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 13 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.”
The lock of the week details what team I think has the best chance of winning their matchup. This would most likely be a good team that plays a bad team. The lock is also the official pick for NFL Survivor Pools, meaning we will not reuse a “lock.” My value pick of the week details a mid-tier team that has a good matchup. And finally, my high-risk, high-reward pick details a bad team that has a good matchup. It may be worth it to look at the NFL betting odds for these games and place some bets as well.
Teams Used:
- Baltimore Ravens
- Buffalo Bills
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Detroit Lions
- Miami Dolphins
- Seattle Seahawks
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Cleveland Browns
- Dallas Cowboys
- San Francisco 49ers
- Tennessee Titans
Week 13 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Lock of the Week | Best Pick for NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 13
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals
As the Pittsburgh Steelers currently sit at the five-seed in the AFC North, they have a chance to get one game back from reaching the Baltimore Ravens for the lead in the North. The Steelers looked awesome last week after canning Matt Canada, and I would imagine that work on offense continues. It seemed like there was an emphasis on getting the run game going, as both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren looked great. With Harris finding the end zone, it seems likely that something has clicked back to what we saw out of him during his rookie season. Going against a Cardinals defense that has given up the second-most rushing yards this year (1,681), Pittsburgh certainly has the opportunity to work that run game again.
Once that run game gets going, Pat Freiermuth should be able to expose the middle of the field, like we saw Tyler Higbee and Matt Stafford do last week to the Cardinals. Once that middle is exposed, George Pickens and Diontae Johnson should be able to work the sidelines to the ability that we know they can. Obviously, that comes on the back of Kenny Pickett playing well, and based on what we saw last week, I think Pickett can somewhat succeed this week against a bad Cardinals defense.
Lock of the Week: Pittsburgh Steelers
Value Pick of the Week | Week 13 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints
The Detroit Lions are in desperate need of a statement win. After narrowly beating the Bears and then getting dominated by the Packers, the Lions need some kind of game to prove that they are a top dog in the NFC. I think that that is more than doable this week against a Saints team that seems like it just scrapping by at this point. While Jared Goff has been bad, I think a lot of that stems from the massive amount of pressure that Goff has seen in the pocket. I trust Dan Campbell to scheme up a way to keep his quarterback upright in this game. The Saints are going to be without Marshon Lattimore this week, so given that Goff has time to make his reads, I think that Amon-Ra St. Brown should have the ability to work underneath and crossing routes to open up running lanes and shot plays to Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta.
The Saints are also dealing with injuries to Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. The Saints need to pass against the Lions to be able to beat them and, with their top three pass catchers out of this game, I cannot imagine it will be very easy for NO.
Value Pick of the Week: Detroit Lions
High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week | Week 13 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Los Angeles Chargers vs. New England Patriots
I need people to understand that the Los Angeles Chargers are not a very good football team. Thankfully for them, they play a team that is miles worse — the New England Patriots. The Patriots are struggling on the offensive side of the ball and, while I don’t think the Chargers defense is great by any means, the Patriots have a horrible offensive line. Less we forget, Khalil Mack had six sacks in one game this season. Now, I am not saying that he is going to have six sacks in this game, but I think that he can wreak some havoc.
The Patriots quarterback is still up in the air, but I am expecting Bailey Zappe to start on Sunday, which I think bodes well for this Chargers defense. It also seems like the Patriots are out on Mac Jones, as Malik Cunningham was taking reps with the 1s in practice this week. Even still, I am not sure it matters who is playing QB for the Patriots, as I would imagine neither of these three quarterbacks would have the ability to lead the offense to points.
High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week: Los Angeles Chargers
