Week 9 is now upon us and we struck gold last week with the St. Louis Rams as our Survivor Pool pick.
We could go against San Francisco again, but we have a better option in mind for our week 9 pick.
Best Bet
Pittsburgh Steelers
We waited to use Pittsburgh in the early part of the season because we figured we could use them later. Then quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got hurt, so the Steelers didn’t provide a viable option to take as a straight-up winner.
This week, though, we’re all in on the Steelers. We’re not going to flip out about Roethlisberger’s slow start last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. Many could argue the Bengals are in the top three of best teams in the NFL, so that was a tall task for Big Ben.
Then, with Le’Veon Bell getting injured, that didn’t help matters.
But we’re not too concerned with Bell’s absence. The Steelers have weathered this storm before and with Roethlisberger getting a week of game action under his belt, we’re high on Pittsburgh this week.
Oakland has been a feel-good story, but the Raiders are still young and inconsistent. The Raiders will travel from coast-to-coast for an early afternoon game. Without much of a pass defense and with all the weapons at Roethlisberger’s disposal, we don’t like this matchup for the Raiders.
We faded the Raiders one week too early last week. Stay away from Oakland against the Steelers.
Sleeper pick
Buffalo Bills
Miami is as hot and cold as any team in the NFL.
The Dolphins were a dumpster fire to begin the season and then fired their head coach. Then, with new coach Dan Campbell on board, the Dolphins were the “it” team.
Then last week happened and New England exposed the Dolphins. So which teams is the real Miami?
During its two-game winning streak, Miami beat up on Tennessee and Houston. Not exactly world beaters. That’s why we weren’t going full board with the Dolphins against the Patriots and that’s why we’re staying away from Miami again.
The Bills are coming off a bye week and are getting healthier. Buffalo’s main problems have been injuries, but with Tyrod Taylor returning under center, we like Buffalo’s chances to return to the win column.
This is back-to-back road games for Miami in cold climates. Sell the Dolphins stock while you can.
Be careful
New York Jets
Our Sleeper pick from last week was a total dud. Part of that reason was for the sudden disappearance of the defense. But the other part was quarterback injury issues.
We’re not sure what to expect from the quarterback position in New York. Will Ryan Fitzpatrick or Geno Smith start? Or will Bryce Petty play? Or how about a free agent quarterback who we don’t know about?
That’s way too many question marks.
Usually Jacksonville is the easy whipping boy to pick against in Survivor pools. But at 2-5, the Jaguars are one game out of the playoff picture in the AFC South.
The Jaguars have looked good at times this season, so we’re not completely dismissing them on a weekly basis. Jacksonville is coming off a bye week, so they will be ready for the Jets. We’re not so sure if the Jets will be ready for the Jaguars.
