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Fantasy football Week 16: Matchups to exploit, avoid at each position

The Bears have been tough on opposing quarterbacks of late, making Kyler Murray a riskier proposition than usual. Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Making tough lineup decisions each week can be the most challenging part of the fantasy football process.

The Matchups Map provides a schedule-independent method to evaluate positional matchups each week, rating all 32 opposing defenses in terms of how favorable the matchup is for opposing players at all four skill positions (quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end). Instead of relying on seasonal totals, we calibrate points-allowed data to show how each defense fared relative to the difficulty of the schedule it has faced over the most recent five weeks. This provides a fairer approach to judging the quality of individual matchups.

Adj. FPA, or adjusted fantasy points allowed, reflects how many points the defense allows compared with players' weekly averages. A positive number means the matchup is favorable; a negative number means it is unfavorable. Additionally, remember teams often use multiple running backs and wide receivers in a game, and these plus/minus averages cover all of a team's personnel at that position.

All references to fantasy points are for PPR scoring unless otherwise noted.

Quarterbacks