One week left. One chance to make the playoffs. If that's you, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it.
Oh, I know you'd rather have clinched by now and be preparing for next week. But hey, you're not out of it yet. You need a win (and maybe some help, and maybe a few obscure tie-breakers to go your way) but you still have a shot at the post-season. You've made it this far, and many owners didn't. So congratulations.
Now, you absolutely have to win this week. So what do you do? The answer is: Whatever you want. Throw in your backups and hope for a big game. Start a no-name defense on the off-chance that this is their biggest week of the season. Fight conventional wisdom. Go off the beaten path.
Technically, you should have the freedom to do that every week. It's your team, and your job is to score as many points as possible. But during the season, we often give deference to our starters. We're more patient, we avoid risk, we try to game-manage our way to victory. We start the best players and trust that, over time, they'll come through.
And that's great. Except they didn't come through enough to get you a spot yet. You're on the bubble, and it will burst if you don't win this week. So don't feel beholden to any player or philosophy. Just go with your gut on every spot in the lineup. Leave it all out on the hypothetical field with your hypothetical players.
But don't get tied down to that philosophy, either. Use the schedule to your advantage. The NFL's greed can be your gain. They want football on Thursday night, and Sunday night and Monday night. Fine. That means a few games going on when nobody else is playing, and a few chances to react based on what you see.
If your opponent builds a big lead on Thursday, you might have to get riskier with your decisions. If they're struggling after the early games, maybe you switch out for a more tried-and-true approach in the late games, or Sunday and Monday evening. A good coach adjusts the plan based on in-game conditions. Use information provided the entire week to make the best decisions, and have a few options on your roster to plan for that contingency.
There are other things you can do as well. Do you need help to make the playoffs? Is one of the other contenders playing an abandoned team, giving them an easy win? Why not contact that driftwood team's owner, and see if they won't give it the old college try for one more week? That's not shady or under-handed. You're encouraging an owner to participate more, and that's a good thing. Doing the opposite would be unethical. But nothing says you can't give a pep talk to someone who doesn't have much to play for this week.
You should never do anything outside the bounds of good sportsmanship to secure a victory. But you can certainly encourage an owner to be more active or offer them some friendly advice. They don't have to take it, but maybe a better waiver wire player or lineup decision on Sunday earns them a late-season win (and that other contender a late-season loss). If the league had an extra active owner this coming week, they should thank you. All teams should face credible, active competition. You're just helping out, really.
Unfortunately, you could do all of those things and still lose, and miss the playoffs. Or you could do all of those things and win, and still miss the playoffs. Nothing is guaranteed. But at least you're still in the hunt, and you have a meaningful week ahead of you. Enjoy it and make the most of it. This is why you play, right? It's not really the money. It's the chance to win a title.
You still have a shot. Give it everything you have, and then some. Good luck this week.
How do you approach a must-win week? Is it like every other week, or do you bring something different to the table? Share your thoughts below.
And follow Michael Murillo on Twitter for all kinds of comedic nonsense: