Whoops. I tried to get cute and went away from picking against the Dolphins.
That was a mistake, so if you’re still alive, you likely avoided the other likely matchups that would have been appetizing for the Survivor Pool. Here’s the week 5 NFL Survivor Pool best bets.
Teams Used: Philadelphia, Baltimore, New England, Indianapolis (lost)
Best Bet
Los Angeles Chargers
If you’re still alive, you may have already used the Chargers, so go ahead and skip down to the Sleeper pick if you’ve already used the Chargers.
If not, go ahead and trust the Chargers, as long as you didn’t already pick Philadelphia or New England. Los Angeles is a regular slow starter, so it’s not out of the ordinary for the Chargers to show some weaknesses in the early going before catching fire.
And with all that’s happening in Denver, the Chargers should definitely have the edge. Denver is having major problems on the defensive side of the ball, with injuries and finger-pointing. The Broncos rank in the bottom-10 of the NFL in total defense, while the Chargers are a top-five offense.
That should be enough to trust the Chargers in this instance. As long as you’ve already picked Philadelphia and New England, the Chargers should be a safe pick.
Sleeper Pick
Kansas City Chiefs
OK, you can’t go with the anti-Miami pick, and you may have already used the Eagles, New England and the Chargers this season.
If that’s the case, take a look at the Chiefs.
Kansas City once again has the best offense in the NFL, which will go up against an Indianapolis defense that ranks in the bottom-five of the NFL in yards per play allowed. That will spell major trouble against a Chiefs team that is capable of moving the ball against any team.
The Chiefs defense isn’t great, but it should be good enough to defend against a depleted Indianapolis squad. If you have fewer teams remaining, consider the Chiefs in a Sunday night matchup.
Be Careful
Baltimore Ravens
I don’t believe the Ravens are as good as we perceived in the first two weeks. Remember, the Ravens played the Dolphins and the Cardinals in weeks 1 and 2, two teams that have proven to be two of the worst teams in the NFL.
That means the stats that we see from Baltimore should taken with a grain of salt. What’s even worse, despite the terrible offenses in the first two weeks, the Ravens own the worst defense in yards per play allowed.
I get that they’ve played the Chiefs, but the Browns, Cardinals and Dolphins shouldn’t be considered explosive offenses.
Pittsburgh impressed me on Monday night, especially on the defensive side of the ball. This is not a guarantee.
