Football survivor pool strategy/picks, Week 8: When it gets a little more difficult

The 2016 football season is upon us, and that means all sorts of options for exercising our skill as football prognosticators. People will take part in fantasy football and pick ‘em contests, but Survivor pools are growing in popularity. For those new to the contest, a Survivor pool involves picking one team each week that you think will win. If your team wins in Week 1, you can make a pick in Week 2. If your team wins in Week 2, you can make a pick in Week 3, and so on. The catch is that you cannot pick a team twice. You could use a heavy favorite in Week 1, but that precludes you from using them later in the season.

There is plenty of strategy in determining which team you will take each week, and SB Nation is here to help. We have experts providing rankings for each week, and then some thoughts on weekly strategy. First up, we have a consensus ranking of all 32 teams, and which is most likely to win this week. That is followed by each writer making a pick, some reasoning for the pick, and then some alternatives to consider.

Editors note: Broncos running back C.J. Anderson had knee surgery on Thursday and will be placed on injured reserve. He might return, but he’ll be gone for this weekend’s home matchup with the San Diego Chargers. Devontae Booker will start in his place. Adjust accordingly if you are considering the Broncos this weekend.

We’re essentially at the halfway point of the NFL season and things are starting to get sticky in Survivor pools. This is one of those unfortunate weeks where there really isn’t that standout home team to pick on. The Denver Broncos are probably the best-positioned home team, but they just lost to the suddenly surging Chargers two weeks ago and likely won’t have C.J. Anderson available. The next best would be the Cowboys, who should be safe at home against the Eagles. But now we’re talking a division game, which is always fraught with danger. And the Eagles just knocked off previously unbeaten Minnesota, albeit at home.

Those same Vikings take on the lowly Bears in Chicago and they are massive favorites, but do you trust them in a road division game coming off a bad loss? Then there’s the Jets. Cleveland is making a bid for an 0-16 season and could be relying on Kevin Hogan at quarterback. But do you trust the Jets on the road, with Ryan Fitzpatrick back at quarterback?

I would probably roll with Dallas at home and bank on the Eagles to disappoint on the road like they did two weeks ago at Detroit.

My pick this week is New England. The Patriots come in on a major roll and will be looking to crush Buffalo on the road. They may have lost the first meeting of the season but were missing their leader in Tom Brady. Buffalo is hurting at running back and needs to be at the top of their game to be able to take down New England. I think New England will beat them up on both sides of the ball. My secondary picks are Denver and Dallas. Denver lost to San Diego a couple weeks ago but plays much stronger at home. Dallas will be fresh off their bye and plays at home. Philadelphia will put up a fight but Dallas will overwhelm them on offense.

Add the Minnesota Vikings to the list of teams that most likely caused your early exit from survivor football. If I were still in the mix, Seattle would be my play this week. It’s a tough week with so many teams on bye and I’ve already used the other teams with good matchups. If Seattle’s road game against the Saints isn’t your style, may I suggest Dallas going against their division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles? I know picking against Philly didn’t work last week, but no chance they burn me twice ... right?

I am rolling with the Patriots’ well-oiled machine for Week 8. Why make your decision hard? We have a classic Bill Belichick revenge game here. New England got shut out by Buffalo, 16-0, right before Tom Brady returned from suspension and the Bills did not look good doing it. After looking sloppy against the Big Ben-less Steelers last week, I expect the Patriots to come out extra sharp against a Bills team that just let Jay Ajayi run for 200 yards in a loss to Miami. Look for the Patriots to be 7-1 heading into their bye week.