Week 14 of the 2016 NFL season is upon us! If you are still alive in your survivor pool, well done! I feel like we have not seen as many crazy upsets knocking people out left and right, but it is still no simple task to stay alive through 13 games. You are likely running low on teams, but there are still some very interesting matchups to stay alive for another week.
Football survivor pool strategy/picks, Week 14: Considering two notable home favorites
NFL survivor pools are back for Week 14, with the season coming down the home stretch. If you are still alive in your pool, we’ve got some strategy to help.
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
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 is most likely to win their game. The NFL is finished with byes, and that means the winless Cleveland Browns are back in action. They face a short-handed Cincinnati Bengals team. The Bengals have been used a decent amount, but if you have not used them, they might be a decent play. The big play this week will probably be the Detroit Lions, who are at home against the 3-9 Chicago Bears.
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!
Editor’s update: Odds are pretty good you did not take one of Kansas City or Baltimore. Detroit remains a strong option that most people likely have not used. You could try and play another option, but the Lions seem to be the safest pick this week.
| Rank | Team | Opp. | JG | ZS | SK |
| 1 | Detroit | vs. CHI | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | New England | vs. BAL | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Atlanta | @ LA | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | @ CLE | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Indianapolis | vs. HOU | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | Dallas | @ NYG | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | Minnesota | @ JAC | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 8 | Pittsburgh | @ BUF | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| 9 | Tampa Bay | vs. NO | 11 | 12 | 11 |
| 10 | Carolina | vs. SD | 10 | 13 | 13 |
| 11 | San Francisco | vs. NYJ | 20 | 9 | 9 |
| 12 | Seattle | @ GB | 18 | 15 | 10 |
| 13 | Washington | @ PHI | 12 | 16 | 16 |
| 14 | Tennessee | vs. DEN | 19 | 11 | 15 |
| 15 | Arizona | @ MIA | 7 | 21 | 19 |
| 16 | Kansas City | vs. OAK | 16 | 26 | 7 |
| 17 | Denver | @ TEN | 14 | 18 | 18 |
| 18 | Oakland | @KC | 17 | 7 | 26 |
| 19 | Miami | vs. ARI | 26 | 14 | 14 |
| 20 | Philadelphia | vs. WAS | 21 | 22 | 17 |
| 21 | Green Bay | vs. SEA | 15 | 23 | 23 |
| 22 | New Orleans | @ TB | 22 | 17 | 22 |
| 23 | NY Jets | @ SF | 13 | 24 | 24 |
| 24 | San Diego | @ CAR | 23 | 20 | 20 |
| 25 | Buffalo | vs. PIT | 24 | 19 | 21 |
| 26 | NY Giants | vs. DAL | 25 | 27 | 27 |
| 27 | Jacksonville | vs. MIN | 27 | 31 | 25 |
| 28 | Houston | @ IND | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| 29 | Baltimore | @ NE | 30 | 25 | 31 |
| 30 | Los Angeles | vs. ATL | 28 | 30 | 30 |
| 31 | Cleveland | vs. CIN | 31 | 29 | 29 |
| 32 | Chicago | @ DET | 32 | 32 | 32 |
Scott Kaliska
Primary pick: Detroit Lions over Chicago Bears
Secondary pick: New England Patriots over Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons over Los Angeles Rams
These two teams are heading in completely different directions. Detroit has won four games in a row and get Chicago at home. This Detroit team is not solely relying on their offense but have received a lot of help from their defense. Chicago is missing too many key pieces on offense. They won’t be able to keep up with the Lions. My secondary picks are New England and Atlanta. Atlanta will rebound against a sorry Los Angeles team. The Falcons have too many weapons for the Rams defense to try and stop. New England faces a stiff test in Baltimore. I’m not entirely sold on the Ravens offense and think New England stymies them for most of the night.
Jeff Goldberg
Primary pick: Detroit Lions over Chicago Bears
Secondary pick: New England Patriots over Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals over Cleveland Browns
It is really getting serious now in SuvivorLand, and if you’ve gotten this far, you’re probably noticing you don’t really have a lot of great options left to choose from, with nearly half the league having been used up. And this is not exactly a slam-dunk week to pick even the normally “safest” plays. Picking against Cleveland has been the fail-safe option all year, but do you trust Cincinnati on the road without A.J. Green? Presumably the Browns are going to win one eventually, right?
A team you likely still have available is the Lions, and this is as good a spot as any to fire them up, at home against the Bears, who likely won their one game for December last week. Thirteen weeks into the season, the Lions are no longer a fluke team and can be trusted even in a divisional game scenario. The Patriots are always a solid play if you still have them.
The “future value” conundrum plays this week are Atlanta and Indianapolis. They both look like a solid plays -- Indy at home vs. Houston and the Falcons on the road in LA -- but Atlanta has a fantastic matchup next week, at home vs. San Francisco, and the Colts get Jacksonville at home in Week 17 in a game that probably will have massive playoff implications. So do you play one of them now to get through this tough week, or do you save them as closers to the season. Good luck!
Zach Senvisky
Primary pick: Atlanta Falcons over Los Angeles Rams
Secondary pick: Detroit Lions over Chicago Bears, New England Patriots over Baltimore Ravens
The Rams offense is completely inept and does not stand a chance of putting up enough points to stay with the Falcons. Atlanta has struggled a bit of late but I see the defense getting to rookie Jared Goff early and often. Looks for the Falcons to jump ahead early in this game and never look back. If you cannot select the Falcons for whatever reason, my two other picks would be the Lions and Patriots. I have way more confidence in the Lions selection but I also don’t think the Ravens have played many quality teams to be a real threat. The Patriots should win a close one over the Ravens.
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