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.”
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
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Los Angeles Rams
- Denver Broncos
- Indianapolis Colts
Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Lock of the Week | Best Pick for NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 18
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns
Since the Cleveland Browns have already locked up a playoff spot and have no chance of winning the AFC North, they are not playing for anything this week. Believe it or not, the Bengals do have something to play for, even though they have been knocked out of the playoffs. If the Bengals beat the Browns this week, the 2023 AFC North becomes the first division with every team to finish over .500 for the first time in 88 years. While that is probably not a great reason for them to win this game, it would be pretty cool if that happened.
Other than that though, it is expected that the Browns are going to sit a platoon of players, given their injuries this season, as well as the injuries that they have suffered all season. If Joe Flacco, Amari Cooper, Jerome Ford, Kareem Hunt, Grant Delpit and Myles Garrett all sit this week, it is hard to imagine that the Browns find production from anywhere. Given the poor season that the Bengals have had, I would imagine they play somewhat inspired football this week to end their season on a positive note.
Lock of the Week: Cincinnati Bengals
Value Pick of the Week | Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders
This is a little bit of a cop-out pick for the value pick. If you are still alive in your NFL survivor pool, I would imagine that you have already picked the Dallas Cowboys. If you haven’t picked the Cowboys though, it should absolutely be your pick here. The Cowboys are still alive for the division lead in the NFC East. They currently have the tiebreaker over the Eagles, so a win this week seals it for them. I would imagine that Dallas goes all out in this game and dismantles a bad Washington Commanders team.
The Commanders have been horrible against the pass this season, so I think you can lock in CeeDee Lamb for another huge performance. This has certainly been a season to forget for Washington and I think it will continue to get worse. There is no reason for them to win this game, as a win only hurts their draft position and, as it stands, it seems like Ron Rivera’s job is already lost. Winning this game does absolutely nothing for the Commanders here. It is obvious, but the Cowboys are the better team and, with playoff implications on the line in a divisional game, it would shock me if Washington even comes within 10 points.
Value Pick of the Week: Dallas Cowboys
High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week | Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
New England Patriots vs. New York Jets
The Patriots come into the week as two-point favorites. I would imagine if you are still alive with NFL Survivor pool picks with a handful of other players, the most popular pick is going to be the Bengals this week. If you want to put your nuts on the table and go for a win outright instead of splitting a pot, the Patriots may be the pick this week. If you are a high-stakes gambling person, this is the pick, because I doubt anyone has any faith in New England this week. If this is indeed Bill Belichick’s last season coaching the New England Patriots, it would be really hard for me to imagine that his last game ends in a loss, especially to the New York Jets.
Even though the Patriots have struggled with their passing game all season, they have found a little bit of steam in their running game as of late. Ezekiel Elliott has been solid and with how good the Jets defense has been this season, they have struggled against the run. The Jets currently have given up the ninth-most rushing yards this season, at 2,020. It just makes too much sense in my mind that Elliott has his best game of the season in a game that means absolutely nothing for fantasy football, playoffs, or anything in general. Belichick is just too much of a legend to go out sad against a team like the New York Jets.
I totally understand if you don’t want to make this pick with a NFL Survivor pool championship on the line, but if you do make this pick and win the championship, you will not have to split the pot with anyone and you can brag for the rest of your life that you won your survivor pool by picking the Patriots, who are currently slotted in as 3rd pick for the upcoming NFL Draft.
High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week: New England Patriots
