Photo: USA Today Sports

It has been a long, grueling season, but if you are reading this, chances are, your hard work and diligence brought you to the cusp of a championship. Here we go for one last ride as we try to put an exclamation point at the end of this season's story.

Arizona Cardinals

Anyone who finds themselves in need of a stream play at linebacker this week might want to see if Krys Barnes is an option. With Josh Woods landing on IR last week, Barnes stepped into the lead role at middle linebacker. He was on the field for all but one defensive snap, putting up a solid 6-3 against the Bears. The Eagles have gone from being a top-shelf matchup for linebackers early in the year to a below-average one over the last several weeks, but the thing we have seen with Barnes over his entire career, when he gets on the field, he makes tackles, regardless of the matchup.

There is some speculation that Owen Pappoe could become a factor for the Cardinals next year. His first significant playing time of the season came in week 16 when Pappoe played about half of the defensive snaps. His numbers were not exciting but at least we - and the Cardinals - are getting a look over the last few games.

Atlanta Falcons

Richie Grant was benched in week 15 when he saw just a handful of snaps. He had a bigger role against the Colts, but not as big as his stat line of 4-1-1 with a forced fumble would suggest. DeMarcco Hellams (5-2) got the start at strong safety and was on the field for 68 of 71 plays, while Grant logged just 27. Maybe the Falcons should limit Grant to less than 40% of the snaps every week.

Baltimore Ravens

Kyle Hamilton was a game-winner for at least two managers in the last contest of week 16. That would be the two managers that played him against me. He was light enough on the tackle totals at 3-2, but the two interceptions were game-changers for his team and a lot of IDP managers. He may have helped you through to the finals, but don't count on him for this week. Hamilton left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury and was ruled out unusually quickly.

Buffalo Bills

Terrel Bernard gave us a scare with a non-contact injury early in the game. Those are often bad news, but he was able to return in the second half. Keep an eye on his status later in the week. The Patriots are a middle-of-the-road matchup for linebackers on the season but have allowed the most points to the position since week ten, by a wide margin. Bernard piled up fantasy points when these teams met in week seven, to the tune of 9-2 and a fumble recovery.

The Patriots are an average matchup for safeties, but if you are in a pinch, Taylor Rapp is 13-4 in the last two games as an injury replacement for Micah Hyde.

Carolina Panthers

Frankie Luvu has been streaky this year. In weeks one through five, he reached double-digit points once. He followed that with at least eleven points in five straight, then back to single-digits for four before a big game versus the Packers last week at 6-4-1 and a forced fumble. If the pattern holds, he should give us a solid outing this week against a Jaguars squad that has allowed the second most points to linebackers on the season.

Cincinnati Bengals

In last week's column, I speculated that Josh Tupou would get the biggest spike in playing time with the loss of D.J. Reader Jr. Tupou is more of a one-technique type which fits the position, but it was Zach Carter who saw the big increase in snaps, logging 73% against the Steelers.

Cleveland Browns

D'Anthony Bell turned in the best statistical outing among Cleveland safeties at 6-0 with a forced fumble and a pair of pass breakups. The other good news is that Bell had a bigger share of playing time in his second start. After sharing the job fairly equally with Duron Harmon in week 15, Cleveland went to a three-man rotation at safety with both Bell and Ronnie Hickman seeing a little over 70% of the action while Harmon was around 50%. The Jets have been a so-so matchup for safeties since week ten.

Dallas Cowboys

You probably didn't get to the championship round by depending on Donovan Wilson, but he could be a solid option for week 17. The outstanding matchup with Miami led to a season-best of 8-4 last week, making it three in a row with double-digit points for Wilson. The Lions are not as great a matchup, but they are a good one, allowing the tenth most points to safeties since week ten.

Denver Broncos

Kareem Jackson was reinstated in time to play in Sunday's game, but Coach Payton called his status with the team into question. P.J. Locke made another start at the safety position and never came off the field. Shortly after the game, the team announced that Jackson had been waived. That is great news for Locke's dynasty prospects, but this week's matchup with the Chargers is a good reason to sit him for the finals. Los Angeles has allowed the seventh fewest points to safeties since week ten.

Detroit Lions

There are some options this week for anyone in need of help at safety. Not the least of which is Ifeatu Melifonwu. It took until late in his third season for the former third-round pick to get his shot - and it has only been two games - but he has sure been impressive. The Cowboys are not a particularly strong matchup for safeties, but neither were the Broncos in week 15 when Melifonwu went 6-3-1 with a forced fumble and two passes defended. The Vikings are a great matchup for the position, so for an encore, Melifonwu was 5-0-2 with an interception and 2 pass breakups last week. If you need someone with big upside for the championship round, he could be your guy. For those eliminated from their dynasty league, this is a guy to add for the future.

It was a slow Sunday for Lions linebackers, but it's worth mentioning that Jack Campbell logged an 85% play share. If Derick Barnes is out again this week, Campbell should be much more productive against Dallas.

Josh Paschal left Sunday's game with a hand injury. His week 17 is in question.