Week 6 is upon us in the NFL season, and despite a lot of chaos, the season continues. Last week we had the incredibly rare Tuesday Night Football game and this week we have no Thursday game due to teams having to shuffle around. For NFL survivor this makes things slightly more difficult, with certain teams being unavailable on weeks where they didn’t have their bye, but overall it shouldn’t disrupt too much. Last week saw a big upset, which definitely shook up some leagues and thinned out who remains.
What is a Survivor Pool?
There are several variations of the Survivor Pool format, but the most basic and common one is each week everyone in the league has to select one team to win a game straight up, not against the spread. If the team wins, you survive the week and move on, and if the team you pick ties or loses, you are eliminated from the pool. The twist is that you can only use any team once, so anyone you pick is no longer available for weeks in the future, making it increasingly difficult as the season goes on. The pool ends when there is one player left, and usually that player will take home a big pay day depending on the settings and the structure.
Week 6 NFL Schedule
Sunday |
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| Texans at Titans (-3) | Bengals at Colts (-8.5) | Falcons at Vikings (-4) |
| Broncos at Patriots (-9.5) | Washington at Giants (-2.5) | Ravens (-7.5) at Eagles |
| Browns at Steelers (-3.5) | Bears at Panthers (-1.5) | Lions (-3 ) at Jaguars |
| Jets at Dolphins (-9.5) | Packers (-1) at Buccaneers | Rams (-3.5) at 49ers |
Monday |
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| Chiefs (-3.5) at Bills | Cowboys (-2) at Cardinals | |
Week 5 NFL Survivor Picks Recap
Cowboys
My pick was the highest owned in Yahoo leagues with 31% of people choosing to fade the Giants and take Dallas at home. It wasn’t smooth sailing, as they had to survive a terrible injury to Dak Prescott, but they were able to rally late and set up a game-winning field goal as time expired. With Prescott hurt, it is actually incredibly useful we got rid of the Cowboys, as they could really struggle in a lot of spots without their quarterback.
Cardinals
This was another obvious spot, and 18% of people took the borderline free square and faded the Jets. Unlike Dallas, the Cardinals had no trouble on the road, and the 30-10 win was as easy as they come. The Jets are the worst team in the league, and they are starting to separate themselves from everyone else, so whoever they play will be a popular NFL survivor pool pick for that week.
Chiefs
This was the landmine, as the double-digit favorite Super Bowl champions lost at home to the Oakland Raiders. Around 8% of teams went here, and honestly it would have been higher if it weren’t for the Jets and Giants being so weak. Still, that will take out a decent chunk of teams from most people’s pools, and to lose with one of the best teams in the league definitely stings.
Week 6 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Dolphins
This could be one of the highest-owned teams of the entire season, as the Dolphins win the lotto and get a home matchup with the Jets. They are 9.5-point favorites, and burning them isn’t something we have to worry about since they are an average-at-best team. They could be north of 50% in some pools, which is always going to make you at least consider going elsewhere. If you want the safest play on the board, this is your spot, but if you want to get away from the masses, then you will have to look elsewhere. Miami should easily blow past the Jets, who have issues on both sides of the ball and really have nothing going for them at this point in the season.
Patriots
Like a handful of teams, the Patriots have dealt with some COVID issues and did not have a game in Week 5. The “bye” week should give them a chance to get healthy, and it looks like Cam Newton should be available for this game after getting the virus. Keep an eye on the status, but if he plays, that’s a massive boost, and the Patriots will be a huge home favorite against Denver. The Broncos are 1-3 with their lone win against the Jets, and they are one of the most injury-ravaged teams in the entire league. This is a lost season for Denver, and it is hard to imagine them going into Foxboro as a 10-point underdog and coming out with a win.
Colts
The Colts crushed a ton of people in Week 1, but if you dodged them there and didn’t use them against the Jets, then you have them still available. They get another easy matchup, as they are an 8-point home favorite against the Bengals. This is one of the better spots you can look for across the league, and they will be a fraction of the ownership of a team like the Dolphins. I personally think this is too risky because I do not trust Philip Rivers, and the Colts were crushed last week against a solid Browns team. Although they should get a win, to me there are better spots on this slate, and I will let other people chase Indianapolis here.
My Week 6 NFL Survivor Pool Pick: Dolphins
Teams I’ve already used: Colts (L) , Buccaneers (W), Eagles (T), Rams (W), Cowboys (W)
The key to NFL survivor is knowing when to be risky and hope for a big upset while still being conservative enough to survive. The risky play is to find a team outside Miami and hope for some reason the Jets win, but I truly do not see that happening and getting rid of Miami is the move. However, this week we do not have a lot of options outside Miami, and the Patriots will get good spots later in the season in the Jets’ division. Sometimes overthinking it can be just as dangerous as being too conservative, so this week I will take the obvious play and let other people make hero calls.
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