2015 NFL Survivor Pool Picks: Week 3 Early Expert Predictions

Week 1 is extremely tough this season for Survivor Pool players. The largest favorites on the betting board are both set at 5.5 points (Packers at Bears and Cowboys vs. Giants). Last season favorites of less than 6.5 points avoided the upset at a dismal rate of less than 60 percent. In order to make sense of what looks like a challenging early start to the season, I have decided to look at possible NFL Survivor Pool picks up to Week 8 of the 2015-16 season. Here is my Week 3 report with some early picks and predictions. Of course, we will revisit Week 3 in detail after Week 2 is in the books later in September. This is just a very early examination of the NFL Week 3 schedule. I will just go down the schedule in chronological order and comment only on the noteworthy games.

Dallas vs. Atlanta: Yikes. Another home game for the Cowboys early in the season where they should be a sizable favorite. If the Falcons look bad the first couple weeks of the season then Dallas could be a huge favorite here. As I will tell anyone who will listen, I’m not a fan of using the Cowboys in my Survivor Pool and didn’t take them until late in the season last year when other good options were gone. This team never seems to excel in the favorite role, and their 4-4 record last season at home is testament to that (they were a perfect 8-0 on the road last year). Since I am not a big fan of playing road teams for my Survivor Pool picks, I will probably avoid Dallas as long as I can. They will probably be a popular pick for Survivor Pool players, but I for one will probably stay away.

Indianapolis at Tennessee: Again, I don’t like taking road teams, but the Colts are probably a pretty good option here. The Titans flat out stink, and rookie QB Marcus Mariota will probably still be getting his feet wet assuming he starts from Week 1. As I stated in my Week 2 report, Indianapolis looks like the strongest pick on the board for Week 2. So I probably won’t have them at my disposal here, anyway. But I would not criticize anyone who played them in this spot. Even if they are available to me for Week 3 I will probably have my eye out for a home team instead.

New England vs. Jacksonville: If Survivor Pool players want to take a risk early in the season while Pats QB Tom Brady is serving his four-game ban, this is probably the game where they will use New England. I almost certainly won’t be touching this game, either, even though New England will likely be a decent favorite. I think the Jags will be a stronger team this season. In fact, if the line is right here I will probably be taking the points on Jacksonville for this game.

Houston vs. Tampa Bay: Love this Week 3 NFL Survivor Pool pick. Barring major injuries I will likely be playing Houston on multiple cards here. Bucs rookie QB Jameis Winston will likely start here, and Houston should have an amazing defense this season. I think they are going to harass him all day, and Tampa Bay is probably in for a long day here. If Houston looks good and the Bucs look bad to start the season then this spread could easily climb to double-digits. If that‘s the case then they would definitely be a popular pick in all Survivor Pools.

Seattle vs. Chicago: This is the last game in a murderer’s row of what is a very daunting three-game opening stretch for the Bears as they host Green Bay in Week 1 and travel to Arizona in Week 2. If Chicago looses those first two games, especially if they are lopsided, then Seattle should be favored by a bunch of points here. The Seahawks will probably be a very popular pick in Week 3 Survivor Pools if that’s the case, but I am taking a wait-and-see approach to Seattle this season as I just have an uneasy feeling about them and think that after the success of the last two years that they are going to have the ball bounce the wrong way more often than they get breaks this year. They may be in for a mediocre season and the division is tough. I will probably avoid taking Seattle here or may chose to take them on one ticket as I play multiple cards each season.

Check back closer to the regular season for lots of great Survivor Pool content, and once the season gets rolling we will have new articles almost every day during the season (weekdays).