2026 Best Ball Playoff Stacks To Target: The Cowboys Have An Elite Playoff Schedule

You obviously can't win your best ball league without reaching the playoffs.

But simply surviving to Weeks 15-17 won't win you a tournament, either.

If you're drafting to finish first, your roster needs to peak when the fantasy playoffs arrive.

That's why postseason planning starts now.

RELATED: Matthew Berry's Fantasy Football Rankings for 2026

Navigating The Best Ball Playoffs Schedule

Yes, it's only July. Injuries will happen. Depth charts will change. Some of these projected shootouts won't look nearly as attractive four or five months from now.

But the betting market still gives us a valuable roadmap.

Early projected totals can help identify the games most likely to turn into fantasy gold, giving us an edge when building tournament-winning stacks long before the season begins.

Highest Projected Totals (DraftKings Sportsbook):

Week 15

Cowboys at Rams — 52.5
Bears at Bills — 51.5

Week 16

Bengals at Colts — 52.5
Jaguars at Cowboys — 51.5
Giants at Lions — 49.5

Week 17

Ravens at Bengals — 51.5
Giants at Cowboys — 49.5
Lions at Bears — 49.5
Rams at Buccaneers — 48.5
Commanders at Jaguars — 48.5

There are plenty of appealing game environments throughout the Best Ball playoffs, especially during championship week. It shouldn't surprise anyone that offenses like Dallas, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles appear multiple times.

We've already talked plenty about team stacks throughout draft season, but game stacks create another level of tournament upside. If both offenses erupt, you're suddenly getting spike weeks from multiple players while the rest of your league is relying on isolated performances.

There are plenty of ways to attack those games.

Maybe it's an early-round quarterback paired with one or two pass catchers.

Perhaps it's grabbing a discounted QB later after drafting his top weapon.

Or it's the classic tournament build: a quarterback, two teammates and a bring-back from the opposing sideline.

No matter how you shape it, Week 17 should be the priority. That's when tournaments are won.

Stacks For The 2026 Best Ball Playoffs

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas isn’t simply a great team stack. It’s arguably the best three-week playoff stack in Best Ball.

Each of the Cowboys' three playoff games carries a projected total of at least 49.5 points. They travel to Los Angeles in Week 15 before returning home for matchups against the Jaguars and Giants, and they'll enter that stretch coming off a restful Week 14 bye.

Another common denominator? All dome games, no weather concerns.

That's about as favorable a setup as you can ask for.

Dak Prescott remains an attractive value compared to the elite fantasy quarterbacks, while CeeDee Lamb continues to possess overall WR1 upside every time he steps on the field. George Pickens adds another explosive element to the passing game, and Jake Ferguson or Javonte Williams can help complete stacks without requiring premium draft capital.

The Rams matchup immediately jumps off the page.

Reigning MVP Matthew Stafford is inexpensive enough to fit almost any roster build. Pair him with perennial Offensive Player of the Year candidate Puka Nacua, red zone machine Davante Adams or Kyren Williams and you’re suddenly attacking the highest projected total of opening playoff weekend.

Week 16 brings another quality stacking opportunity against Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas and Jakobi Meyers offer affordable ways to gain exposure if the Jaguars continue building on last season's offensive improvements.

Then comes Week 17.

The Cowboys draw the Giants in a rivalry that produced 77 and 51 total points in last year's meetings. New York should be more dangerous offensively with Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo healthy, plus a full season of development for Jaxson Dart.

Normally the Giants wouldn't be my favorite bring-back.

Against Dallas, though?

I'll gladly take my chances.

Cincinnati Bengals

If you're trying to identify the fantasy Super Bowl, Bengals-Ravens must be near the top of the list.

The last six meetings between these teams have seen 51, 54, 79, 69, 46 and 24 (outlier!) total points. This year's Week 17 matchup has all the ingredients to become another AFC North shootout, especially given the possible division implications.

Before that, Cincinnati gets Carolina in Week 15 and an indoor matchup with Indianapolis in Week 16, giving the Bengals projected totals north of 50 points in each of the final two playoff weeks.

There’s no mystery here.

Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown headline one of the league's most explosive offenses.

The Colts provide attractive bring-back options in Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren and Alec Pierce.

The Ravens counter with Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews to create one of the deepest collections of fantasy playmakers in football. It’s remarkably simple to construct tournament-winning cross-stacks around this game.

The obvious challenge is cost.

Many of those skill players won't escape the first three rounds.

Fortunately, both Burrow and Jackson remain easier to acquire than the elite receivers and rushers, so it’s possible to build around this game without forcing every early-round pick.

This primetime New Year’s Eve showdown could decide far more than the AFC North. It may decide Best Ball tournaments as well.

Detroit Lions

Detroit offers a slightly different path.

While the Cowboys and Bengals feature obvious shootouts throughout the playoffs, the Lions build toward what could become one of the most explosive Week 17 matchups on the entire schedule.

Jared Goff has long been one of football's strongest indoor quarterbacks, and Detroit opens the fantasy playoffs with dome games against Minnesota and the New York Giants before traveling outdoors to Chicago for what could decide the NFC North.

Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta all possess week-winning upside, giving Goff one of the league's deepest supporting casts.

The earlier postseason opponents aren't especially exciting from a stacking perspective.

Minnesota has plenty of talent but enters the season with more questions, while New York still has to prove it can consistently trade scores with elite offenses.

Chicago is different.

Ben Johnson's offense features Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, Luther Burden and D'Andre Swift.

Yes, it'll probably be one of the more expensive game stacks to build.

I'm okay paying for ceiling.

The weather at Soldier Field admittedly introduces some risk. These rivals met there in Week 18 last year and totaled just 35 points.

But tournaments aren't won by avoiding volatility.

They're won by identifying games capable of producing six or seven combined touchdowns.

If Lions-Bears turns into one of the highest-scoring games of championship weekend, nobody will care what those players cost in July.