An NFL survivor pool is a wonderful thing. Much like sports betting, it gives casual fans something to cheer for when they don’t have the time for fantasy sports. As simple as it sounds to pick one winner each week, there is a lot more that you must consider. I will discuss point spreads, ownership rates, injuries, and weather each week. This will help you decide which team you should choose for your pool. I’ll offer a multi-faceted approach that will give you several options for each week. These options are based on your level of risk tolerance. This is The FFU NFL Survivor Pool Guide (Week 3) Edition.
As a side note: The Fantasy Football Universe also runs an NFL Survivor Pool as a control group. You can find the group here to follow along. I will refer to the pool in this series and provide updates to show how we play each week. After all, you can’t trust our advice if we don’t follow it ourselves. Also, check out The FFU Survivor Pool Crash Course tutorial.
Week 3 Pick Distribution
The Safe Route
New York Jets, 4.39% ownership (-6.5) vs. New England Patriots, 0.17% ownership: At this point, the safe route isn’t so safe as the biggest favorite has lost in both of the first two weeks of this season. For that reason, I am going to steer clear of the AFC North which has disappointed in back-to-back weeks. This week we load up on a Jets team that has faced two tough defenses so far and will match up with a Patriots squad that has outperformed expectations and is still likely one of the worst teams in the league. The Jets should get back on track and run away with this one without much hassle.
Risk= 3
The Sneaky Value Pick
Kansas City Chiefs, 1.74% ownership (-3.5) vs. Atlanta Falcons, 0.02% ownership: The Chiefs haven’t been the dominant team of old, but that came against two tough AFC North squads. When the dust settles, they are still the class of the NFL, and even with the Falcons looking better last week, they are still not in the same league as Kansas City. The Chiefs are only three-point favorites and are a solid value in this one.
Risk= 3
The Upset Special
Philadelphia Eagles, 0.06% ownership (+2.5) vs. New Orleans Saints, 0.45% ownership: The Saints aren’t this good, as a Saints fan it pains me to say it, but it’s the truth. The new offensive scheme installed by the Saints has been impressive, but their starting quarterback is still Derek Carr and at some point, he isn’t going to be able to score 40 points every week. The Eagles are a tough opponent and they could very easily be the team to stop the Saints run. this one is too close to call, so I will take the points and roll with the Eagles.
Risk = 6
The Must Avoid
Baltimore Ravens, 0.15% ownership (-1.0) vs. Dallas Cowboys, 0.07% ownership: This is a game I am looking to avoid entirely. It features two of the league’s top teams, but also two of the league’s more bipolar teams. In any given week, both the Cowboys and Ravens could look like Super Bowl favorites or non-playoff teams. Will this be a high-scoring game? A low-scoring game? No one knows for sure. So for that reason, I am going to steer clear of this matchup altogether.
Risk = 8
If you enjoyed NFL Survivor Pool Guide: Week 3, check out how last week’s picks fared on The Fantasy Football Universe Survivor Pool Home Page.
