It was inevitable.

I told you last week to bench Brandon Marshall because of Jay Cutler’s concussion and the fact that he has suffered in his career when Cutler was not the one throwing him the football. Before that I said that Mike Wallace would be adversely affected too with Ben Roethlisberger sidelined.

As fate would have it the Last Action Heroes — my team — was battling with the other division leader, Under Construction. It had been an OK weekend thus far for the Heroes with my receiver pickup Danario Alexander putting up a solid effort and even my desperation bye-week replacement running back, Shane Vereen of the New England Patriots, scoring me double-digit points.

But my running back, Arian Foster, did not deliver his usual big numbers. Still, I had the Steelers-Ravens game on Sunday night with the Ravens D, Mike Wallace and the Ravens kicker.

Under Construction had built a double-digit lead on me heading into Sunday, but with three left to his one, there was always a chance.

A special teams TD by the Ravens coupled with Steelers backup Byron Leftwich being awful had enabled me to move in front of UC. It could’ve been more, but Leftwich’s ineptitude completely nullified Wallace, who scored a measly 2 points (if I sound like I’m bitter it’s because I am), so after everything, I led 106-100.

Normally that means not enough because he still had Marshall left, but with Jason Campbell the Bears QB, I thought maybe.

On Monday night, I watched the first couple drives and the 49ers were destroying Campbell and any offense the Bears tried to produce. At halftime, Marshall still had zero points, but all it would take was a TD and I was finished.

In the third quarter it happened. Marshall only finished with two catches for 21 yards, but one of those was in the end zone.

I lost and the six-game winning streak by the Heroes (7-4) came to a crashing halt, 109-106. Oh well, no more bye weeks now and it’s time to make the final push for the playoffs.

Here are some tips:

1. Drop the dead weight

Regardless of your roster size, from this point it’s all about the starting lineup. Who cares if you have the five best receivers when your league only allows you to play two per week. Keep the best one and trade the other two. Depth is not as important now. Yes, there will be injuries, but really are there any replacements for a A.J. Green or Calvin Johnson? No. So don’t worry about it.

2. Deal from strength

Now is the time to turn that backup quarterback like Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III into a No. 2 running back. Backup quarterbacks are not needed right now. Again, if you get an injury at this point, your fantasy season is probably done for anyway. This is the time to get the best starting lineup you can.

3. Grab an extra defense/kicker

I know I’ve downplayed reserves, but having depth at kicker isn’t a bad thing to have. In many leagues, there is a deadline to add/drop, so imagine if your kicker is injured or cut because he has a bad week. It happens more than you think, so be prepared with one in reserve.

4. Get a lineup and stick with it

Play the matchups and you will drive yourself crazy when the receiver you benched in a bad matchup goes off and your starter struggles against what is perceived to be an easier matchup. Play your best players and ride them all the way to a fantasy title.