NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 15: Opening Line Report

Finally! It has been weeks since my NFL Survivor Pool lost any players, but this week we dropped it by four, and, thankfully, I was not one of the unlucky ones to get knocked out. Three-quarters of my pool was on the Lions and one-fourth took Indianapolis, and the Colts were upset at home by Houston. Now we are down to eight players in my pool, and with only three weeks left things get pretty tricky with not many teams remaining to pick from. I am still confident that anyone that makes it all the way through Week 17 will be splitting the prize with other competitors. The guy that runs my pool said that he can’t remember a season where quite so many people were alive this late in the year.

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There is a process I follow every week when making my Survivor Pool picks, and I feel this has helped me win my pools in the past and it has me in the running again this year. The first thing I do is look at the opening betting lines for the NFL for that week. It’s at this point I use the process of elimination to remove teams I will not consider for the week. Once I have a group of teams I then do further research on those matchups in order to formulate my weekly picks.

I had someone ask me last week via Twitter about the Jets/49ers matchup and why I didn’t cover it on the report. I normally cover games where I would consider one team or the other, and that wasn’t the case with that matchup. I normally also cover games with spreads of 3.5 or higher here unless I am interested in a closer matchup. You can always check out my Confidence Pool picks later in the week to see how I have the games ranked or ask a question on Twitter (@sppicks or @jeremydocsports).

NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 15 Opening Line Report

Seattle -15 vs. Los Angeles (Thursday): I have already used Seattle so don’t have to worry about this one. I do like the Rams plus the points here, however. They fired Coach Jeff Fisher this week after getting blown out of the water against the Falcons last week. But this team always plays well against the Seahawks and has won three straight in the series. Maybe the players tuned Fisher out and maybe they will perform better without him. And the Seahawks looked horrible last week in their loss to Green Bay; QB Russell Wilson is officially in a slump after his lousy performance in that game.

Dallas -7 vs. Tampa Bay: Another team I have used and another underdog I am looking hard at for a wager. The Bucs are playing really well right now having won five straight, and now all the sudden there’s a QB controversy in Dallas as Dak Prescott has looked like the rookie he is the last couple weeks. That’s not the best thing in the stretch run of the season. Even if I had the Cowboys available I would not pick them this week. This game was flexed to Sunday night.

New York Giants -4.5 vs. Detroit: Here is one of the favorites that I haven’t used and one I will be considering for the week, although I am lukewarm at best on the Giants here in this situation. Matthew Stafford suffered a hand injury vs. the Bears last weekend but is probable for this week. Monitor his status if you are considering taking New York. If he somehow gets downgraded during the week then New York becomes a stronger possibility. But overall I think this team is too inconsistent and the Lions are a good ballclub that has won five straight as well.

Baltimore -6 vs. Philadelphia: So far this is probably my top play for the teams I have available. The Eagles have lost six of seven, and all the promise they showed at the beginning of the season has vanished. Baltimore is coming off a loss, but that was a hard-fought game in New England and they have no reason to be ashamed of that. With that loss it becomes all the more important to get back on the winning track here with the playoffs approaching quickly, and the Eagles stink on the road at 1-6 this season.

Green Bay -6.5 at Chicago: I have been on the Packers bandwagon the last couple weeks and have earned some nice betting profit as a result. I have used them in my Survivor Pool as have all the other players in my pool. But if for some reason you haven’t yet then I think they are a more than solid pick this week as I love the way they have been playing and think it will continue against their most hated rival.

Minnesota -4 vs. Indianapolis: The Vikings stink on offense, and this is a team I will avoid for or against down the stretch. I think any game with them against any sort of decent competition is a coin flip, and I can’t trust this team at all. And the Colts are another inconsistent club. Avoid this matchup unless you see something here that I don’t.

Buffalo -10 vs. Cleveland: I have used the Bills already but would not take them even if I hadn’t. I have said all along that I think the Browns will win a game this season. They haven’t come close recently, but as every week brings them closer to 0-16 I think we will see some inspired efforts and their opponents could be susceptible to an upset if they are out of playoff contention. Plus the Bills stink, and I wouldn’t want to risk my Survivor Pool on a team that has played with a lack of heart the last couple weeks.

Kansas City -5.5 vs. Tennessee: The Titans are a real nice story this season and this will be a team to watch the next couple years. The Chiefs, however, need to keep winning in order to get a first-round bye, and they are the much better team here. If you still have Kansas City available to you then they are a very good pick this week.

Atlanta -14 vs. San Francisco: The Niners are probably a better fade team, in my opinion, than the Browns at this point. They already have their win on the season so they really have nothing to play for. They are probably a worse team than the Browns right now as well. If you still have the Falcons available in your pool then you will have a no-stress week as this one looks like a blowout.

Oakland -3 at San Diego: While I don’t normally cover teams at less than -3 in this weekly article, I did want to mention Oakland here since I still have them available for my picks and some others might as well. I’m actually seriously considering using them this week, although right now I like Baltimore a bit more. When you are down to this point of the season in Survivor Pools sometimes you just have to go with the best team you have left in your arsenal even if they are playing a division opponent and on the road like they are here. But I think this team has to win this one to keep pace with Kansas City in the AFC West and have an outside chance for home field in the postseason if the Chiefs slip up. And the Chargers are pretty banged up for this game.

Washington -5 vs. Carolina: This team is available this week, but I like the Raiders and Ravens better so will probably throw Washington out this week. Carolina seems like a team that has given up on the season, but they probably have better overall talent than the Skins and they looked decent last week in their win over San Diego so maybe they haven’t given up on competing just yet!