Upsets abound around the NFL this season, but Week 5 was about the craziness that prevented the biggest upset of the week. The New York Giants trailed most of the afternoon to the Carolina Panthers, only to score what looked like a game-winning touchdown with 1:08 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the Panthers moved down the field and Graham Gano connected on a 63-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. One of the two most popular picks of Week 5 survived.
Week 7 NFL Survivor strategy and picks
The Texans did their best to clear out a sizable chunk of teams, but in the end they prevailed over the Bills. We’re back to provide some tips to stay alive this week.
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We’re back now for Week 6, with upsets clearing things out in most Survivor pools. 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
Most leagues have had a lot of participants cleared out, but things settled down the past two weeks with favorites winning their games. Week 7 could be where we get more clearance. The Rams are double digit favorites over the 49ers and while it is a divisional matchup, it’s hard to see the 49ers springing an upset.
Other than Rams-49ers, there is nothing else particularly safe in Week 7. The next highest line right now is the Indianapolis Colts as a touchdown favorite at home against Buffalo. There’s nothing remotely comfortable about picking the Colts this season.
Best value vs. trap picks
It is not a pretty week to find value. You can find some favorites, but virtually every game this week is a trap game for Survivor purposes. For example, the Atlanta Falcons are at home against the New York Giants. The Giants are an awful football team, but injuries have made it difficult to know what Falcons squad will show up each week.
The Los Angeles Chargers hold some value at home against the Tennessee Titans, but Tennessee is another squad where you don’t know what you’ll see each week. They won three straight, beating Houston, Jacksonville, and Philadelphia, but have since lost back-to-back games to Buffalo and Baltimore. I think the Chargers are going to win this game, but an upset is a very real possibility.
Finally, the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Houston Texans. Houston has arguably the least impressive three-game win streak in recent memory, while Jacksonville is coming off back-to-back thumpings at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. This seems like a bounce-back opportunity, but you might have to sweat it out.
Your best bet might just be playing it safe with the Rams and living to fight another day. One thing to factor into a Rams selection is that they could very well lock up home field in the playoffs early in December. If they do, their final two games against Arizona and San Francisco might not look nearly as enticing with the potential for starters resting.
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