Taking a look at the best Week 5 NFL Survivor Pool Picks, including the Los Angeles Rams.
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 5 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.
Teams Used for Lock of the Week:
- Cincinnati Bengals
- San Francisco 49ers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Detroit Lions
Week 5 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Lock of the Week | Best Pick for NFL Survivor Pool Picks Week 5
Los Angeles Rams vs San Francisco 49ers
For the “lock of the week” in Week 5, I am going with the first game of the weekend. The Los Angeles Rams open the week as 8.5-point favorites over the San Francisco 49ers. While the Rams are one of the better teams in not only the NFC, but the NFL as a whole, that number seems to be high due to unfortunate circumstances revolving around the 49ers. San Francisco will be without Brock Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall and Nick Bosa this week. Without six of their starters, it is hard for me to believe that Christian McCaffrey is good enough to put a backup roster on his back to beat a really good Rams team.
As for the Rams, Puka Nacua is playing like the best wide receiver in the NFL. With his play, San Francisco has to put greater emphasis on stopping him, which means that Davante Adams gets second-tier coverage. We have seen what happens when Adams has sub-par coverage on him, with him scoring three touchdowns this year. Without Bosa, Matt Stafford should have the time to sit in the pocket and work through all of his reads. The Rams just have too much firepower for San Francisco to have a realistic shot at winning this game.
Lock of the Week: Los Angeles Rams
Value Pick of the Week | Week 5 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Arizona Cardinals vs Tennessee Titans
I want to preface this by saying that I considered the Cardinals to be my “lock of the week.” While I think they win this game, I am not as confident as the Rams winning, hence why the Cardinals sit as my value play. Arizona is a 7.5-point favorite over the Titans, which makes sense. The Cardinals are not the best team in the NFL by any means, but the matchup is too good to pass up. As Cam Ward elegantly stated, the Titans are “ass.” While he has looked good at times, it is fairly obvious that Ward is not ready to be the guy in Tennessee. That gives us a great opportunity to take advantage of this week.
For the Cardinals, even without James Conner and Trey Benson, I think there are opportunities for this run game to get going. Kyler Murray will be able to get free a couple of times in this game, which sets up rushing lanes for Emari Demercado and Michael Carter. On top of that, the receiving weapons are just too strong for the Titans. Marvin Harrison Jr. showed flashes of what made him an early-drafted receiver, scoring a beautiful touchdown against a strong Seattle defense last week. With Murray running in this game, Trey McBride will be able to eat in the middle of the field, where he is as good a receiver with the ball in his hands. Similar to the 49ers, the Cardinals are just the better team in this matchup.
Value Pick of the Week: Arizona Cardinals
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High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week | Week 5 NFL Survivor Pool Picks
Carolina Panthers vs Miami Dolphins
I am not advising you to take the Carolina Panthers in this game, but if there is a high-risk, high-reward-esque team to win this week, I think it is the Panthers. Even though the Dolphins beat the Jets on Monday Night Football last week, they are now entering Week 5 without Tyreek Hill, after his leg shifted 90 degrees. That leaves a major hole in this Dolphins offense. While I like Malik Washington, he is no Hill, and the receiving corps is hard to trust, as Jaylen Waddle continues to be inconsistent. Carolina will be able to key in on De’Von Achane, leaving Miami one-dimensional. With that being the case, being able to make Tua Tagovailoa uncomfortable without those easy dump-off plays to Hill will have a major impact in this game.
As for the Panthers, it looks like both Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker will play this week. That will be an instant shot into this poor Panthers’ passing attack. I also believe Chuba Hubbard will be able to get back on track. Overall, Miami’s defense might be the worst in the NFL. I understand not believing in the Panthers, but when you take a step back and think about it, they are just one week removed from shutting out the Falcons.
High Risk, High Reward Pick of the Week: Carolina Panthers
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