NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 8: Opening Lines Report

It was a fairly straightforward week for Week 7 Survivor Pools. There were a few minor upsets as the Jags downed the Bills in London, the Saints scored a road upset at Indy and the Raiders beat the Chargers in San Diego. It was somewhat of a wacky week as there were some other near upsets, but most probably made it out of their Survivor Pool unscathed.

We are getting to the point in the season where you will have to take some risks. There’s no other choice, because after seven weeks you have probably used most of the top teams already. But there are some very solid choices for Week 8 NFL Survivor Pool picks. The opening lines are out, and here we will take a look at the biggest favorites on the board.

Most people have already used New England, who hosts the Dolphins on Thursday Night Football. But for those that have them available, I would not suggest to use them this week as Miami is playing with as much confidence as any team the last couple weeks and might be primed to score the upset.

NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 8: Opening Lines Report

New England -7.5 vs. Miami

The Dolphins made a coaching change during their bye week, and it has paid off big time. This squad was one of the biggest disappointments in the league through three weeks with only a lackluster win over Washington to their credit. But they came storming out of the bye week and scored huge blowout victories at Tennessee and vs. Houston. Those aren’t very good teams. But this Miami team is very talented and is finally gaining some confidence. Before the season this team was anointed as the biggest threat to New England in the AFC East. While it may be too late for that because of a slow start, I do think Miami will come to play here on Thursday. My money will be where my mouth is for this game as I will be wagering on Miami plus the points. New England isn’t going to run the table this season, and they have not really been tested recently with a weak schedule. The Jets gave them a game on Sunday. That was the best team they have played in awhile, and I think Miami is overall a better team than New York. Be wary of New England here.

Kansas City -5 vs. Detroit (London)

I stated it last week and will reiterate the point: don’t use these London games in your NFL Survivor Pools. I warned to stay away from the Bills last week in London against the Jaguars, and of course Jacksonville pulled the upset. The Bills needed to rally just to keep the score respectable. This long travel in the middle of the season is a big hassle for the players. It’s a circus, really, and it interrupts the flow of the season for everyone involved. I think these games can be an equalizer for the underdog. When teams are out of their element, it evens the playing field. Kansas City is not a good team anyways, so there are much more attractive picks on the board this week even though they looked decent last week at home in a win against Pittsburgh.

Atlanta -7 vs. Tampa Bay

If you still have Atlanta at your disposal then this is probably a solid pick. I do think that the Falcons are not as good as most people think they are. Look at the schedule of teams they have played. None of those teams are going to make the playoffs except for the winner of the NFC East as the Falcons have wins over all four teams in the division. Tampa Bay seems to be improving and played a very impressive game at Washington on Sunday even though they eventually lost by one. QB Jameis Winston is starting to resemble an NFL quarterback. This team does have some talent. That being said, the Falcons were excellent in the division last season and should be able to do enough to win here.

St. Louis -9 vs. San Francisco

This is as good of a pick as there is on the board for Week 8 Survivor Pools. I normally advise staying away from divisional games, but at this point of the season a lot of those rules can be thrown out as options are limited. It’s likely most have the Rams available, and as of right now I would say to take them if that is the case for you. The thing about San Francisco this season is that not only are they lousy, but I also think that they are getting payback from many of their rivals over the years. Teams won’t overlook them because they have been so good and cocky over the past few years that teams really enjoy stepping on them when they are down. Consider me a Gurley Man. Rams RB Todd Gurley had his first big day last weekend, scoring two TDs, and he makes this team very dangerous as he looks like the best young back in the league.

Arizona -4.5 at Cleveland

Even though I just stated that some Survivor Pool rules can be thrown out the window at this point of the season, it’s important to still look for a home team for your weekly pick. If you are 50/50 on two teams and one is at home, always go for that club. The Browns are not a good football team. But this is a team that seems to play hard every week, and they just had the undefeated Broncos on the ropes in an eventual OT loss just a couple weeks ago in this same building. I think that this will be a close game as well, and there is no reason to take the Cardinals here on the road with some better options as home teams this week. The Cardinals have not played well the last couple weeks, and they come in here off a short week after playing on Monday Night Football in a closer-than-it-should-have-been win over the Ravens.

Seattle -6 at Dallas

Another road favorite here. It’s just hard to trust the Hawks here, even though Dallas has looked awful without their star QB Tony Romo. But this team has enough talent that they will probably win a game at least before Romo comes back. Seattle is a team that is hard to trust. They are now 1-3 on the road this season. They had a long week to prepare for this game off Thursday Night Football last week. That is a point in their advantage. They got a big win last week, but that was only against the Niners, a bad team that seems to have given up on the season already. I do think Seattle will find a way to win this game. However, if you still have Seattle available then you probably have St. Louis as well, and the Rams are a much better choice in my eyes.

Carolina -7 vs. Indianapolis

This is also a very strong pick, in my eyes. I thought that the Colts would turn their season around by this point of the year after a slow start. It hasn’t happened yet. I think this is just a bad team. Andrew Luck maybe isn’t as good as advertised yet at this point in his career, and he doesn’t have a lot of talent around him to work with, on either side of the ball. Carolina just quietly goes about their business playing team football, and this squad is doing all the right things this season. I expect more of the same here on Monday Night Football.

Top Picks for the Week:

St. Louis

Carolina

Atlanta

Three to Avoid:

New England

Kansas City

Arizona