric Singleton Jr. Questionable For Saturday
Braden Schneider

Limited in Training Camp
Lars Eller

Recovering From Abdominal Procedure
Nick Jensen

in Danger of Missing Start of Season
Brandon Montour

to Miss Two Weeks After Ankle Surgery
Gabriel Landeskog

a "Full Go" for the Season
Samuel Girard

Avalanche Hope to Have Samuel Girard Available for Start of Season
Mackenzie Blackwood

Out Week-to-Week
Alex Tuch

Day-to-Day With Undisclosed Injury
Jordan Greenway

to Sit Out Training Camp
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Considered Day-to-Day
Simon Edvinsson

to Miss a Couple of Weeks
Mikael Backlund

Signs Two-Year Extension
Connor Ingram

to Be Waived by Mammoth
Zach Hyman

Misses Start of Training Camp
Nick Paul

Out Until November
Kris Letang

Cleared for Training Camp
David Pastrnak

Out for Start of Training Camp
Matthew Tkachuk

Expected to Be Out Until December
NBA

Trevelin Queen Joins Chinese Team
Damian Lillard

Not Rushing His Return
Brooklyn Nets

Keon Johnson Waived by Nets
Justin Verlander

Plans to Pitch in 2026
Junior Caminero

Day-to-Day With Back Tightness
Will Smith

Won't Return When First Eligible
Tyler Soderstrom

Returns to A's Lineup
Tyler Warren

Sidelined on Wednesday with Toe Injury
Jaylen Waddle

Questionable for Week 3 Against Buffalo
Joe Burrow

Bengals Not Closing the Door on Joe Burrow Returning This Year
CFB

LaNorris Sellers to Play Against Missouri?
Kyle Tucker

Progress has "Plateaued"
Isaac Paredes

has "Outside Chance" to Return This Weekend
CFB

Kaidon Salter Expected To Start for Colorado on Saturday
Willson Contreras

Goes on 10-Day Injured List, Done for Season
Justin Fields

Ruled Out for Week 3 Due to Concussion
Jayden Reed

Out Indefinitely After Foot and Shoulder Surgery
Washington Commanders

Preston Smith Signs With Commanders
Trey Jemison III

Joins Knicks on Two-Way Contract
Kevin McCullar Jr.

Signs New Two-Way Deal With Knicks
Matt Ryan

Returns to Knicks on Exhibit 10 Contract
New York Knicks

Alex Len Signs Exhibit 9 Deal With Knicks
Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Expected to Take on Larger Offensive Role With Hawks
Thomas Sorber

Undergoes Surgery
Dominic Canzone

Has Five-Hit, Three-Homer Game Tuesday
Cal Raleigh

Sets Single-Season Home Run Record for a Switch-Hitter
Jayden Reed

Undergoes Clavicle and Foot Surgeries, Out for Foreseeable Future
Bo Bichette

to Miss Rest of Regular Season
Zach Neto

Placed on 10-Day Injured List With Hand Injury
Yordan Alvarez

Out on Tuesday, Dealing With "Significant" Ankle Sprain
Aaron Jones Sr.

