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We’re back for Week 11 of the 2020 NFL regular season. Thursday Night Football opens the week with a huge NFC West showdown between the Cardinals and Seahawks in Seattle. First place in the division is on the line. NFC West games are often wild, so this should be a fun one. Not one to make a Survivor pool pick, but a fun one to enjoy.
If you’ve never played in a Survivor pool, it’s a pretty straightforward deal. You pick one team each week that you think will win. If your team loses in Week 1, you’re eliminated (unless it’s a double elimination pool). If your team wins in Week 1, you can make a pick in Week 2. If your team wins in Week 2, you can make a pick in Week 3, and so on. The catch is that you cannot pick the same team twice. You could use a heavy favorite in Week 1, but you would not have access to them later in the year if you’re alive in the closing weeks.
Survivor pools are usually either a single elimination contest or a double elimination contest. I was in one of each and got eliminated from both in Week 5. But, we’re still here to help you win your pools with a look at safe choices, value choices, and potential traps. Last week, both safe picks (Packers, Saints) and the value pick (also the Saints) made it through, although the Packers had a heck of a fight. Meanwhile, my trap pick (Lions) won, but as I mentioned, it was a white-knuckler.
On to Week 11!
Safest picks
Steelers over Jaguars
Chargers over Jets
The Jaguars and Jets are auto-picks for safest each week. You can hold off using Pittsburgh for now if you still have them, but they’re a safe option. The Chargers are always a decent bet to blow a lead, but the Jets stink. You always pick against them this season.
Best value picks
Chargers over Jets
A whole lot of people are going to be using the Chargers use this week, but the value lies in the fact that you almost have to use them. There are no other weeks worth using them the rest of the way, and the Jets stink.
Trap pick
A lot of people will look to avoid the Chargers crowd and take the Vikings against a bad Cowboys team. Dallas stinks, but they’re likely to get Andy Dalton back and he is an upgrade over Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci. Furthermore, Minnesota’s run defense is atrocious. I could see Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard running wild against them. if Dalton sits another week, I’m open to this moving into value territory.