Super Bowl, Playoff Challenge fantasy ranks

The Conference round of the 2018 NFL postseason included one of the most controversial no-calls, well, maybe ever. With the Saints driving deep into Rams territory, Drew Brees threw a pass to wideout Tommylee Lewis who had gotten open against DB Nickell Robey-Coleman down the sidelines. In what looked like an obvious foul, Robey-Coleman nailed Lewis for what could have been called pass interference, helmet-to-helmet contact or unnecessary roughness. Unfortunately for the Saints, the refs ate their whistles. That cost their offense a chance at draining the clock and attempting what would have been a short, game-winning field goal. Instead, the Rams ended up winning the game during overtime.

In the AFC, the "underdog" Patriots did what the Patriots do ... won their conference championship game to advance to the Super Bowl. This will be ninth time Tom Brady has been to the big game. That's ridiculous! New England took out Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, who had three Playoff Challenge point leaders in the contest including Mahomes (24 points), Damien Williams (27 points) and Sammy Watkins (11 points). The rest of the best included Sony Michel (23 points) and four Rams ... Brandin Cooks (10 points), Tyler Higbee (8 points), Greg Zuerlein (16 points) and the Rams defense (9 points).

Next up is the big game in Atlanta, which is a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI when the then underdog Patriots (at that point they actual were underdogs) beat Kurt Warner and the powerful St. Louis Rams 20-17. Here's my Super Bowl rankings for both daily fantasy players and the final round of the NFL Playoff Challenge.

Rankings

Quarterbacks -- Super Bowl (DFS)

1. Tom Brady, Patriots
2. Jared Goff, Rams

Quarterbacks -- NFL Playoff Challenge

1. Tom Brady, Patriots
2. Jared Goff, Rams

Running backs -- Super Bowl (DFS)

1. Todd Gurley, Rams
2. James White, Patriots
3. Sony Michel, Patriots
4. C.J. Anderson, Rams
5. Rex Burkhead, Patriots
6. James Develin, Patriots

Running backs -- NFL Playoff Challenge

1. Todd Gurley, Rams
2. Sony Michel, Patriots
3. James White, Patriots
4. C.J. Anderson, Rams
5. Rex Burkhead, Patriots
6. James Develin, Patriots

Wide receivers -- Super Bowl (DFS)

1. Robert Woods, Rams
2. Julian Edelman, Patriots
3. Brandin Cooks, Rams
4. Josh Reynolds, Rams
5. Phillip Dorsett, Patriots
6. Chris Hogan, Patriots
7. Cordarrelle Patterson, Patriots
8. KhaDarel Hodge, Rams

Wide receivers -- NFL Playoff Challenge

1. Julian Edelman, Patriots
2. Robert Woods, Rams
3. Brandin Cooks, Rams
4. Josh Reynolds, Rams
5. Phillip Dorsett, Patriots
6. Chris Hogan, Patriots
7. Cordarrelle Patterson, Patriots
8. KhaDarel Hodge, Rams

Tight ends -- Super Bowl (DFS)

1. Rob Gronkowski, Patriots
2. Gerald Everett, Rams
3. Tyler Higbee, Rams

Tight ends -- NFL Playoff Challenge

1. Rob Gronkowski, Patriots
2. Gerald Everett, Rams
3. Tyler Higbee, Rams

Kickers -- Super Bowl (DFS)

1. Greg Zuerlein, Rams
2. Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots

Kickers -- NFL Playoff Challenge

1. Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots
2. Greg Zuerlein, Rams

Defense/special teams -- Super Bowl (DFS)

1. New England Patriots
2. Los Angeles Rams

Defense/special teams -- NFL Playoff Challenge

1. New England Patriots
2. Los Angeles Rams

Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. You can follow Michael on **Twitter**, **Facebook**, **YouTube** and **Instagram** for all of the latest fantasy football news, notes and in-depth analysis!