The NFL is headed into Week 14, and we are into the final quarter of the season. The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons kick things off on Thursday Night Football. The week wraps up with the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins facing off on Monday Night Football.
Football survivor pool strategy/picks, Week 14: Patriots if you got ‘em
We’re coming down the home stretch of NFL survivor pools. If you’re still alive in your pool, we are here to provide some tips to stay that way in Week 14!
Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
The opening of Week 14 means it is time to look at some of the best options for NFL survivor pools. If you managed to not use the New England Patriots yet, this might be the week to pull the trigger. If you are sticking with a Cleveland Browns strategy, the Green Bay Packers would be your pick.
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 14
Rank | Team | Opp. | JG | SK | DG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New England | @ MIA | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | vs. BAL | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 3 | LA Chargers | vs. WAS | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | vs. CHI | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 5 | Dallas | @ NYG | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 6 | Kansas City | vs. OAK | 7 | 6 | 4 |
| 7 | Detroit | @ TB | 4 | 17 | 3 |
| 8 | NY Jets | @ DEN | 10 | 14 | 10 |
| 9 | New Orleans | @ ATL | 8 | 20 | 7 |
| 10 | Minnesota | @ CAR | 15 | 12 | 12 |
| 11 | LA Rams | vs. PHI | 16 | 11 | 16 |
| 12 | Seattle | @ JAC | 12 | 23 | 9 |
| 13 | Green Bay | @ CLE | 11 | 7 | 27 |
| 14 | Jacksonville | vs. SEA | 21 | 10 | 15 |
| 15 | Tennessee | @ ARI | 20 | 9 | 17 |
| 16 | Buffalo | vs. IND | 9 | 15 | 24 |
| 17 | Philadelphia | @ LAR | 17 | 22 | 11 |
| 18 | Houston | vs. SF | 19 | 8 | 25 |
| 19 | San Francisco | @ HOU | 14 | 25 | 13 |
| 20 | Indianapolis | @ BUF | 24 | 18 | 14 |
| 21 | Carolina | vs. MIN | 18 | 21 | 18 |
| 22 | Arizona | vs. TEN | 13 | 24 | 23 |
| 23 | Atlanta | vs. NO | 25 | 13 | 22 |
| 24 | Denver | vs. NYJ | 23 | 19 | 28 |
| 25 | Oakland | @ KC | 26 | 27 | 20 |
| 26 | Cleveland | vs. GB | 22 | 26 | 26 |
| 27 | Tampa Bay | vs. DET | 29 | 16 | 31 |
| 28 | Baltimore | @ PIT | 31 | 29 | 19 |
| 29 | Washington | @ LAC | 30 | 30 | 21 |
| 30 | NY Giants | vs. DAL | 27 | 28 | 30 |
| 31 | Chicago | @ CIN | 28 | 31 | 29 |
| 32 | Miami | vs. NE | 32 | 32 | 32 |
Jeff Goldberg
Best picks: New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers
If you’ve made this far in your Survivor league, then I really hope for your sake that you haven’t used the Patriots yet. Week 14 is “break New England glass in case of emergency” week because there are very few solid options to bank on. Even the Pats aren’t as sharp a play as they normally would be with Rob Gronkowski’s suspension, but they’re still far ahead of the field in an oddly competitive week. Most of the teams we normally like to pick on face teams we normally don’t want to pick. The Browns are at home against the Rodgers-less Packers. The Colts draw the wildly inconsistent Bills. Even the Giants, who should, in theory, be picked on the remainder of the season, get the Cowboys at home, perhaps inspired both by the firing of their inept head coach and the return of Eli Manning to the starting lineup. You want to take the Zeke-less Cowboys on the road in a division game under these circumstances? Neither do I.
The safest non-Pats plays appear to be Pittsburgh at home against the Ravens, the Chargers at home against Washington, and the Bengals at home against Chicago. I would lean Cincinnati, a team most likely still available against a poor offense. But, really, if you have the Pats, it’s now or never.
Derek Gordon
Best picks: New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions
The New England Patriots are the only team I feel comfortable selecting this week, but they are most likely no longer an option for most of us. I’m going to suggest you go with the Cincinnati Bengals who have a home game against the Chicago Bears. This could be a low-scoring game, but I prefer the Bengals who have a better offense and a very good secondary. I don’t see Jordan Howard or Tarik Cohen getting much going on the ground either.
If Matthew Stafford plays, I also like Detroit Lions to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road. If you need yet another option that is likely still available, you can consider the Los Angeles Chargers or Kansas City Chiefs.
Scott Kaliska
Best picks: New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers
Almost all of the matchups are very evenly matched this week. The Patriots-Dolphins matchup is not one of those. They met only two weeks ago and the Patriots won by 18 points. Despite Miami playing at home, there won’t be much of an advantage.
My secondary picks are Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Chargers. Cincinnati will take on Chicago at home. Chicago has really struggled as of late, losing five straight. I prefer Dalton over Trubisky in this game. The Los Angeles Chargers continue to fight for a playoff spot. I love their defensive line against a roughed up Washington offensive line. In addition, Washington has to travel all the way to the west coast for this game.
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