NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 2

by Chris Vasile - 9/16/2020

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger

If you read this piece last week and decided it would be a good idea to use my advice for your survivor pools, my apologies. I didn’t anticipate Gardner Minshew turning into Joe Montana and torching a good Indianapolis defense, or the Eagles forgetting how to play football after going up 17-0 against a piss-poor Washington team. Those two games cost a lot of people their entry fee into Survivor pools across the globe. If you are in a re-entry pool, we got you covered this week. If not, hopefully you can use this insight and put it to use in other betting ventures for Week 2 of the National Football League.

For those of you who are reading this and are unsure what a survivor pool is, or are new to the survivor pool world, give this piece a quick read as it’ll break down what it is and offer up a few strategies on how to navigate the season.

Here are my survivor plays ranked from strongest to weakest for Week 2 of the National Football League Season. The team I list first is my selection.

Pittsburgh Steelers over Denver Broncos: In reality, both teams are not as good or as bad as they looked on Monday, but there is something to be said about the Pittsburgh defense that completely shut down the Giants attack. Not sure Drew Lock is the guy you want trying to put up points against the Steelers. And while James Conner is banged up (already), Benny Snell Jr. filled in admirably. Steelers should win their home opener to improve to 2-0.

Buffalo Bills over Miami Dolphins: The Bills took advantage of a bad Jets team, and they should be able to do the same against a bad Dolphins team. The Bills defense held the Jets to just 254 yards, while the Dolphins managed 269 against the Patriots. I expect a similar defensive result from the Bills, and I expect Josh Allen to have himself another solid outing.

Baltimore Ravens over Houston Texans: The Ravens did not miss a beat in their Week 1 thrashing of Cleveland, and we just don’t see a scenario where the Texans can stop the Ravens or keep up with them on offense if they have to. Houston is staring directly at 0-2, and Bill O’Brien could be looking at the unemployment line soon enough.

Green Bay Packers over Detroit Lions: If you’ve read any of the NFL articles I wrote prior to the season getting underway, I mentioned several times that I believe Aaron Rodgers has what it takes to be the MVP this year in one last effort to stick it to management for drafting Jordan Love. Rodgers torched a Minnesota defense that is 10x better than the Lions unit. Expect a similar result on Sunday as the Packers go to 2-0 on the season.

San Francisco 49ers over New York Jets: The Jets are going to be near the bottom of the standings this season, and we believe the Niners are going to be pissed off following a disappointing effort in Week 1 vs the Cardinals. The Niners should steamroll this Jets team and keep them to under 17 points.

Kansas City Chiefs over Los Angeles Chargers: This game would be a lot higher on the list if the Chiefs were at home. They are on the road for this one, but we expect them to still take care of business. The Chargers should have lost to the Bengals if not for a missed field goal try with no time left on the clock.

Los Angeles Rams over Philadelphia Eagles: The Rams looked half decent against the Cowboys and snuck away with a win. The Eagles are once again in mid-season form in terms of the injury report and simply forgot how to play football in the second half. I’ll take the better coached and more disciplined team to grab the win in this matchup.

New Orleans Saints over Las Vegas Raiders: The Saints picked up right where they left off in Week 1, scoring 34 points against a bad Bucs defense. They should have no problem going up and down the field against the Raiders, who gave up nearly 400 yards and 30 points to a bad Panthers squad. The Saints will grab this win and move to 2-0 on the season.

Seattle Seahawks over New England Patriots: The Patriots took advantage of a terrible Dolphins team but barely scored 21 points. We are still not sure how good this team can be. And with the Seahawks coming to town, we are about to find out. Russell Wilson tore up the Falcons defense, and he should be able to move the ball up and down the field once again this week. We’ll take the Seahawks in this matchup, but there are much better games to choose from.

Arizona Cardinals over Washington: Not sure what the Cardinals are doing laying seven-points to anyone, but clearly Vegas thinks Washington is a joke and that their win against the Eagles was a fluke. The Cardinals had a great game, and we believe they’ll get the win in this game. However, there could be better spots down the road to take the Cardinals (like against the Jets or Dolphins in Week 5 or 9).

Minnesota Vikings over Indianapolis Colts: After both teams stunk up the joint last week and fell to 0-1, and your guess is as good as mine as to which team bounces back. We’ll try the Vikings in this spot as they look like a team that can score points in bunches. Philip Rivers showed Colts’ fans what he’s all about, and that’s turnover and dumb choices.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Carolina Panthers: The Bucs had an OK showing in Tom Brady’s debut against the Saints but ended up on the losing end. The Panthers fared well against the Raiders but also lost. Which team can bounce-back and grab the win? I think the experience of Bruce Arians and Tom Brady will win out and the Bucs will get to 1-1 on the season.

Tennessee Titans over Jacksonville Jaguars: The Titans are on the short week, while the Jaguars are in the midst of Minshew Mania 2.0. Neither team had any business winning last week, but both pulled off the win. Your guess is as good as mine, but I’ll take the better defense (Titans) over the Jaguars.

New York Giants over Chicago Bears: I like the Giants offense more so than the Bears offense, and that’s what we’ll go with for this game. No chance Saquon Barkley has as bad as a game he had against the Steelers in this one. But in reality, there are much better options on the board.

Atlanta Falcons over Dallas Cowboys: The Falcons got lit up against the Seahawks, but we believe they’ll do enough to beat the Cowboys in this one. The Cowboys are still being coached by Jason Garrett (so it seems) and made some dumb ball management decisions in Week 1. Two dumb coaches, but we’ll take the dirty birds in this one.

Cincinnati Bengals over Cleveland Browns: And lastly, who cares? Nobody is taking either of these two teams in the survivor pool. I said the Bengals were worth a shot in Week 1 and should have won that game. They have every chance to beat the Browns, but nobody outside of Ohio will be watching this game.

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NFL Survivor Pool Picks and Advice: Week 2

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