By Michael Murillo -- Right now, every AFL teams is trying to earn a win - to improve their playoff seed, to sneak into the post-season, to impress the home fans or maybe just for pride. The dream of playing in Las Vegas for the league title is still alive for many clubs, and they don’t want to let it slip away at the end of the season.

But with just two weeks left to play, some teams have more on the line than others. Since fantasy players are also trying to earn critical wins and points, they need to separate who wants to win from who needs to win. The difference could be a few extra yards, catches or touchdowns, and that might be enough to put their team over the top.

Headed into Week 15, here are some teams that still have a lot to play for:

* Anyone with a 5-9 record—Fans might think a team guaranteed to have a losing record would be thinking about next year. But in the American Conference, many are still thinking playoffs.

In fact, all the 5-9 teams -- Chicago, Grand Rapids and Las Vegas—are in the playoff hunt. There should be some good fantasy performances from those teams, but there’s also risk, mostly at the quarterback position. Chicago’s situation is uncertain due to an injury to regular starter Matt D’Orazio (3,049 yards, 50 passing TDs, five INTs, 162 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs). In Las Vegas, Jason Fife has been replaced with Craig Whelihan. Grand Rapids has more stability with Chad Salisbury (2,614 yards, 50 TDs, 11 INTs and two rushing TDs), but recently acquired former Soul QB Matt Sauk as insurance. Prudent fantasy players should check the status on these players later in the week.

In the meantime, receivers like Chicago’s WR/DB Bobby Sippio (1,029 receiving yards, 29 receiving TDs and two rushing TDs), Grand Rapids’ tandem of WR/DB Timon Marshall (90 receptions, 1154 yards, 18 receiving TDs one rushing TD) and WR/LB Anthony Hines (104 receptions, 1108 yards, 21 receiving TDs and three rushing TDs) are safer plays. And while Las Vegas OS Marcus Nash (108 receptions, 1206 yards and 28 receiving TDs) has cooled off a bit recently, he’s still a top talent and has the potential for impressive statistical performances.

* The entire Southern Division -- From top to bottom, fans should see strong efforts from all five teams. Orlando has their sights on a division title and potential bye in the first round, but Georgia and Austin are just one game behind. Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes are still alive, but they need to win their last two games to improve their chances. And with a re-tooled offense, Kansas City has a chance climb out of the league basement and let Los Angeles have the AFL’s worst record. If they can win their final two games (including a show-down against fellow expansion club Utah in Week 16) the Brigade will end the season with some momentum and an improved outlook for next season. They won’t all make the playoffs, but the Southern Division should have a post-season mentality over the final two games.

Fantasy players already have their favorite stars from this division, and with four of the teams in playoff contention (and one looking for a strong finish to the season) Week 16 looks like a good time to play them.

Fantasy Focus Week 15: Colorado Crush at San Jose SaberCats-- Both the Crush and the Sabercats are already guaranteed playoff spots, so what’s at stake in this game? Maybe everything: division titles, bye weeks, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In other words, all the things playoff teams really want.

While many clubs are struggling just to make the post-season, Colorado and San Jose are fighting for the advantages that could mean a trip to Las Vegas in June.

The SaberCats had a rough start to 2006 when WR/LB James Roe was injured early in Week 1, and the team had just one win after the first five games. Fortunately for them, the entire Western Division went through a similar slump so they had a chance to rebound. Now, with two weeks to play they’re the only team in the division with a winning record.

The last thing they want is to have a disappointing finish to the season, and lose the momentum they’ve built with a five-game winning streak. 

With the pressure still on to keep winning, fantasy players can expect good performances from key San Jose players like Roe (101 receptions, 1175 yards and 27 TDs), QB Mark Grieb (4276 yards, 70 TDs, 10 INTs and OS Ben Nelson (79 receptions, 1200 yards and 20 TDs) this week. And while the SaberCats sometimes run their way to victories, fantasy players shouldn’t necessarily expect another ground-based attack against Colorado. When they scored zero passing TDs in a win at Tampa Bay in Week 11 they had eight the following week, with Nelson (4) and Roe (3) catching almost all of them. A similar rebound could be on tap in Week 15.

Colorado’s situation isn’t much different. They have a playoff spot and a division title locked up, but home-field advantage throughout the playoffs is still out of reach. And the SaberCats are the only team that can keep it from them.

Colorado has been on a roll recently. In their last five games they have four wins, and have scored at least 73 points three times. Fantasy players know the abilities of QB John Dutton (3817 yards, 83 TDs, 14 INTs and four rushing TDs) and record-breaking OS Damian Harrell (138 receptions, 1730 yards and 51 TDs). Even DS Rashad Floyd (102 solo tackles, 10 INTs and one defensive TD) has become a regular starter for many fantasy teams.

There’s no reason to expect a let-down this week. If San Jose wins the game, they’ll hold a tie-breaker over Colorado if the teams finish with the same record. That means a possible road trip for the Conference Championship, and the Crush would prefer to play at home. Plus, as the only two teams in the American Conference with a winning record, this is also a contest for bragging rights. The defending ArenaBowl champion Crush want to show they’re still the team to beat.

There should be a playoff-type atmosphere from these two playoff teams, and fantasy players can expect good numbers across the board in what could be a Conference Championship preview.