NFL Week 8 NFL Survivor Pool Picks + Strategy | Chiefs or Buccaneers?

Week 8 is upon us, and somehow we are almost halfway through this NFL season. Despite some bumps along the way, the league has done a great job managing the COVID situation and hasn’t had any major situations really disrupt the schedule. In terms of survivor, Week 7 was relatively quiet with the major favorites holding serve and getting everyone through to this week. We now have one fewer team to work with, and things get that much harder as we dive into this week’s slate. Let’s get into some NFL survivor picks for your pools, if you’re still alive.

[PUMPKIN]

What is an NFL 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 8 NFL Schedule

Week 7 Survivor Pool Picks Recap

Bills

Forty-seven percent of people took the free square against the Jets, and although it wasn’t a perfect performance, everything worked out. Buffalo used the rare six-field-goal strategy to secure the win and held the Jets to basically no offensive production in the second half. The entire year is going to be picking on the Jets in survivor, and if they ever do win a game, expect a massive amount of the remaining entries to get bounced.

Chargers

Los Angeles was my pick last week, as I wanted to change it up and pick on the Jaguars instead of the Jets. Similar to Buffalo, the Chargers were able to get the job done in relatively easy fashion, winning 39-29. After that opening win against Indianapolis, the Jaguars have lost six straight and are another team we seriously have to consider fading every week.

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Chiefs

Thirteen percent of people decided to take Kansas City despite them having to deal with a snow game in Denver. This wasn’t a spot I was super interested in due to the weather and the fact it’s a divisional game, which can be problematic. Still, Patrick Mahomes and company were dominant as usual, and Kansas City cruised to a big 43-16 win. Losing a team like Kansas City is going to hurt down the line, but it was an easy Week 7 victory if you decided to burn them.

Week 8 NFL Survivor Pool Picks

Buccaneers

This is a Monday Night Football matchup where the Bucs are a 10.5-point road favorite against the helpless Giants. New York has actually been playing teams closer lately, but against a team like Tampa, it is hard to imagine they can score enough to keep up. This is expected to be the highest-owned play on the slate, and it is hard to argue with anyone going there. Tom Brady and the Tampa offense are getting better week after week, and the Giants’ offensive struggles are going to be consistent regardless of who they are playing.

Chiefs

Barring the Chiefs having to play with 10 men, they should win this week. They draw the super matchup against the Jets, who are the team to target in survivor. Kansas City is a mind-boggling 19.5-point favorite at home, and it truly doesn’t get easier than this. I don’t need to break down why Mahomes is going to tear through the Jets defense, and as I mentioned earlier, the New York basically gained zero yards in an entire half last week against Buffalo. The only question you are asking about this is do you want to burn the Chiefs or save them for a more important spot later in the year?

Editor’s Note

The Kansas City Chiefs are almost three-touchdown favorites this weekend against the New York Jets. They’re one of this week’s best survivor picks, which means they could be a great bet or part of a moneyline parlay. With sports betting lines and odds, there can be some variation across sportsbooks, so use OddsShopper to take advantage of this possible money-making player prop. Click on the image for more OddsShopper options.

*Betting odds as of Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. EST

Titans

Tennessee finally lost, but they now get a Cincinnati team who is going to have a tough time slowing down the running game. Against Pittsburgh, the Titans staged a late-game comeback and actually were in position to steal that game to remain undefeated. Regardless of that outcome, Tennessee has all the tools they need to get right back in the win column, which is why they are a 6-point road favorite. I don’t love the idea of going to here and think that it is too much risk for not enough reward.

My Week 8 NFL Survivor Pool Pick: Chiefs

Teams I’ve already used: Colts (L), Buccaneers (W), Eagles (T), Rams (W), Cowboys (W), Dolphins (W), Chargers (W)

The key to survivor is knowing when to be risky and hope for a big upset while still be conservative enough to survive. Last week we didn’t take Buffalo and were a little more aggressive with the Chargers; that worked out just fine. This week I am not looking to be creative and will take my free square with the Chiefs at home.

Some people in your league will have already used Kansas City, so they will be forced to look elsewhere and take a tougher path to moving on. I also have already used Tampa Bay, so my options were limited to Kansas City or a competitive game. The Jets may win a game, but it is not going to be this week. I will survive to Week 9.

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