NFL Survivor Week 2: Picks, Strategy

We survived week 1 of the NFL and move onward to week 2. This week, there are four strong contenders to choose for your survivor pools. I’ll highlight why I think one of them is the best option to save better teams for future weeks, should we survive.

NFL Week 1 Recap

There wasn’t a lot of drama in Week 1. All three of my picks survived, along with the top five picks in most survivor pools. In the $1,000,000 NFL Survivor Contest on BetOnline, just over 2,000 entries were eliminated, leaving over 32,000 remaining contestants.

Last week, I took the Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders, and Jacksonville Jaguars, which were among the top five most popular selections.

Top Picks in Week 1

1. Denver Broncos (30%)
2. Arizona Cardinals (18%)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (10%)
4. Washington Commanders (10%)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars (8%)

NFL Week 2 Survivor Picks

• High-Risk: Arizona Cardinals (vs. Carolina Panthers)
• Optimal: Dallas Cowboys (vs. New York Giants)
• Conventional: Baltimore Ravens (vs. Cleveland Browns)

My NFL Survivor Week 2 strategy is balancing looking ahead at the schedule, saving good teams, and selecting average teams. Using Arizona or Dallas allows me to save better teams for later in the season, should either of those teams make it through against their weakest opponents of the schedule.

The Arizona Cardinals are my high-risk selection this week. Arizona beat New Orleans, covering the spread with a 20-13 win, but they didn’t look great doing it. They’re hosting the Carolina Panthers who lost to the Jags 26-10, in a weird game with a 1.5 hour stoppage due to weather. Realistically, the other week to consider Arizona is Week 5 against Tennessee, which also has Buffalo, Baltimore, and Minnesota as larger favorites.

The optimal play is the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, it’s a divisional game, but the Cowboys are at home. This is your only chance to take Dallas as more than a field goal favorite. They’ll likely be a short home favorite once (maybe twice) more this season. Dallas looked great against Philadelphia, ultimately losing 24-20 after a long lightning delay took all momentum from the game. Russel Wilson was old and slow in his debut for the New York Giants, who lost to the Commanders 21-6. I’ll be using the Cowboys in the majority of my remaining entries.

The conventional play is the Baltimore Ravens, who have a sour taste in their mouth after blowing a 15-point lead late in the 4th quarter, losing 41-40 against the Buffalo Bills. Opening as a 12.5 favorite against Cleveland, the Ravens are the biggest favorite in Week 2. The Cleveland Browns didn’t look bad against Cincinnati. Joe Flacco can still move the ball at 40 years old. But, despite holding the Bengals to 7 yards in the second half, they couldn’t convert points, losing 17-16. It’s early to take the Ravens, but I don’t think the Browns will be able to win on the road.

Week 2 Forecast

I’m anticipating all three of my picks again to be in the top 5 selections. I believe Baltimore will be the top play trailed by Arizona, Dallas, Buffalo, and between the Rams and 49ers for fifth.

1. Baltimore Ravens (30%)
2. Arizona Cardinals (20%)
3. Dallas Cowboys (20%)
4. LA Rams (10%)
5. Buffalo Bills (5%)