Welcome back for Week 8 of the 2017 NFL season! We get things started with a rather ugly Thursday Night Football matchup featuring the Baltimore Ravens hosting the Miami Dolphins. The week closes on Monday Night Football with a huge AFC West matchup between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs
Football survivor pool strategy/picks, Week 8: Continue betting against the Browns, 49ers
We are reaching the halfway point of the NFL season, with people dropping like flies in Survivor pools. If you’re still alive in your pool, we are here to provide some tips to stay that way in Week 8!
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The opening of Week 7 means it is time to look at some of the best options for NFL Survivor pools. You can potentially go with chalk and select the Philadelphia Eagles over the San Francisco 49ers, or the Minnesota Vikings over the Cleveland Browns. If you’ve still got the New Orleans Saints, their home game against the Chicago Bears is intriguing, but could be a trap given the surprising play of the Bears.
For those new to this kind of 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 very well use a heavy favorite in Week 1, but you won’t have access to that team later in the year if you’re alive in the closing weeks.
There is plenty of strategy in determining which team you will take each week, and SB Nation is here to help. We have two 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 are most likely to win this week. That is followed by each writer making a pick, some reasoning for the pick, and some alternatives to consider.
Survivor rankings, Week 8
Rank | Team | Opp. | JG | SK | DG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia | vs. SF | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Minnesota | vs. CLE | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Cincinnati | vs. IND | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | New Orleans | vs. CHI | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| 5 | New England | vs. LAC | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 6 | Seattle | vs. HOU | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | Buffalo | vs. OAK | 6 | 10 | 10 |
| 8 | Atlanta | @ NYJ | 17 | 8 | 5 |
| 9 | Pittsburgh | @ DET | 12 | 11 | 7 |
| 10 | Kansas City | vs. DEN | 13 | 6 | 12 |
| 11 | Carolina | @ TB | 8 | 14 | 11 |
| 12 | Dallas | @ WAS | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 13 | Baltimore | vs. MIA | 9 | 9 | 20 |
| 14 | Miami | @ BAL | 18 | 18 | 9 |
| 15 | Washington | vs. DAL | 16 | 15 | 14 |
| 16 | Detroit | vs. PIT | 15 | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | NY Jets | vs. ATL | 10 | 19 | 22 |
| 18 | Tampa Bay | vs. CAR | 19 | 13 | 19 |
| 19 | Denver | @ KC | 14 | 21 | 18 |
| 20 | Oakland | @ BUF | 21 | 17 | 17 |
| 21 | LA Chargers | @ NE | 23 | 22 | 15 |
| 22 | Houston | @ SEA | 20 | 20 | 21 |
| 23 | Chicago | @ NO | 22 | 23 | 25 |
| 24 | Indianapolis | @ CIN | 24 | 25 | 23 |
| 25 | Cleveland | vs. MIN | 26 | 24 | 24 |
| 26 | San Francisco | @ PHI | 25 | 26 | 26 |
Jeff Goldberg
Best picks: Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals
We all know what the top play is. The issue for those of us still surviving in survivor is deciding whether to eat the chalk and not gain much ground on the competition, or try to identify a contrarian selection — albeit a relatively safe one -- and hope for the mother of all upsets to thin the herd considerably. The mega-chalk, of course, is Minnesota against the winless Browns who just lost Joe Thomas and is trying again with DeShone Kizer at QB. I can’t really imagine a scenario here where the Vikings lose, but if you want to be different, the two places I would look to go are Philadelphia at home against the 49ers or Cincinnati at home against the Colts. Even in a potential let-down game, and now without Jason Peters, I can’t see a scenario where Carson Wentz doesn’t have another huge game and C.J. Beathard doesn’t get overwhelmed. I also have a hard time seeing the Colts win on the road in a game that means so much to the Bengals after a bad loss in Pittsburgh. Philly is the better play of the two.
Derek Gordon
Best picks: Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans
Picking on bad teams can work in Survivor, but it can also leave you in a pool of sweat as you watch the Tennessee Titans struggle to beat the Cleveland Browns in overtime.
In Week 8, I will turn my attention to a bad team on the road. The Philadelphia Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The Eagles are hot, the 49ers are not. The Niners could make it interesting in a shootout, but they don’t have the guns to overcome the Eagles.
The New Orleans Saints are another team I’m tempted to pick this week. The Saints have a home game against the Chicago Bears who aren’t a disaster, but their defense is much better at home and I think we’ll see the Saints go up big early.
Scott Kaliska
Best picks: Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings
Week 8 is a pretty easy pick with the Eagles having the best record facing a team that hasn’t won. Philadelphia will be playing at home and taking on a rookie making his second start. The Eagles are favored by almost two touchdowns but I’m not sure this game is going to be that close. My secondary picks are Cincinnati and Minnesota. The Bengals have underperformed this season but should take care of the Indianapolis Colts in Cincinnati. Indianapolis was just shut out at home last week. Minnesota is rolling and should easily beat the Cleveland Browns in London. The Vikings defense has been punishing teams and the Browns won’t have a chance.
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