Taking a look at the best Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool Picks, including the Minnesota Vikings.
We’re down to the final few weeks of the season, and we have a few good teams left to use in our survival pool! If you are unaware of what NFL Survivor picks are, the basic concept is you make NFL picks throughout the season, but you can only pick a team once. Once you lose, you’re knocked out, so choose your Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool picks wisely.
If you are new to reading my survivor articles, what I do is outline my “lock of the week,” my “value of the week,” and my “high-risk, high-reward pick of the week.”
The “lock” details what team I think has the best chance of winning their matchup. This will most likely be a good team that plays a bad team.
Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Lock of the Week | Best Pick for NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 18
Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers
The Minnesota Vikings enter Week 18 as eight-point favorites. Much of that big point spread comes because the Green Bay Packers are not playing any of their big-time players. In fact, Green Bay recently announced that third-string quarterback Clayton Tune will be starting under center this week. Given what we saw from Tune last week against the Ravens, it is hard to imagine that Green Bay will pose a threat passing the ball in this game. With Green Bay going with Tune, that probably means that Josh Jacobs, Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs are not playing many snaps, and the same with the offensive line.
Going against Clayton Tune, I would imagine that Brian Flores is licking his chops to call his psycho-pressure-filled defense. Minnesota will send a lot of pressure in this game, meaning that Tune is going to put the ball up for grabs. On top of that, Minnesota should be able to handle Green Bay’s rushing attack, as injuries and inconsistent play on the Packers’ offensive line have severely limited the team in recent weeks. With Aaron Jones in the midst of a revenge game and Kevin O’Connell having an opportunity to end a tough season with a win over Matt LaFleur, this is a very winnable game for Minnesota.
Lock of the Week: Minnesota Vikings
Value Pick of the Week | Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns
The Cincinnati Bengals enter Week 18 in their matchup against the Cleveland Browns as 7.5-point favorites. While it is somewhat of a season to forget for the Bengals, Joe Burrow has looked more like the Joe Burrow that we know over the past couple of weeks. The Bengals offense has scored 45 and 37 points in back-to-back weeks, with Burrow passing for six combined touchdowns in those games. Chase Brown and the run game have also hit their stride as of late, with the running back scoring three times on the ground in the past two games.
As for the Browns, they did pick up a win over the Steelers last week, but that game felt more like what the Steelers were unable to do, as opposed to what the Browns were able to do. Excluding the Steelers game, the Browns have given up 26, 31, 31 and 23 points in the four games prior. The Browns have been bad on the road this season, and I expect that to continue, as the pass defense is lacking when it comes to taking on Burrow on the Bengals’ high-octane passing offense.
Value Pick of the Week: Cincinnati Bengals
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High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week | Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Kansas City Chiefs vs Las Vegas Raiders
This is kind of a tough week to choose a team to win for the high-risk, high-reward section, as there are not many games that qualify for this. With that being said, I will take a shot on the Kansas City Chiefs in this spot. They enter Week 18 as 5.5-point favorites. It is a little hard to believe that the Chiefs have that big of a spread without their two top quarterbacks available. Even though this is the case, a loss this week locks up the number one draft pick for the Raiders, who need a new franchise quarterback. On top of that, Kansas City will be able to run the ball against a Raiders front that won’t feature Maxx Crosby in this game.
When looking at the Raiders’ offense, there is nothing that really scares you. Sure, Ashton Jeanty has looked the part of the franchise running back lately, but given that the Raiders still have the worst offensive line in the NFL, I am not betting on Jeanty to be the reason why the Raiders win this game. With no Brock Bowers, Las Vegas’ offense does not feature a strong passing attack, so that begs the question of how they are actually going to move the ball in this game. With this possibly being Travis Kelce’s last game, look for the Hall of Fame tight end to be involved and the Chiefs to come away with a victory.
High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week: Kansas City Chiefs
