Week 2 NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Official Selections from Three Former Winners

What a wild NFL Week 1 that was! It turned out to be one of the most brutal Week 1s for NFL Survivor Pool players that I can remember. New Orleans was the biggest favorite on the Week 1 betting board, and they were upset at home by Tampa Bay. The Steelers tied the Browns, and in most Survivor Pools a tie counts as a loss. And on Monday Night Football the Lions were destroyed by the Jets, knocking even more Survivor Pool players out of their pools. It could have been much worse as the Green Bay Packers needed a miracle comeback to beat the Bears on Sunday Night Football. Still, nearly half of my pool of 200+ was knocked out in Week 1, and from what I read on Twitter that seems to be the case in many pools.

Thankfully, I had most of my eggs in the Ravens’ basket, with three of my four cards on Baltimore. They had no problem beating up on a Buffalo team that looks like the No. 1 Survivor Pool fade candidate in 2018.

Every week in this spot we will provide free weekly NFL Survivor Pool picks from three former winners. We all play multiple cards in real life, and these are the same picks we submit in our own contests. We always recommend that you wait until close to your deadline to submit your picks each week as there is always some late-breaking news each week that could affect your chosen team.

Jeremy Martin

Card 1: Baltimore, LA Rams

Card 2: Baltimore, LA Rams

Card 3: Baltimore, LA Rams

Card 4: New Orleans, X

Analysis: in my Opening Line Report I toyed around with the idea of taking the Steelers for at least one card for my Week 2 NFL Survivor Pool picks. I am pretty strong behind Pittsburgh this week still, and have my biggest NFL bet of the week on them minus the points, but in the end I asked myself how I would feel getting knocked out by taking the Steelers as opposed to the Rams. If the Rams lost I wouldn’t feel that bad because I took my best shot with the matchup I thought had the best chance to win. If the Steelers lost, however, I would feel some regret since that is a riskier move as their opponent, the Chiefs, and a playoff-quality squad that looked great in Week 1. Pittsburgh has the Chiefs number and they are in store for a much better performance than they showed Week 1 at the Browns, but I decided the smartest move was to put forth the best play I could on all three of my cards. This wasn’t a week to diversify as I have serious questions about most of the most popular matchups on the board. But with the Rams there are only two main concerns: the fact that they are on a short week since they played on Monday Night Football and the fact that Arizona is a divisional opponent (rival). But the Rams should win this one pretty easily as the Cards are a mess and the Rams, barring major injuries, should have one of the best regular-season records in the NFL this season. Forget about “saving teams” for later in the season. That is a strategy for losing Survivor Pool players. Pick the best team that week from the matchup that gives you the best chance to advance to the next week.

Kyle McCarthy

Card 1: Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers

Card 2: Cincinnati, Los Angeles Rams

Card 3: New Orleans X

Card 4: Baltimore, San Francisco

Analysis: The Los Angeles Chargers & San Francisco 49ers could have been in a much different games if they did not have key drops and turnovers that led to touchdowns. This week they both get much easier matchups against teams with very weak defenses. The Los Angeles Rams had a quite first half against the Oakland Raiders but came out in the second half and dominated. The Rams should have no trouble vs. a transitioning Arizona Cardinals team.

Geoff Jenkins

Card 1: Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers

Card 2: Cincinnati, San Francisco

Card 3: Green Bay, Los Angeles Rams

Card 4: Green Bay, Los Angeles Rams