The 2018 football season is officially in full swing. Week 1 brought some crazy upsets, while Week 2 brought us another tie. The big stories thus far are the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have the hottest offense in the league, while Ryan Fitzmagic and the Bucs have two huge wins under their belt.
Week 3 NFL Survivor strategy and picks
The NFL settled down a little bit in Week 2, but there were still some victims in Survivor pools. We’re back to provide some tips to stay alive all season.
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Week 3 is set to get underway with the Cleveland Browns hosting the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. The Browns are a three-point favorite in this game, the first time they have been this big a favorite since 2015. You might take them in a pick ‘em pool, but only a fool would take them in an NFL Survivor pool.
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 very well use a heavy favorite in Week 1, but you won’t have access to them 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’ll take a look at the safest choices, best value picks, and then two trap picks.
Safest picks
The Bills are going to be like the Browns were last season — the team everyone picks against as often as they can in Survivor pools. The Vikings are currently a 17-point home favorite, and it seems unlikely we see a higher spread this season — except maybe when the Patriots host the Bills. Meanwhile, the Rams defense is looking legit through two games, and the offense is starting to round into form. The Chargers represent a step up in competition, but it’s hard to see the Rams losing this one.
Best value picks
The Bears and Texans have question marks, but the Cardinals and Giants are both proving to be fairly awful. The Texans pick is more of a roll of the dice, but the Giants offense is atrocious. Meanwhile, the Bears defense is looking like one of the best in the league, and they’re facing an atrocious Cardinals team.
Trap pick
There are not many trap games this week (that’s where the trap shows up!). The Eagles should be able to beat the Colts, but this Indy team is showing some signs of life, coming off a big road win over Washington. Avoid picking against them for the time being.
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