Week 1 NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Official Selections from Three Former Winners

Welcome back for the 2018-19 pro football season and another season of NFL Survivor Pool action. The first few weeks of the NFL season are normally incredibly tough for NFL Survivor Pool players as there is much change among teams in the NFL during the offseason. Every year about half the teams that made the postseason the previous year will not be back for a return visit. Many players judge the early-season matchups based on the strengths and weaknesses of teams from last season. That is a big mistake. It pays to do your homework in the offseason in order to have the most knowledge heading into the new year.

Here in this space every Wednesday or Thursday we will provide our expert picks for weekly Survivor Pools in order to help those looking for advice. Personally, I love reading all the Survivor Pool blogs out there. Many are passionate about these pools, like we are, and there is some good info (and some bad as well) to be found. In the end, however, I always trust my own judgement the most and use the information I read only as research. I always suggest doing your own homework in your weekly pursuit of a winning NFL Survivor Pool pick.

We all play multiple Survivor Pool cards every week. All three of us have won in the past. The last couple years we have been knocked out early, but we plan to go a long way this season. Once a card has been knocked out, that will be indicated with an “X” and we will no longer provide picks for that card.

Jeremy Martin

Card 1: Baltimore

Card 2: Baltimore

Card 3: Baltimore

Card 4: New Orleans

Analysis: The two picks I like this week are Baltimore and New Orleans. The Saints will definitely have the most backers in many Survivor Pools this week. But even though I think the Saints are the better team than the Ravens, I do think that the Buccaneers are a stronger opponent than the Bills. Jameis Winston is out for the Bucs, but his backup, Ryan Fitzpatrick, is good enough to keep his team competitive. And this team does have some very nice talent on both side of the ball. Buffalo, on the other hand, lost a lot in the offseason, and they have major QB issues right now. This team is one of the best candidates to have the worst record in the NFL this season, and Baltimore should be hungry in their home opener after just missing the postseason last year.

Kyle McCarthy

Card 1: Los Angeles Rams

Card 2: Cincinnati

Card 3: New Orleans

Card 4: Baltimore

Analysis: If you followed SurviorPoolPicks.com you already know that we feel Week 1 can be a very tricky week as we have limited information from the preseason with which to base our opinions. This year is a little different as we believe there are clear bottom-level teams to take advantage of. Our first pick is the Los Angeles Rams, who take on an Oakland Raiders. The Rams will simply be too much offensively and defensively for the Oakland Raiders. The Bengals match up well with the Colts, and we expect them to take advantage of a weak Colts secondary with some big plays. Andrew Luck returns for the Colts, but he will be a little rusty after a long injury lay off. The Saints start their Super Bowl run with an easy victory over a Bucs team with QB Winston and a lame-duck coach, Dirk Koetter. Our final pick is the Baltimore Ravens, who take on the limited Buffalo Bills and Nate Peterman at QB.

Geoff Jenkins

Card 1: Los Angeles Rams

Card 2: Cincinnati

Card 3: Green Bay

Card 4: Green Bay