Taking a look at the best Week 1 NFL Survivor Pool Picks, including the Cincinnati Bengals.
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 1 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. The lock is also the official pick for NFL Survivor Pools, meaning we will not reuse a “lock.” My value pick 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.
Week 1 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Lock of the Week | Best Pick for NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 1
Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns
The Cincinnati Bengals come into the Week 1 divisional matchup with the Cleveland Browns as 5.5-point favorites. That number makes sense, as the Cincinnati Bengals have sort of emerged as one of the better average teams in the NFL, while it looks like the Cleveland Browns have sunk back down to the depths of the AFC. Given the frustration and lack of success since they went to the Super Bowl a few years back, it is imperative for the Bengals to get off to a hot start against their division rival.
I like this pick as my “lock of the week” for two reasons. The first being that this is the only game that we can guarantee that Joe Burrow will enter healthy. The Bengals still have a weakness at offensive line, but as we saw last season, Burrow can somewhat play around that. The one thing he can’t control with that is the injuries. Having a healthy Burrow is as good a quarterback as any in the NFL today. The other thing that I like about this NFL Survivor pick is that we are taking the Cincinnati Bengals at their ceiling in this game. The Bengals have a tough schedule, with only a few opportunities to be chosen, so give me their first matchup right out of the gate.
Lock of the Week: Cincinnati Bengals
Value Pick of the Week | Week 1 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints
The Arizona Cardinals enter their week one matchup as 6.5-point favorites over the New Orleans Saints. Again, this is a number that makes sense given the quality of the opponent in this game. Let’s call a spade a spade here and say that the New Orleans Saints are not one of the best teams in the NFL. In fact, they might be the worst. While that sucks for Saints fans, as someone who can use it to their advantage, I will.
This is the definition of a value pick game in my eyes. The Cardinals, by all accounts, are an average team. They are not expected to win the Super Bowl, and they are not expected to finish with the number one pick. But playing against the Saints, it really feels like the Cardinals don’t have to play their best brand of football to win this game. The Cardinals do feature a strong run game, so getting that going would be to their benefit, to help Kyler Murray continue to develop that passing game, along with Marvin Harrison and Trey McBride. Looking at the other side, there is nothing for the Saints that scares you as a Cardinals fan.
Value Pick of the Week: Arizona Cardinals
High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week | Week 1 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Carolina Panthers
The Jacksonville Jaguars come into this matchup with the Carolina Panthers as 3.5-point favorites. This is the first time in a while that the Jaguars feel like one of the better bets to win in a week. Now, of course, it is the Jaguars, so everything could come crashing down. To me, this is a statement game for the Jags. If they lose this game, throw the franchise away. Move them to London. Send Trevor Lawrence to Cleveland. Play Travis Hunter every single play.
My thought is that it looks like the Jaguars and Panthers have some similarities. It seems like the Jags are just a little bit further along in a rebuild than the Panthers. They each have their quarterback and defensive studs and are looking for a statement from not-as-experienced coaches. Just because the Jaguars are a little more along in the rebuild, give me them here for our risky Week 1 NFL Survivor pool picks.
High Risk, High Reward Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars
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