NFL Survivor Picks Week 2: One week in the books and hopefully you are still alive in your survivor pool. We didn’t have any major upsets in Week 1 despite a few major favorites going right down to the wire and almost eliminating a ton of entries across all survivor pools. This week, there are a bunch of options for NFL Survivor Week 2 on the board, including the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens.
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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 pool must select one team to win a game straight up not against the spread. If the team gets a win you, survive the week and move on while if the team loses, it eliminates you from the pool and it’s game over. 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 who survives the longest and usually will take home a big pay day depending on the pool and the structure.
Week 2 Schedule
Thursday
Buccaneers at Panthers -6.5
Sunday
Niners at Bengals -1.5 Chargers -2.5 at Lions Vikings at Packers -2.5
Colts at Titans -3 Patriots -19 at Dolphins PK Bills -2 at Giants
Seahawks at Steelers -3.5 Cowboys -4.5 at Redskins Cardinals at Ravens -13.5
Jaguars at Texans -8.5, Chiefs -9.5 at Raiders Bears at Broncos TBD
Saints at Rams -2.5 Eagles at Falcons PK
Monday
Browns -2.5 at Jets
Week 1 Survivor Recap
Seattle Seahawks
My pick and oh man did it get dicey. The Seahawks survived at home against Cincinnati winning 21-20, but that certainly wasn’t what they were looking for against what most people view as a bottom five team in the league. Chris Carson was their best player on offense, but they will have to be sharper against tougher opponent and away from home if they want to get in the mix in the NFC. For survivor I don’t have to worry about them going forward as they were my Week 1 pick.
Philadelphia Eagles
They looked like they were in trouble in that first quarter falling behind 10-0, but then the Eagles woke up and handled the Redskins winning easily when the dust settled. The 32-27 final wasn’t even close as the Redskins scored late to cover. For survivor it was meaningless, and the Eagles got a lot of teams through Week 1 as they were the second most popular choice behind Seattle.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens were on the road, but still were the third most popular choice on average and they didn’t disappoint with a 59-10 beatdown of the Dolphins. I’m not sure I can say this in a 49-point victory, but honestly it could have been worse and picking on the Dolphins seems like a viable strategy going forward as they are live to have 0 wins this season.
Dallas Cowboys
All the drama with Zeke possibly holding out wasn’t a distraction and he and the Cowboys rolled over the Giants thanks to Dak Prescott’s nearly perfect performance. The Cowboys weren’t that popular of pick averaging around 5% in Yahoo! Survivor Pools, but they looked great and provided a stress-free Week 1 for survivor entries.
Week 2 Survivor Picks
New England Patriots
There are no free squares in the NFL, but this is as close as you may find as the Patriots are up to a 19-point favorite against the Dolphins in Week 2. The crazy thing is they are on the road and still almost a three-touchdown favorite and after seeing Miami last week its not unreasonable to think the Patriots cover this spread. For survivor this is more a question of do you want to burn the Patriots this early or would you rather save them for down the road and go elsewhere? With the spread this high they will most likely be the chalk choice for Week 2 and it most likely will be smooth sailing for Patriots backers this week.
Baltimore Ravens
If you used them last week then obviously this won’t apply to you, but the Ravens are the next best choice at home against the Cardinals. Baltimore sits at -13.5 which normally would be far and away the highest on the board, but as we just mentioned New England is in another stratosphere against Miami. Last week Arizona somehow tied, but that just showed how clueless the Lions are as they had the game won and let the Cardinals miraculously send it to OT and grab a tie. The Ravens looked sharp against the poor Dolphins and now at home they should once again control the clock and cause problems for opposing QB’s. Kyler Murray showed flashes last week, but this is going to be a much tougher test and the Ravens are another fantastic option for Week 2 survivor.
Kansas City Chiefs
Almost a double-digit favorite despite being on the road in a divisional matchup with the Raiders. I will say the Raiders looked functional on Monday Night Football, but we’ll see if they are a quality team or if the Broncos have some serious issues. Either way the Chiefs should handle the Raiders, but like the Patriots they are a valuable team to use so picking your spot is important with one of the Super Bowl contenders.
Houston Texans
After a brutal loss in New Orleans the Texans return home and get the Jaguars, who are limping in after losing Nick Foles to a broken collarbone. Backup QB Gardner Minshew looked pretty good, but the Texans will be preparing for him and it’s a tough spot on the road against a team that should be able to generate pressure. Add in that DeShaun Watson has plenty of weapons around him and the Texans should be able to avoid starting 0-2 with a win at home against a divisional opponent.
My Pick: Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore looked amazing last week and although part was due to the Dolphins this is a team that is in form right out of the gate. They now go home and get the Cardinals flying in after somehow managing to tie in their opening game. The Ravens should be able to control the clock and establish the running game and if Lamar Jackson continues to throw the ball like he did in Week 1 then the Ravens will have no problem moving to 2-0 and moving you on in survivor. The Patriots are almost a free square, but I am going to try and save them for later in the season when things get a little tougher.
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Good Luck everyone!
