Week 14 is why the Survivor Pool is not for the faint-hearted. My picks — Buffalo and San Francisco — survived, but the best bet of the week New England, didn’t.
For most of you, the Patriots weren’t a viable option anyway. For those who waited all year to use them, that was a heartbreaker of epic proportions.
There’s no slam-dunk winners in the Survivor Pool, unless, of course, you’re picking against the Browns. Since week 6 of the 2015 season, that’s been a winning strategy in every game but two.
Here’s the week 15 Survivor Pool picks.
Best Bet
New Orleans Saints
I haven’t taken the Saints yet this year, so week 15 offers the best opportunity to back New Orleans.
The Jets had a nice run in the middle part of this season, but the talent disparity is starting to run its course. The Jets just don’t have the horses to keep up with the best teams in the NFL.
That showed in week 12 against Carolina and was once again on display in week 14 against a hapless Denver team. Now, the Jets are on the road again, without their starting quarterback against a Saints team that is much better on paper and in person.
The Saints are by far the better offensive team, and the defense is just as good, if not better than New York. The Jets aren’t consistent enough to keep up with this offense. Injuries are hampering New Orleans a bit, but this roster is still good enough to get past an ailing Jets team. New York has dropped three of the past four games, so this is another matchup where they shouldn’t be trusted.
Sleeper Pick
Washington Redskins
Everybody’s jumping off the Washington bandwagon for good reason. The passing game looks atrocious and the defense just isn’t playing well enough to keep games close.
So why am I backing the Redskins?
Washington is better than its shown in recent weeks. And the week 15 opponent, Arizona, is terrible when traveling to different time zones. Arizona has traveled to different time zones five times this year and has one win — in OT against an Indianapolis team that was still searching for a quarterback.
In the other four losses, the Cardinals didn’t come within single digits in any outing. That inability to show up in different time zones just repeats problems from past years for the Cardinals.
That will resurface in the early window in week 15, when Arizona goes against a team better on the offensive side of the ball that will show improvement on the defensive side of the ball. If you need two teams in week 15 in your Survivor Pool, don’t shy away from the Redskins.
Be Careful
Baltimore Ravens
Are the Browns going to win a game this season? I’m not sure. But they’re going to give it the good, old college try each week.
That could be an issue for a Ravens team coming off an emotional loss in week 14 against Pittsburgh.
The Ravens have an edge with the defense. But the offenses aren’t that dissimilar. Baltimore has looked good in recent weeks, but that shouldn’t dismiss what transpired earlier in the season. The Ravens have had consistent difficulties moving the football for the duration of the season.
And the Browns haven’t looked terrible in recent weeks on either side of the ball. The Ravens are better, but don’t buy into the narrative that this is a complete mismatch. The Ravens offense isn’t good enough to be considered such a major favorite.
