Survivor Pool Picks for NFL Week 1 from Expert and Former Winner

Our long-time readers know we always feel NFL Week 1 to be a very tricky week. What you see in the NFL Preseason is not always what you see when the “real” action starts. Offenses and defenses are no longer playing vanilla schemes, and coaches are not holding back players to keep them healthy.

NFL Week 1 also has it fair share of good teams that get caught not quite taking their weaker opponent seriously or teams just not ready for the change in speed and intensity of the regular season.

This week we will give you two of our best Survivor Pool picks NFL Week 1.

Miami vs Seattle:  Everyone in you Survivor Pool league will probably be on the Seattle side in this game, and we do not blame them. In Survivor Pools we normally say just get to the next week and take the best possible pick. However, sometimes it is best to take a different selection when your entire league is on one team. If there is an upset it could leave you as the last player standing.

All that being stated, Miami has a new head coach, a new offensive system and is travelling all the way across country in quite possibly the loudest stadium in the NFL. This is not exactly a recipe for success if you are the Miami Dolphins.

You can select Seattle with the utmost confidence. Don’t overthink this one and take the Seahawks to win big in Week 1.

Chicago vs Houston: Houston opens up Week 1 of the NFL season with a revamped offense featuring new starting quarterback Brock Osweiler and talented running back Lamar Miller. Houston also features a defense that struggled early last year but finished  ranked third in the league in total defense (310.2 yards per game) and seventh in scoring defense (19.6 points per game). There has been lots of speculation of whether or not perennial all pro JJ Watt will play or not. However, outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney has looked unblockable this preseason, and he finally looks ready to deliver on the lofty expectations of a No. 1 draft pick.

Chicago Head Coach John Fox always has his teams ready and will play this game close by trying to play a field position game. Chicago may hang around until the third quarter, but the Houston Texans will eventually put this one away.

We still have a week to go until we have to submit our Survivor Pool picks, and myself and co-founder Jeremy Martin plus writer Geoff Jenkins will provide our weekly official picks (four cards played each) on Thursdays every week of the NFL season, so keep an eye out for those. We have all won Survivor Pools in the past, and we want to help you win your pool this season. I will also provide some college football and NFL picks against the spread next week.