Week 2 didn’t offer much resistance since the Los Angeles Rams basically played a college football team.
Arizona didn’t cross midfield until late in the fourth quarter against Los Angeles, so thankfully, the win didn’t require any sweat. Week 3 looks to be a similar circumstance, but it’s the NFL, so even if it looks like a slam dunk, it’s difficult to completely trust an NFL team.
Here’s my favorite week 3 NFL Survivor Pool picks.
Teams Used: Green Bay, Los Angeles Rams
Best Bet
Minnesota Vikings
Is there any team worth picking other than Minnesota?
Buffalo has been atrocious and now its rookie starter is playing his first road game as a starter against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
The Vikings’ secondary doesn’t allow teams to score in the red zone. Of nine red zone trips, the defense has allowed just two touchdowns.
Offensively, the Vikings also hold a major advantage, especially with Kirk Cousins leading the offense.
The spread is 17 points for a reason. Buffalo doesn’t have enough weapons to compete against Minnesota’s secondary, and the Vikings have an offense that won’t sleepwalk through this game.
This seems like a guarantee, but it’s still professional football, so nothing should just be assumed. However, this is too good of a matchup to skip in the Survivor Pool.
Sleeper Pick
Jacksonville Jaguars
If you’ve already taken Minnesota, then Jacksonville offers a nice pick in a week that is difficult to predict.
Tennessee is a disaster. The quarterback situation has very little clarity, with Marcus Mariota still battling injuries. He dealt with injuries throughout 2017 and that affected his entire season.
Unlike last year, though, the Titans are unable to run the football. And it’s not just the offensive side of the ball that has me down on the Titans. The defense is allowing 6.5 yards per play, more than a yard more than Jacksonville.
The only problem that could arise from this game is a letdown from Jacksonville after it defeated New England in an emotional win in week 2. However, the Jaguars’ defense is just too good to allow the Titans to move the ball consistently.
Even if the offense is moving slow for the Jaguars, expect Jacksonville’s defense to carry this win home.
Be Careful
Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles is really good, but I’m not sure they’ve actually clicked yet this season. Even in last week’s shutout, the Rams didn’t look great on the offensive side of the ball.
They mostly capitalized on turnovers and Arizona’s anemic offense to score 34 points. The rushing game is still not averaging enough yards per carry to make me believe this team is a guarantee win this week against the Los Angeles Chargers.
We now know how good Kansas City’s offense is, so that defensive effort in week 1 isn’t as bad as we originally believed. And the Chargers offense has proven in the first two weeks that it still has the components to be a dynamic unit once again this season.
The spread is too much in this game at seven points in favor of the Rams. The Rams will have better matchups to use this season in the Survivor Pool.
