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 7 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.
This has not been my year…I have now lost three of my locks of the week putting me at 4-3 on locks. In fact, I went 1-2 last week with both the Panthers and the 49ers losing their matchups. With that being said, we now have a little bit more of an idea of how teams will look in the future of this season.
Teams Used for “Lock of the Week”
- San Francisco 49ers
- Green Bay Packers
- Arizona Cardinals
- New Orleans Saints
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Carolina Panthers
Week 8 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Lock of the Week | Week 8 Survivor Pool Picks
Los Angeles Rams vs. Houston Texans
The Los Angeles Rams look like one of, if not the best team in football. Matthew Stafford looks like a frontrunner for the NFL MVP and Cooper Kupp looks like one of the best receivers in the NFL. This offense is averaging almost 30 points per game, with the defense only giving up about 20 points per game. This week, they have a matchup with the Houston Texans, which comes on the back of a close victory over the Detroit Lions. That game against the Lions was a little bit of a fluke, as the Lions executed a fake punt and an onside kick very early in the game. Do the Texans have the capability? Probably. Will they use this? Maybe. But David Culley seems to have a propensity to punt the ball often.
Whoever starts at quarterback this week, between Davis Mills and Tyrod Taylor, should not play a factor into the Texans winning. Don’t think too hard this week and take the Rams over the Texans. As there should be a minimal amount of people left in your pool, you will survive to see another day.
NFL Survivor Pool Pick: Los Angeles Rams
Value Pick of the Week | Week 8 Survivor Pool Picks
New York Giants vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The New York Giants have become my nemesis in my lock of the week picks. They have beat my lock twice. Is that why I put the team playing them in my value pick of the week? You betcha. Also, the Kansas City Chiefs are moving out of my virtual lock category. There is obviously something wrong there. The Chiefs only scored three points against one of the worst passing defenses in the league. This is a great get-right week for them. Patrick Mahomes has struggled against defensive schemes that haven’t blitzed him this year. Teams are able to sit back in zone and let their coverage do the work. The Giants are without Jabrill Peppers the rest of the year, so you have to imagine that the Chiefs will throw over the top on more than one occasion.
The over/under on this game is 52. This seems like one of the easiest bets of the year, as both teams have bad defenses. Daniel Jones is also capable to put up some points. Will the Giants keep up with the Chiefs on offense? Probably not. If you haven’t taken the Chiefs yet, this might be the spot to do so.
NFL Value Pick: Kansas City Chiefs
High Risk, High Reward | Week 8 Survivor Pool Picks
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are broken. Obviously, injuries play a big factor in their demise this year, but is there something underlying? It has become fairly obvious that the Seahawks go as far as Russell Wilson takes them. Is Pete Carroll on the hot seat? Trevor Lawrence continues to develop as the franchise leader of the Jaguars. It is more than possible that he has a very tough time playing in Seattle. This is a very early “can he do it” game. Dan Arnold, Marvin Jones and Laviska Shenault should be very involved in this week’s game plan. I understand that the circumstances surrounding the Jaguars will be tough to overcome, but this is a legacy game for Urban Meyer.
My thoughts are that Seattle’s offense is not great and their defense is not great. Lets get freaky here and take the Jaguars because one fluke play could decide this game. With Urban Meyer on the Jags sideline, you have to imagine that he will be at the helm of that fluke play.