It wasn’t easy last week, but Pittsburgh managed to squeak by to allow our week 9 Survivor pool pick to go through.
The teams are getting worse for Survivor picks, but we’ve saved a couple of quality options for this time of year.
Best Bet
Denver Broncos
We haven’t been too sold on the Broncos this year, so that’s a lot of the reason we held back on Denver this season. We’ve been looking for that down performance during the year and it finally happened last week against Indianapolis.
We weren’t surprised about the Colts win. That game was a prime game for an upset, with Denver coming off an emotional Sunday night win against Green Bay and the Colts needing a win.
So we’re not only not surprised, but we’re not going to hold it against the Broncos. The Colts carved their way through Denver’s defense, but we’re not going to forget about what happened in the first part of the season. That’s still an elite defense against the run and the pass, and we don’t believe Denver’s opponent this week, the Kansas City Chiefs, will be able to mount much offense against the Broncos.
We understand that Kansas City should have won the first game between the two teams, but that was with a healthy Jamaal Charles.
We still have our concerns with Peyton Manning, but we’ll put those aside in this game. The Broncos will force the Chiefs into being one dimensional in the passing game, and will clamp down on defense. Don’t put too much stock into last week’s letdown by Denver.
Sleeper Pick
Philadelphia Eagles
The Miami Dolphins were a hot pick two weeks ago. Now, after two straight road losses, we’re back to the old Dolphins.
Miami is having a difficult time doing anything well. On offense, Miami isn’t running the ball the same way it did in head coach Dan Campbell’s first two games. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill also is slowing down his production with two sub-par efforts in a row.
Defensively, the Dolphins also are still not able to stop the run, which isn’t good against Philadelphia. The only time the Eagles are successful on offense is when they can run the ball.
And if Philadelphia is running the ball well, that offense is as good as any offense in the NFL. We don’t like the Dolphins in their third straight road game, so don’t dismiss the Eagles this week.
Be Careful
Carolina Panthers
Carolina has been a great story this season. The running game is punishing. Cam Newton has been as valuable as any player in the NFL. And the defense is as good as any unit in the NFL.
So why are we putting up the red flags this week?
Quarterback Marcus Mariota is a major step up from backup Zach Mettenberger and proved that last week as the Titans won at New Orleans.
At home this season, Tennessee has been competitive in every game but one. And the defense has been competent, ranking in the top-five against the pass this season.
But it’s not all about the Titans. We’re expecting a bit of a letdown for the Panthers. Carolina is coming off four consecutive big games. It all started with a win at Seattle, and then featured a Sunday night, Monday night and primetime matchup in the last three weeks, which included wins against Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Green Bay.
The Panthers are a better team than the Titans, but we won’t be surprised if this is much closer than many experts believe.
I’m was 50/50 on the Broncos/Bengals. All the trends are saying Broncos, (haven’t lost consecutive games in forever) and I expect they show up big as Manning breaks another NFL record. Any reason to look at the Bengals? Not sure why but they scare me this week.
I mulled over the Bengals and they’re big favorites. But…the Bengals in primetime aren’t always the best. I know Andy Dalton performed well last Thursday night, but to expect that same production two weeks in a row is too risky to me. It’s likely the Bengals win, but Dalton’s past performances scare me too much to put them in my Survivor pool this week.