Week 11 NFL Survivor pool strategy with safe, value, trap picks

The holiday season is fast approaching and the playoff race is heating up as we pass through the midpoint of November. The Chiefs remain undefeated and the Lions could be set to pull away as the top team in the NFC.

We didn’t get many upsets last week, but we had a few notable wild games. The week opened with the Ravens holding off a last second two-point conversion attempt by the Bengals to continue maintaining pace with the Steelers. Pittsburgh held off Washington to maintain their AFC North lead. The Vikings nearly lost to the Jaguars, but we did see the Saints upset the Falcons and the Dolphins knock off the Rams.

Those results knocked out a few more folks in Survivor pools, and we continue inching our way to the finish line. The most surprising result was probably the Patriots embarrassing the favored Bears. I should not have offered that as a value pick in my Week 10 Survivor column. I did warn y’all about Falcons-Saints, so I’ll take that W!

Now, Week 11 is upon us. The Giants, Cardinals, Bucs, and Panthers are all on bye, leaving us with 28 other teams to choose from Week 11 Survivor. I’ve got my full picks below. There are plenty of options to consider and every week this season we’ll be breaking down the safest picks, the best value picks, and the potential trap picks.

Lions over Jaguars
Dolphins over Raiders

These are going to be the two most popular picks in a lot of leagues. If you’ve been saving Detroit, it makes a lot of sense to use them against Mac Jones & Co. The Dolphins looked better with Tua last week, and will likely be a heavy pick against a bad Raiders squad.

Vikings over Titans
Rams over Patriots

It’s possible Sam Darnold has turned back into a pumpkin. That coupled with the Lions and Dolphins options and the fact that a decent number of folks in one of my leagues used the Vikings last week suggests maybe it’s worth rolling the dice with them on the road against a bad Titans squad.

The Patriots are showing signs of life with Drake Maye at the helm, but are still a questionable team at best. They’ve beaten some bad teams to get to their 3-7 record. LA isn’t all that good, but they’re not bad. This might be getting a little too cute, but if you want to avoid the heavy picks, they’re not the worst option.

Packers over Bears

The Bears stink right now and I probably wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole. That being said, a divisional road game is not something I’d consider in Survivor unless it’s Week 18 and I have no other options available.