The fantasy playoffs begin for most mavens this week, and many of them will revert back to their Week 1 lineups with all of their presumed standouts. That’s certainly the safe strategy, but what if your roster is filled with underperforming stars, or slumping front-liners?

That’s where things get tricky.

Here are some of the big names who have not been producing big numbers recently, and who possibly could sink your fantasy ship this weekend:

>> Alvin Kamara (Saints RB): Four years ago he had six touchdowns against the Vikings. But now he has gone seven consecutive games without a score. Throw in the season-ending injury to his quarterback, Derek Carr, and No. 41 could be very quiet the next few weeks.

>> Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots RB): He has seven touchdowns this season, but none since early November. And New England’s top runner has been fading into the background since the emergence of rookie QB Drake Maye and a more pass-heavy offense.

>> D.K. Metcalf (Seahawks WR): He used to be Seattle’s top receiver before the rise of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Metcalf has only one TD in his past eight games and has not topped the century mark in receiving in his past seven outings.

>> Malik Nabers (Giants WR): He might be a rookie of the year on any other team. But he is a Giant, and he has a streak of eight games without a TD. And with Tommy DeVito at the helm this week against Baltimore, that streak will likely reach nine.

>> Tank Dell (Texans WR): You might have thought Dell would break out after Stefon Diggs’ injury, and you’d be mistaken. As Houston’s offense has cooled off, Dell has remained ice cold, averaging only about 45 yards per game over the past month.

>> Travis Kelce (Chiefs TE): Taylor Swift’s guy has been a non-entity in half of the Chiefs’ games this season as Patrick Mahomes has relied on DeAndre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy for the big plays. Scoreless in 11 of 13 games? That’s not gonna do.

>> C.J. Stroud (Texans QB): How do you define a sophomore slump? Well, Stroud has as many interceptions (5) as touchdown passes over the past seven games. Pretty weak sauce from a guy who threw for 23 TDs and ran for three last season.

Sitting stars

Now that Buffalo QB Josh Allen has decided to hog all the touchdowns, you can’t count on too many for RB James Cook against the NFC-leading Lions. … Cleveland’s Nick Chubb will face tough going against AFC-leading Kansas City. … Speaking of the Chiefs’ defense, it will cool off the red-hot Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy. … Green Bay WR Christian Watson has been strong lately, but Seattle’s defense will be able to limit him. … And two young quarterbacks will continue to underwhelm in Week 15: Chicago’s Caleb Williams vs. the Vikings, and the Colts’ Anthony Rchardson against surprising Denver.

Matchup game

The Vikings’ Aaron Jones ran through the Bears two weeks ago in Chicago, and it won’t be much different on Monday night in Minneapolis. … Seattle RB Zack Charbonnet was all-world last week, and he’ll be at least a top-five back against Green Bay. … Now that Dallas has hit rock bottom, look for big weeks from their next foes: Carolina’s Chuba Hubbard and Adam Thielen. … And inconsistent Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray will come to the rescue of the Cardinals, and The Loop’s fantasy team, with a big day against New England.

Injury watch

Two prominent running backs are very iffy: the Jets’ Breece Hall and the 49ers’ Isaac Guerendo. Possible replacements for those we will discuss later as Deepest Sleepers. … RBs with a better chance of playing are Seattle’s Kenneth Walker III and Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving. … The list of other questionables includes two RBs (Raiders’ Alexander Mattison, Dolphins’ Raheem Mostert), five WRs (Steelers’ George Pickens, Chargers’ Ladd McConkey, Colts’ Josh Downs, Browns’ Cedric Tillman, Packers’ Romeo Doubs), one TE (Bills’ Dalton Kincaid) and two QBs (Chargers’ Justin Herbert, Titans’ Will Levis).

Deepest sleepers

Two virtual nobodies could see major playing time this week: Jets RB Isiah Davis and Niners RB Patrick Taylor. Davis had 13 touches for 67 yards and a touchdown last Sunday in Miami, and Taylor ran for 25 yards and a TD, which isn’t bad for a fourth-stringer.

The Thursday pick

Rams at 49ers (-2½):

Pick: Rams by 3

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on Twitter -- @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.