I know, I know. Everybody hates kickers. No matter how much effort a team puts into a game, the kicker can derail everything. In fantasy, nobody takes one until the end of the draft because you can always get a decent one on the waiver wire two weeks later. So who cares?

NFL playoff teams care. That's who.

Personally, I don't really mind the kicker position in fantasy football. It's a bit of a wildcard, but it adds a variable that you can scout a little bit while ultimately just hoping for the best. If they chip in some good points, you feel like they bailed you out. And if you lost a game because of a kicker, you can usually point to another position that let you down. It's not all their fault, though you can always blame the "idiot kicker," as Peyton Manning once called Mike Vanderjagt. I get why people don't like the position, but I'm okay with it.

But let's take a moment and marvel at their importance in the divisional playoff round. Chris Boswell nailed six field goals (a playoff record) and accounted for all the team's points in Pittsburgh's 18-16 win over Kansas City. That might sound like a boring game, but it wasn't. You saw Pittsburgh slowly build a lead, only to have Kansas City almost come back to tie it. The team that scored two touchdowns lost to the team that scored zero. Don't see that too often.

And we were treated to a gem on Sunday afternoon, when Green Bay outlasted Dallas. It was the kind of game that was so fun to watch, you didn't want a kicker error to cost a team. And, even under huge pressure, they didn't disappoint. Mason Crosby's 56-yarder was matched by Dan Bailey's 52-yarder. Then Crosby ended it with a 51-yarder. The teams showed why they were among the league's best, and their kickers did the same.

Sure, it's different in fantasy football. Cairo Santos is a good kicker in his own right, but his four points were dwarfed by Boswell's 16. How can you plan for that? You can't, of course. But even though your kicker has burned you in the past, he's probably saved you as well. If you play long enough, I think it evens out.

But even the biggest haters have to admit that teams with long relationships with kickers are often title-contenders. Not always, of course (paging Phil Dawson to the Cleveland Browns, please). But the best teams often have amazing longevity at the position.

In the divisional round, five of the eight kickers have spent their entire career with that team. Considering the kicking carousel in the NFL, that's pretty impressive. A couple of those guys (Boswell, Santos) have only been at it a few years. But Crosby's been in Green Bay for a decade; one year less than Stephen Gostkowski's tenure with the Patriots. And while they played for other teams in the past, Seattle's Stephen Hauschka (six seasons) and Atlanta's Matt Bryant (eight seasons) have built up quite a bit of tensure in those cities. In fact, Houston's Nick Novak is the one guy who's been part of the revolving-door policy most teams use at kicker. And nobody considered the Texans to be true contenders.

So if we're going to criticize the kickers when they mess up, and pat ourselves on the back when we pick up a great one for our fantasy team with almost no effort, shouldn't we give them credit when they show up and contribute to important victories? Even in the loss, Dan Bailey was a clutch player. Remember, his late-game kick came with more pressure than Crosby's kicks. If he missed, the team lost. If Crosby missed either kick, the game was still tied. Bailey also kicked a 50-yarder earlier in the game. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have long futures in the NFL, and they should win a lot of games together. Bailey might be there for many of those wins as well.

The conference championships will be about guys like Bell and Brady, or Rodgers and Ryan. But all four teams have good kickers, too. They deserve to be there. And let's hope they don't let their teams down, or I'll really hear about it next week. Enjoy the games!

Do you hate kickers in fantasy football? Ever been burned (or rescued) by one? Do you appreciate NFL games where the kickers make big contributions, or do they detract from the "real" players' contributions? Share your thoughts below.