IDP Matchup Plays: Living the Stream: Week 15

The long and winding river that is the fantasy football season has now emptied into a new body of water in most IDP leagues—Playoff Pond.

For the IDP managers who successfully navigated the past 14 weeks, it's a time of achievement. A little celebration, even. Making the playoffs takes doing. Picking up the right waiver adds. Starting the right players. Getting a little lucky.

Yes, there is some luck involved in success at fantasy football. It's shocking, I know. Take a moment to collect yourself if you need to.

After a turbulent season of injuries and busts that week you lost by half a point, the waters appear to have calmed somewhat—at least temporarily. But make no mistake, under the placid surface of Playoff Pond?

Here there be monsters.

If the boat overturns at this point, that's that. Curtains. Game over. Straight to the bottom and another long offseason of wondering where it all went wrong. And while no one wants to be combing through matchup plays at this point in the fantasy campaign, the IDP Gods revel in our sadness. At every step, they try to thwart our quest for fantasy glory.

We can't have that, now can we?

So once again, we're looking past the shallow end of the pond. Casting a line into the depths in the hopes of landing the whopper that will swallow the competition whole.

See what I did there? From boating to fishing.

Clever, ain't I?

Week 15 IDP Matchup Plays

EDGE Bryce Huff, San Francisco (vs. Tennessee)

It's nothing short of remarkable that the 49ers are 9-4, given the injuries that have ravaged the team on both sides of the ball, including the loss of top edge-rusher Nick Bosa. In Bosa's absence, Bryce Huff has emerged as the team's best pass-rusher, and while speaking to reporters, the sixth-year veteran said he's glad to be playing for Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh again.

"I'm extremely excited to be back here in San Fran," Huff said. "I know last year wasn't my best season at all in Philly, and I had a lot of stuff going down, but one thing led to another, and I got that call from my agent when the trade window opened up, and I was on a plane to Santa Clara. So, I'm extremely excited to be here."

Huff has been in a slump of late—after five tackles with a sack against the Atlanta Falcons on October 19, Huff missed time with a hamstring injury and hasn't logged a sack since. But San Francisco's Week 14 bye gave Huff a chance to get right, and this week he faces a Tennessee Titans team sitting second in the league in sacks allowed.

EDGE Jalyx Hunt, Philadelphia (vs. Las Vegas)

After logging just two sacks over the first 13 weeks of the regular season, Hunt went bananas in Monday night's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers—2.5 sacks, a season-high eight tackles, a tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. While addressing the media, Eagles tackle Jordan Mailata said he's plenty familiar with what Hunt brings to the table.

"Oh man, he's going to be special," Mailata said. "He's going to be special, man. His burst; he has tendencies like Micah (Parsons), just to be able to cut on a dime like that. I'm so proud of that guy, the way that he works. How do I go from Josh Sweat to Jalyx, man? It's crazy. I'm just like, 'Howie (Roseman), give me a break for one year! Jesus!'"

Hunt's Week 14 explosion may have had as much to do with a Chargers line short both starting tackles as Hunt himself, but in some respects, that's the point—Hunt showed last week that he can blow up when the matchup is right, and this week the Eagles host a Raiders team that has given up the most sacks in the NFL.

LB D'Marco Jackson, Chicago (vs. Cleveland)