I do think fantasy football strategy can shift slightly in the playoffs, though the changes aren't seismic. You're still looking to assemble a logical roster and take a smart stab at points, but when we get to this point in the season, there's only one team you care about beating.

Oh, I get it – in the regular season, you also consider your opponent on some level, sure, and most leagues are defined with wins and losses. But given that most leagues use overall points scored as one of the eventual tiebreakers, I'm thinking more league-wide with my weekly approach before the playoffs. I'm trying to put up a score, with the intended benefit of taking down an opponent along the way. And I'm looking to build a roster and navigate my depth for both the short and long term.

[Join FanDuel.com's $2M Week 15 fantasy league: $25 to enter; top 17,475 teams paid]

Now, all that pretty much matters is beating that one team. Depth has never mattered less than it does in Weeks 15-16. And this is the one time of year where I will occasionally make roster decisions (both with starting lineup and bench in mind) that are specifically designed to give me a better chance against that one team (or maybe even against an expected future opponent).

Basic game theory rules: if you're a heavy favorite in your matchup, it's logical to err on the side of caution. And if you're a heavy dog, you want to embrace risk, take some chances. Don't be the Mike McCoy of your league, punting at midfield in the fourth quarter when already down two scores.

If I'm a heavy underdog, here are some angles I will consider:

-- Link up teammates who can score together. What we're looking for in this position is the simplest but still plausible path to springing an upset. In one of my Week 14 playoff games where I was a clear underdog, I decided to tie Doug Baldwin to Russell Wilson, liking their matchup against Philadelphia. Baldwin was a borderline starter for me but not a clear choice; I also had Vincent Jackson and Jarvis Landry in consideration for the position. Jackson and Landry both did fine, but it made sense to tie myself to a simpler possible outcome, and something I felt was realistic given the friendliness of the Philadelphia defense.

To be fair, I'd be less interested in this Baldwin move for Week 15, with the Niners on tap. We're not throwing away our basic concepts for setting a roster.

-- Find ways to conflict with your opponent's stars. If you're a heavy underdog in your game, surely your opponent has some superstars. But sometimes those stars will have off games, and sometimes it's because some of his teammates are taking away fantasy points.

It might make sense to try a fantasy defense that's on the same roster as your opponent's star quarterback. Or maybe that's where you go to fetch a kicker (consider the Connor Barth show in Week 13, which came at the expense of Peyton Manning). Heavy underdogs probably need to get lucky to win, and again, we're looking to simplify a plausible winning script.

No matter where I stand in the playoff pecking order, here are some themes that apply more to December than any other time of the year:

-- Look ahead at the free agent defenses. Defense is one of the most opponent-dependent positions on the board, and this is one time of year where I don't mind burning a second roster spot for the look-ahead D/ST. Some of the depth angles you were playing in September and October, covering injuries and byes and the like, are no longer important now. Injured players can merely be cut. Byes ended a while ago. Depth takes on a different shape these days.

In one of my leagues, I added the Patriots defense simply to use them next week (hiya, Jets); I don't need them for Week 15. I don't have immediate depth needs and the wire doesn't have many interesting pieces, so I'm fine with buring a roster spot in this way. This is something I'd never do in the middle of the year; depth and roster upside mean more than a temporary D/ST rental at that time.

[Week 15 rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | Tight End | Kicker | DST]

-- Handcuffing becomes more interesting. Understand what I mean by handcuffing – I'm focusing on high-production positions where the understudy in question is clearly defined. Normally I don't chase the handcuffing game in fantasy football – just give me the highest-upside bench guys, no matter if they're tied to my starters or not. I'm thinking theoretical upside as opposed to guarding against injury downside. But in some playoff cases, it makes sense to play it safe and lock down a situation if the right parameters exist in December.

Story continues