Week 9 NFL Survivor strategy and picks

Welcome back for Week 9 of the NFL season! If you are still alive in your Survivor pool, congratulations! Week 8 was entirely quiet, with only the smallest of favorites losing. We are at the halfway point of the 2018 NFL schedule, which means Survivor entrants still alive are starting to have to use some of the bigger names.

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.

Kansas City Chiefs over Cleveland Browns
Chicago Bears over Buffalo Bills

Teams playing bad teams can slip up, but neither matchup scares me enough. You could save the Chiefs for Week 10 at home against the Arizona Cardinals but with their Mexico City matchup against the Rams in Week 11, that is a prime game to get caught looking ahead. Meanwhile, the Bears face a Bills team that threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Patriots, and came up short. I could see Buffalo getting thumped at home this week.

Carolina Panthers over Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Panthers don’t have a whole lot of value the rest of the season. If you’re going to use them, now is the time. The Bucs are bringing Ryan Fitzpatrick back into the starting lineup, but I think we see him struggle against the Panthers’ defense.

Minnesota Vikings over Detroit Lions

The Lions just traded away Golden Tate, and now have to go on the road to Minnesota. The Vikings might rebound fine from their loss to New Orleans, but this could be a tricky spot for them.