NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 6: Opening Line Report

Week 5 was an easy one for NFL Survivor Pool players. All the main favorites won, save for Carolina, who fell to Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football. Cam Newton was ruled out late in the week for that game, so many pool players likely avoided that upset. I always advise to submit your weekly NFL Survivor Pool picks as late as possible in the week to stay abreast of any late-breaking injury news. This situation with Carolina on Monday underlines that strategy perfectly.

Last week I was very high on New England – as was the rest of the Survivor Pool world; they garnered more than 60 percent of the votes on our weekly poll – and they won without breaking a sweat at Cleveland. This was a very chalky week overall and only three people were eliminated in my main pool, and two of them were bounced because they didn’t submit their picks on time. This is one of the reasons I love NFL Survivor Pools!

As easy as Week 5 was for Survivor Pool players, Week 6 looks the opposite and on paper is one of the most difficult weeks thus far this season. We are getting to the point where many of the top teams have already been used, and the pickins are getting slim. As I do every week, here I will provide my opening line report to help me narrow down my list of choices for NFL Survivor Pool picks Week 6. Our official picks will be posted on Thursday, but for this exercise I narrow down my list and then do further research on the teams I am interested in using for my pool.

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Let’s get to it and try to make some sense out of a very tough slate of games for Week 6 NFL Survivor Pool picks.

Denver -3.5 at San Diego (Thursday): Denver is one of the best teams in the league once again. They will be anxious to get back on track after a Sunday loss to Atlanta. They have also beaten the Chargers in five straight meetings. However, there are some things I don’t like about this matchup. First, the Broncos are on the road here, and I try to avoid using road teams this early in the season. This is also a Thursday night matchup, and on a short week anything can happen. Even though this has been a one-sided rivalry lately, it’s still a rivalry and the Chargers will give their best shot at home. San Diego has been in every game this season, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that this one goes down to the final seconds as well. This one is a pass for me.

New England -9 vs. Cincinnati: This is the largest favorite on the board for Week 6. Like most of Survivor Pool America, I used the Patriots last week so they are no longer an option. I would definitely consider them if they were still available. This will be Tom Brady’s first home game back from his suspension and the crowd will be bonkers. The Bengals have not played up to expectations thus far and just got blasted by the Cowboys. This team has a fragile psyche right now and the Pats are just the team to kick a squad like this when they are down. The Bengals are also dealing with a lot of injuries. New England isn’t going to lose many games this season, so if you have them available then strongly consider taking them for Week 6.

Pittsburgh -7.5 at Miami: Although I hate to take road teams this early in the season, the Steelers are looking like a pretty good option for Week 6 Survivor Pool picks and they are on my short list of teams I am considering. The Steelers have been impressive in beating two playoff contenders the last two weeks in the Chiefs and Jets (at least I thought of the Jets as a playoff contender before the season started). Those games were both at home, however, and their 31-point beatdown in their last road game, at Philly, has me a bit concerned about this one. But Miami is terrible, and even though first-year coaches are normally given at least two years, Adam Gase may feel his seat getting hot very soon. They were blown out the last two weeks, once by Tennessee at home, and their only win on the season was that home game against the Browns that they didn’t even deserve to win.

Buffalo -7.5 vs. San Francisco: I thought Buffalo would be a decent 8-8 type team, and they look like that now after a slow start to the season. They scored impressive road wins the last two weeks at New England and at Los Angeles. They blew out Arizona in their last home game. This team is playing with a lot of confidence, and as of now I would say this is my top pick for the week although I am going to do some more research tonight before I make my official pick on Thursday. Colin Kaepernick is slated to start for the Niners here. I have always respected his ability and maybe he makes a case here to get the starting job back full time.

Tennessee -7 vs. Cleveland: I know everyone wants to fade the Browns this season. And that’s not a bad strategy. I have done it myself to an extent. But this is not a good idea to just blindly pick against the Browns each week. A record of 0-16 is as rare of a feat as 16-0, and Cleveland will probably pull an upset one of these weeks. The oddsmakers think this is one of their best chances to win this week against Tennessee as Bookmaker.eu put out a list of odds for the Browns first win of the season, and this game against Tennessee had the lowest odds at +210. The second-lowest odds are for no wins at +300. I just don’t trust Tennessee in this situation and will be passing on the Titans here for Week 6.

Seattle -6 vs. Atlanta: I will just say right away that I will be passing on this one. Atlanta looks like arguably the best team in the NFL right now and they are coming off an impressive road win over the previously-unbeaten Broncos. Seattle is playing better recently, but this team is not completely trustworthy against a solid opponent like this. I seriously think this line is too large, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this one is decided by a field goal either way. Seattle’s defense has to play a great game here to stop the amazing Matt Ryan-Julio Jones combo.

Green Bay -4 vs. Dallas: I actually think Green Bay is a decent pick here and is a better choice than some of the bigger favorites like Seattle or Tennessee. I’m not sure I’m a believer in Dallas yet, although they have played very well so far. This team just always seems to disappoint when expectations are high, and this point spread indicates that expectations are getting very lofty. Before the season started this line would have been around 8. The Packers have dominated this series with five straight wins. After what has become the standard slow start to the season for the Packers, they have reeled off two straight solid wins and I think they will make it three in a row this week. In a normal week I probably wouldn’t consider this game and probably won’t even end up using it, but that goes to show you how tough Week 6 is for Survivor Pool players.

Arizona -7.5 vs. New York Jets (Monday Night Football): No thank you! The Cardinals have lost several times as big favorites already and have knocked a lot of players out of their Survivor Pools. They are coming off a road win over San Francisco, but that doesn’t impress me at all. The Jets have lost three straight and they are 1-4 on the season. This team has one of – if not the – toughest schedule in the league this season. But this is a veteran team, and I have a feeling they will get it together at some point or at least be good for a couple decent upsets. That could be the case this week. I might sprinkle a little cash on the moneyline in this game as I think New York will play a solid game here. These teams don’t play often, but the Jets have owned this series for years and years.