NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 9: Opening Line Report

Once again, the most popular teams took care of business in Week 8. Unless we see some crazy upsets down the line, there will be a lot of people splitting NFL Survivor Pool prize pots at the end of Week 17. In past seasons some pools have been over by this point in the season. Here, as we do weekly, we will look at the Opening Lines for NFL Week 9 to try and find the best Survivor Pool picks for the week.

San Francisco -10 at Arizona: As I stated last week, I normally stay away from Thursday night games for Survivor Pool picks. The short week and lack of normal preparation can even the talent disparity between teams. Plus, I hate taking road squads. But I’m pretty sure I will be going with the Niners this week. This season isn’t like a normal season for Survivor Pools as there are some clear haves and have nots in the NFL. The Cardinals are a team on their way up but not quite there yet, and the Niners are playing with as much confidence as anyone in the NFL right now. The Cardinals have had the Niners number in recent years, winning eight straight in this series. But this is a different Niners team, and they will play extra hard because of that lopsided recent series result.

Buffalo -9.5 vs. Washington: This will be the other popular NFL Survivor Pool pick for Week 9. But I don’t like the Bills nearly as much as I like the Niners this week. Washington has played very impressive defense the last couple weeks. They have been competitive in both games, against San Francisco and Minnesota, two teams I feel are far superior to the Bills. Buffalo has no business being a double-digit favorite over anyone in the league, and I think this is an inflated spread.

Dallas -7.5 at NY Giants: The quality of options for Week 9 Survivor Pool picks drops off quite a bit on the spread from the Buffalo game to this one. This is the same Dallas team that bounced many players from their pool a few weeks ago in their loss to the Jets. This is a division rivalry, and the Boys are on the road. It’s also a Monday Night Football game, which I try to avoid because there can always be major last-minute injuries. Not interested in this matchup.

Seattle -6 vs. Tampa Bay: Every week I feel like the Bucs will play better, but it just hasn’t happened. They actually deserved the win last week at Tennessee, but the refs made a major blunder towards the end of the game and they were pretty much robbed. I think this team is well-coached, and I think the Hawks could be on upset alert this week. But as I stated, my opinion has been off on this Tampa Bay team!

Philadelphia -5 vs. Chicago: Two disappointing teams. It’s too early in the season to call a game a “must win,” but the loser of this one is going to face a very tough road to the postseason. I think the Eagles are the better overall team and definitely have the superior QB. Of all the lower-level favorites, I think the Eagles have the best chance to win.

Carolina -4 vs. Tennessee: Any game involving Tennessee scares me from a Survivor Pool perspective. Just can’t get a read on this club. The Panthers were rolling with Kyle Allen at QB (how come he never played like that when I had a Heisman Trophy futures bet on him when he was the Texas A&M QB?). But they got rocked badly last week vs. San Francisco as a popular upset pick. I would think the Panthers would be a safe pick here. But you never know with the Titans.

Green Bay -3.5 at LA Chargers: The Chargers are another team that scares me. Any given week they can put it together. But they have just been so inconsistent and one of the biggest disappointments of the NFL season. The crowd in Carson, Calif., will definitely be mostly Packers fans, so no real home-field advantage for LA.  I also think the Packers could overlook this game after their battle against the Chiefs on Sunday night.

New England -3.5 at Baltimore: The Pats have looked like the most complete team in the league this season. They have a back-loaded schedule, however, and things get tougher from here on out. The Ravens normally always put up a fight in this matchup. Most have used the Pats already, but for those that still have New England at their disposal, I would not use them this week.

New York Jets -3 at Miami: Absolutely gut-bustlingly funny that there is a team bad enough for the Jets to be laying three points against them on the road. Those that are blindly fading the Dolphins every week have to plug their noses for this one and move forward with the strategy, which will probably work yet again.

Cleveland -3 at Denver: This one is basically a coin flip. The Browns have a much better team on paper, but Denver has a better organization and more heart.

Oakland -2 vs. Detroit: The Raiders have had a very tough schedule recently. They are playing well above expectations and are in the AFC West division race with the Chiefs flailing. There’s a good chance they will play well enough to win back at home after two tough road games. But these teams are pretty even from a talent perspective.

Houston -2 at Jacksonville (London): I hate playing international games more than Thursday games and have never used one for a Survivor Pool. And I probably never will.

Pittsburgh -1 vs. Indianapolis: The wrong team is favored here! I like the Colts to take care of business on the road on Sunday.

Minnesota at Kansas City (Off): This one is off the board at most sportsbooks. I am seeing that FanDuel has the Vikings -2.5. If Chiefs QB Pat Mahomes is cleared to start, then the Chiefs will probably swing to around a -5 favorite. They could be a decent pick with the MVP back under center and coming off a loss.