Football survivor pool strategy/picks, Week 17: Picking champs!

We’ve done it! We’ve reached the final week of the 2017 NFL regular season. Most fantasy football is a wrap, unless your commissioner made a serious mistake. And for a small group of you, this week will be the determining week for your survivor pool. I imagine most pools have a winner already, particularly following last week’s Cleveland Browns upset of the San Diego Chargers.

We are back once again with our rankings and picks for NFL survivor pools. We start with a consensus ranking of all teams in action this week, and which teams are most likely to win their games. Week 17 raises plenty of issues with some teams potentially resting starters before the playoffs. The two most notable examples are the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. The Steelers host the Browns, while the Cowboys travel to face the Philadelphia Eagles.

Here is a look at our rankings of all 32 teams playing this week. That is followed by each writer making a pick, providing some reasoning for the pick, and then providing some alternatives to consider. Best of luck!

Primary pick: Green Bay Packers over Detroit Lions
Secondary pick: Seattle Seahawks over San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos over Oakland Raiders

I’m riding the hot hand here. The Packers are steam-rolling the competition right now and Detroit doesn’t look like a squad built to go back and forth with a top offense. Seattle should be able to beat the 49ers with their third stringers and I also like Denver beating an Oakland team that will be without Derek Carr.

Primary pick: New England Patriots over Miami Dolphins
Secondary pick: Seattle Seahawks over San Francisco 49ers, Washington over New York Giants

The Patriots will be playing for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. If New England plays their backups for half the game, I still believe they’ll take down Miami. If the Dolphins were at full strength, I think they’d have a much better chance in this game. My secondary picks are Seattle and Washington. Seattle has had San Francisco’s number since Jim Harbaugh left. Washington will be playing for a playoff berth, and the Giants didn’t look sharp last week. The Giants are locked into their playoff spot and won’t have much motivation this week.

Primary pick: Seattle Seahawks over San Francisco 49ers
Secondary pick: New England Patriots over Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Carolina Panthers

First off, if you’re reading this, you’re probably still alive in your Survivor League. Take a moment and pat yourself on the back. Getting to Week 17 is no easy feat. And if you still have Seattle or New England available in your league, stop patting and start popping -- the champagne, that is. You are going to win your league.

And if you don’t have one of those two sure things, the key to ultimate survival is investing in those teams who are still invested in their seasons. Tampa Bay, Washington, Oakland, Green Bay, and Detroit immediately come to mind as teams with something important still to play for. Of that group, I would be looking at Tampa Bay and Oakland first because their opponents are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Teams that reach the Super Bowl one year often struggle mightily the next, and Denver and Carolina were no exceptions in 2016. Check the news this week, as it’s likely both teams could sit key members on both sides of the ball, making the road to victory even smoother for the Bucs and Raiders.