NFL Survivor Pool: After 7 comes 8
Yes, that is now eight winners in a row in this space. I did not call the shutout by the 49ers last week but I felt pretty comfortable with them at home against the Saints.
There were some upsets last week but most of the big favorites did win, even if they didn't cover.
With Thanksgiving past, this week is much more normal. We do have a couple of teams on byes this week with Carolina and Arizona getting the week off. Neither is inviting a ton of attention of late, though Carolina has not been a disaster since they dumped coach Matt Rhule.
Survivor Pool Teams Used So Far: Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers.
Record: 8-4
Week 13 Survivor Pool Recommendation
This week there are not a lot of heavy favorites. Baltimore is one, at home against the Broncos, and Dallas is another, at home against the Colts. Only one other team is expected to win by more than a TD this week and it is actually the Seattle Seahawks on the road against the Rams. All three of those teams have yet to be used this season.
The other obvious direction to turn would be Philadelphia. The Eagles have the best record in the NFL and are still available to us. They are at home against the Titans though and I am a little leery about the Eagles and their rushing defense against the likes of Derrick Henry.
When healthy, I think the Bills are the best team in the league. They are taking on the Patriots on Thursday night. If that game was on Sunday, I might have pulled the trigger on that one, but we are trying to avoid short weeks where we can. Weird things happen.
Cleveland is in Houston this week and QB Deshaun Watson is expected to play. The Browns are solid favorites but it is hard to really "like" them this week.
The Pick: Baltimore Ravens
I was on the Ravens last week against Jacksonville. It still stings that they lost late as they did, but I guess losing the cover in OT would have been no better.
This week they are hosting a Denver team that has not won on the road all season. Focusing on the Ravens, they have been really good about bouncing back from disappointing results this season. They have yet to lose back-to-back games and when their offense is working, they can grind out points and clock. They have not covered in two straight but we don't need them to in this spot.
As for Denver, they are the lowest-scoring team in the NFL this season, negating a defense that is third in points allowed. The defense is more than capable but they are soft against the run, which is particularly detrimental against a team like Baltimore. The Broncos might be able to slow down Baltimore enough to cover the spread, but getting the win is a stretch.
It might have been nice to hold onto the Ravens for a few more weeks and use them at home against Atlanta but you can't have it all.
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