Vikings Place Aaron Jones Sr. on Injured Reserve With Hamstring Injury
CFB

Diego Pavia Refutes Report of Seeking Seventh Collegiate Season
Christian Kirk

Expected to Return in Week 3
CFB

Diego Pavia Seeking Another Year of Eligibility
Tarik Skubal

on Track to Start Thursday
CFB

Kevorian Barnes Questionable Against SMU
Bo Bichette

has Short-Term Knee Injury, Could Return for Postseason
Tosan Evbuomwan

Joins Knicks
NBA

Kai Jones Links Up With EuroLeague Team
Bismack Biyombo

Returns to Spurs
Bones Hyland

Rejoins Timberwolves
Kobe Bufkin

Moves to Brooklyn
Trey Yesavage

Sets Franchise Strikeout Record On Monday
Yordan Alvarez

To Receive MRI For Sprained Left Ankle On Tuesday
Willson Contreras

Exits Early Monday With Right-Biceps Tightness
Yordan Alvarez

Exits With Ankle Sprain
Brock Bowers

Officially Active on Monday Night
Jauan Jennings

Day-to-Day With Ankle Injury
Logan O'Hoppe

Activated Off Seven-Day Injured List
CBJ

Denton Mateychuk Dealing With Groin Issue
Bo Horvat

Fine for Training Camp
Kirby Dach

on Track to Be Ready for Opening Night
Jose Altuve

Returns Against Rangers
J.J. McCarthy

Expected to Miss 2-4 Weeks With High-Ankle Sprain
J.J. McCarthy

Likely Out for Week 3 With High-Ankle Sprain
Jean Silva

Gets Finished For The First Time In His Career
Aaron Jones Sr.

Unlikely to Play in Week 3 Due to Hamstring Injury
Diego Lopes

Returns To The Win Column
Jayden Daniels

' Week 3 Status in Doubt
Rob Font

Outclassed In The Noche UFC 3 Co-Main Event
David Martinez

Wins His Second UFC Fight
Jared Gordon

Suffers Brutal TKO Loss At Noche UFC 3
Rafa Garcia

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Brian Thomas Jr.

Dealing with Wrist Injury
Dustin Stoltzfus

Drops A Decision At Noche UFC 3
Kelvin Gastelum

Gets Back In The Win Column
Diego Ferreira

Suffers Second-Round TKO
Alexander Hernandez

Extends His Win Streak With A Brutal TKO
Quang Le

Suffers First-Round Knockout
Santiago Luna

Shines In His UFC Debut
Christopher Bell

Earns his First Bristol Cup Series Victory
Alex Bowman

Falls Short of Advancing Through Cup Series Playoffs
Chase Briscoe

Collects his Third Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Ryan Blaney

Strong Top-Five Bristol Performance Advances him to the Playoffs
Corey Heim

Earns his First Career Cup Series Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Leads Greece to Bronze Medal
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Drops 28 Points in EuroBasket Finals
CFB

Indiana's Lee Beebe Jr. Out for Season with Knee Injury
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Named EuroBasket MVP
Kenneth Walker III

Bounces Back with Big Week 2 Performance
Ty Gibbs

Has Arguably his Best Career Drive, but Only Finishes 10th
Chase Elliott

Despite Crashing Out at Bristol, Chase Elliott Advances to Round of 12
Austin Dillon

Misses Round of 12 After Extremely Mediocre Bristol Run
Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen Fails to Advance to Round of 12
Josh Berry

Finishes Last in All Three Round of 16 Races to Fail to Advance
CFB

Ryan Williams Explodes In Return To Field
CFB

Drew Allar Plays Mediocre Game In Blowout Win
CFB

LaNorris Sellers Exits Game In Blowout Loss
CFB

DJ Lagway Tosses Five Interceptions In Loss
CFB

Garrett Nussmeier Plays Game Manager in Saturday's Win
CFB

CJ Carr Remains Poised In Narrow Loss
CFB

John Mateer Leads Oklahoma In Rout
CFB

Arch Manning Struggles Against UTEP
CFB

Jeremiah Smith Impresses In Win
CFB

Sam Leavitt Shines As Arizona State Rebounds From Week 2 Loss
Chris Buescher

May have Another Solid Run at Bristol
Kyle Busch

Should DFS Managers Roster Kyle Busch at Bristol?
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Too Risky to Consider Rostering at Bristol?
Michael McDowell

Could be A Solid Value Option For Bristol DFS Lineups
Chase Elliott

Probably Won't Factor in for Bristol Win
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Not as Strong at Bristol as Other Short Tracks
Alex Bowman

Needs to Win to Make Round of 12
Ross Chastain

has Never Led at Bristol but Has Been Pretty Consistent
Austin Dillon

Richmond Speed Unlikely to Carry Over to Bristol
Josh Berry

Might Run Well at Bristol, but Almost Certainly Won't Win to Advance
Justin Haley

Bristol One of Justin Haley's Few Recent Bright Spots
CFB

Austin Simmons Listed As Game-Time Decision Against Arkansas
CFB

Nico Iamaleava Struggles In Fourth Straight Loss

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP