Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford (8) throws against the Detroit Lions during an NFL football game in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016. Bradford is not on anyone’s must-have list for a fantasy quarterback, but he could be vital to a team’s playoff success. With many leagues freezing rosters soon, it is important to have a quarterback on your bench to be able to slot in if the No. 1 option suffers an injury. There will not be a chance to scramble for a replacement on the waiver-wire once the playoffs begin so make sure to pick up and stash Bradford or another option now. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Fantasy football is so fickle sometimes. I feel for any of the owners of these “elite” receivers/tight ends because this is what they did last week:

WR Brandon Cooks, New Orleans – 0 receptions for 0 yards = 0 pts in any format!

WR Julio Jones, Atlanta – 4 receptions for 35 yards = 7 pts in PPR/3 pts in standard

WR Allen Robinson – 2 receptions for 24 yards = 4 pts on PPR/2 pts in standard

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego – 0 receptions = 0 points in any format!

TE Rob Gronkowski, New England – 2 targets, 0 receptions = 0 points in any format!

If you had any of these players in your starting lineups, which if you owned any of them, you did, chances are you lost this week. I can easily see teams with a lineup of at least three of them. Imagine last week if you had to have a win to clinch a playoff spot and you started Julio and Cooks at receiver and Gronkowski at tight end.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner right?

Yeah, well those players would have provided a combined 7 points.

On the flip side, if your lineup started at receiver the robust lineup of Terrelle Pryor, Dontrelle Inman and Tedd Ginn Jr., you benefited from a combined 28 receptions for 365 yards and two touchdowns!

It just underscores that you never know in fantasy football.

One thing you need to begin preparing for right now is the playoffs. It’s time to do some freshening up of rosters in preparation for the time all of us have been working and striving toward.

That means checking out matchups for Weeks 14-16 (the usual weeks when fantasy playoffs occur).

Many teams will still be concerned with this week in trying to qualify for the postseason, but those teams that have already punched their ticket can now get a leg up on the competition.

It begins at quarterback. Those of you who have ridden Tom Brady, Drew Brees Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan to get this far need to now stock your bench with Alex Smith, Sam Bradford, Eli Manning and Tyrod Taylor.

Why?

Because you never know if your consistent point-producing quarterback is going to go down injured. The majority of leagues have a freeze policy on add/drops after a certain date to lock rosters and prevent cheating, so you need to add these guys now.

Running backs and receivers should be well stocked, so no reason to focus on them, but a second tight end is a must. You do not want to take a zero in a positional spot in the playoffs because your tight end gets injured. The same goes for kickers. Until now you should never have two kickers on your roster, but now you must pick a second one up to avoid a zero in that spot if an injury occurs.

That brings us to the most important spot you can affect right now – defenses.

The majority of owners like to stream defenses each week. That needs to stop this week.

These are a couple defenses that need to be added for the playoffs based solely on their matchups in Week’s 14-16:

Buffalo Bills – vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Cleveland, vs. Miami Dolphins (Frigid, windy, snowy weather and Bills at home all three games)

Cincinnati Bengals – at Cleveland, vs. Pittsburgh, at Houston (Steelers tough in Week 15 but other should produce nice numbers)

Atlanta Falcons – at St. Louis, vs. San Francisco, at Carolina (might be the best of the bunch and should be available of your waiver-wire.

Players to Add for Week 13

Quarterbacks: Cleveland has activated Robert Griffin III and he could start in Week 14 when the Browns return from their bye week. Denver Broncos’ Trevor Siemian passed for 368 yards and three touchdowns last week against a stout Kansas City defense and this week gets the Jacksonville Jaguars. Also, Chicago Bears’ Matt Barkley went off last week and will have the starting job going forward.

Running Backs: It looks like Tennessee if finally beginning to work Derrick Henry into the mix a little at running back. He totaled eight carries for 60 yards and a touchdown last week and could receive even more down the stretch as the team tries to cut down on the workload for starter Demarco Murray. New England Patriots’ Dion Lewis saw six carries, but more importantly, caught four passes last week in his first serious action since returning from injury. He will be used even more down the stretch.

Wide Receivers: There was a Chicago Bears receiver that lit it up last week, but it wasn’t Cameron Meredith, but rather Marquess Wilson that delivered eight catches for 125 yards and a score while clicking with new Bears QB Barkley. Speaking of clicking, Tom Brady has a new friend in New England ant its Malcolm Mitchell, who caught five passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns last week. If Tyrell Williams was dropped in your league, go grab the Chargers receiver. He had eight catches for 70 yards and a score last week and gets favorable matchups the rest of the way.

Players with matchups to exploit in Week 13

Quarterbacks: The Dallas Cowboys may have the best record in the NFL, but their defensive secondary has been horrific. Opposing quarterbacks have feasted which could be good news for Sam Bradford of the Minnesota Vikings, who have struggled in recent weeks. Dallas has allowed 1,126 yards passing and 7 TDs in its last three games! San Francisco continues to be a team to target which makes Matt Barkley of Chicago an interesting play.

Running Backs: New England could be without Rob Gronkowski, which might make Tom and Co. lean on the running game and LeGarrett Blount, who gets a Rams defense that has allowed 419 yards in its past three games. Another defense that has struggled to stop the run is Cincinnati, which is good news for Philadelphia’s Wendell Smallwood.

Wide Receivers: This could be a good time to try and jump on Cameron Meredith/Marquess Wilson of the Bears, which face a hospitable 49ers secondary. The Chiefs in the past three weeks have allowed the second-most (699) yards to receivers, which Julio Jones/Mohamed Sanu should capitalize on.

Tight Ends: Miami has struggled in recent weeks defending this position, along with Dallas, which puts Dennis Pitta of Baltimore and Will Tye of the New York Giants in play. Seattle has allowed 24 catches to tight ends the past three weeks, which could mean a big day for Carolina’s Greg Olsen.

How did my teams do in Week 12?

A kicker ended my fantasy season in a CBSSports.com league. In this particular league we give a five-point bonus for any field goal of 50 or more yards. Well, Philadelphia’s Caleb Sturgis made a 50-yarder. In most leagues, his two field goals and extra point would’ve yielded seven points, but in our league it gave Sturgis 12 points. I went into the night with a nine-point lead in a week I had to win. No dice. My team drops to 5-7 and now out of playoff consideration. In my other two leagues, I am in first place overall and already clinched a playoff spot, so it’s not all bad.

Good Luck in Week 13!

– Chris Parry is a staff writer for the Tyler Morning Telegraph and ETFinalScore.com, and an avid fantasy football player for nearly two decades. His weekly fantasy takeaway appears on Wednesdays. Feel free to email with any questions or comments to cparry@tylerpaper.com, or you can tweet to @CParryETFS.