ROSENBERG: The streak is over, but not all hope is lost

Nothing like a good, old-fashioned butt whuppin' to usher in the fantasy postseason.

My 20-week winning streak bit the dust, some wood chips and a mound of gravel in Week 13, as my buddy Hans handed me my derriere on a badly bent tray.

While the dream of a perfect season was obliterated, there were positives to be taken from defeat:

• I still managed to score in my usual 1,200-point range (the competition simply broke a 1,600-pointer over my head like a cheap vase) and secured my league's regular-season points title.

• None of my core starters got hurt (I miss you, Fred Jackson).

• The biggest threat to my title defense, a guy I call Pop, doesn't have Matt Forte to carry him anymore.

With injuries piling up in many of our backfields and playoff preservation benchings forthcoming, here are a handful of players flying just below the radar who could pay unexpected dividends.

Toby Gerhart, RB, Vikings: Adrian Peterson's understudy reminded folks last week why he was the Heisman Trophy runner-up at Stanford in 2009, rushing for a career-high 91 yards to go along with a career-best 8 catches for 42 yards in a 35-32 loss to the Tebow Express.

Peterson has missed two straight games with a sprained ankle and is questionable for today's contest at Detroit. If he can't go, Gerhart is option No. 1 for a Minnesota team low on options. At this point, there's little incentive/reason for Peterson to play, and even if AP gets the green light, Gerhart should still see plenty of work against a Lions defense minus Ndamukong Suh, who will be serving the final game of his hokey-pokey suspension.

Ryan Grant, RB, Packers: With James Starks out with a sprained ankle, Grant begins his fourth tour of duty for me this season. Yeah, I know, keep laughing. The guy has rushed for just 316 yards through 12 games, hasn't gained more than 29 yards in a game since Week 3, he's come closer to finding Atlantis than the end zone, and his back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons in 2008 and 2009 seem like 100 years ago. And did we mention that the Packers have the best quarterback on the planet and run the ball merely for giggles?

On the surface, there is no compelling reason to even look Grant's way. But ... it's getting cold in Green Bay, coach Mike McCarthy needs Aaron Rodgers upright come January and the Packers could pin 50 points on Oakland today at Lambeau. A perfect storm (see previous sentence) and a comfortable early lead could lead to Grant picking up 20-plus carries and possibly breaking one or two for long scoring runs into the forbidden zone.

Dexter McCluster, WR/RB, Chiefs: He averages right around 8 carries and 36 yards per game and has but one TD to his name. So what makes McCluster even a remote fantasy curiosity? It's surely not this week's matchup against the run-stuffing Jets defense. But a peek at Kansas City's schedule reveals favorable home matchups in weeks 15 and 16 with the defensive-challenged Packers and the Raiders, who have seen many a season implode inside the house of horrors that is Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs' Christmas Eve showdown with Oakland is where a desperate fantasy owner is most likely to catch lightning in a 5-foot-8, 170-pound bottle. Playing a hated rival in what could be a blizzard and with an aversion to the pass, Kansas City could turn McCluster loose on the Jekyll-and-Hyde Raiders defense, which could translate into 70-plus yards rushing with 5 or 6 receptions and, dare I say it, a TD. Perhaps even two.

Kendall Hunter, RB, 49ers: The rookie fourth-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State has looked good in spots as a change-of-pace back and as an injury sub for Frank Gore. With Gore's health always a concern (he's been battling knee and ankle injuries over the past month), Hunter could be a nice stretch-run sleeper play.

Even if Gore was the picture of perfect health, the fact that the 49ers will need the leading rusher in franchise history more in January than December points to a lot of R&R in the weeks ahead and an opportunity for Hunter to take on a substantially increased work load.

Bee fantasy sports columnist Stu Rosenberg can be reached at srosenberg@modbee.com or (209) 578-2300.